Mom Raging Mad After Learning MIL Has Been Wasting Bottles of Milk Formula Amid Shortage

A mom shared on Reddit that she was "raging mad" upon learning that her mother-in-law (MIL) had been dumping remaining milk formula bottles. The mom was frustrated as she struggled to find formula milk. Reddit users were sympathetic to what she felt and advised how she should approach her mother-in-law when addressing the issue.

The mom explained that she and her fiancé couldn't miss out on work. They could not send their child to the daycare because they could not afford it, so the couple left the kids with her fiance's mom while they worked. They had to switch formulas twice a couple of weeks because they had issues with their baby.

One night, the couple spent an hour scouring Similac Alimentum by calling more than 30 stores near their town to at least two hours away from them. They decided to try one last milk-based formula and sent it to their daughter's grandma, In the Know reports. 

Wasting Infant Formula

After work, she picked up her kid and got home. The baby was crying for milk and seemed hungry, and she figured it might be because her MIL refused to feed her daughter more than 2 ounces at a time. When she opened the formula, she discovered that it was half-empty.

She said she was raging mad. When she asked her stepdaughter what happened, she explained that the grandmother would feed her two-month-old two ounces of milk after an hour or so and dump the remaining milk immediately. The mother-in-law also said she was pissed at her because she "constantly" switched formula. 

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Redditor's Advice

A Redditor in the comment section of subreddit r/BeyondTheBump advised that since the mom has no childcare option and therefore needs to maintain a decent relationship with the mother-in-law, her partner should step in and talk with his mother. 

The Redditor also recommended a fact-finding approach like asking her MIL what happened and the reason for doing so. She advised resharing directions around feeding and formula and asking her for ideas on how to conserve the milk. 

She also noted not to mention what the stepdaughter shared, as it would put her at the risk of being on her MIL's wrong side.

Another piece of advice shared by another Reddit user was that until the mom finds appropriate care, the mom should send over prepared formula bottles mixed with water to go in the fridge. She also advised numbering the bottles, with clear instructions on feeding the baby all of the contents in the bottle even if it takes a while, the exact times to feed her, and a reminder not to dump the remaining milk but stick it back to the fridge. She also advised that the MIL take pictures of the feeding to ensure that the daughter drinks each bottle.

Bloomberg reported that the country's out-of-stock rates of formula milk climbed to 74 percent as of May 28, while other states have out-of-stock rates of 90 percent or greater.

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