Got Milk?

I've always been a Similac mom. Back when Sarah was born I started with Nestle Good Start. Which that was so long ago it is now called "Gerber Good Start." Sarah's tummy couldn't handle the lactose in the milk so she had to be put on a special {expensive} formula. Similac Alimentum. It had a putrid smell. Almost like Ants. And it smelled even worse the second time around, running down your shirt sleeve. But it worked, and kept her tummy happy and her growth healthy. So I officially became the Similac supporter. Michael used the regular, as did Brody when I was finished breastfeeding with each of them.

This year Enfamil came out with a new stage of formula. A stage for newborn. A stage for infant. And lastly a stage for toddler. It makes sense. We all can relate that each of those stages are extremely different and require their own sensitive nutrients. I read about it in advertisements in my pregnancy magazines while awaiting Savannah. I knew she would be a breastfed baby in the beginning, so I didn't give it much thought. We are all creatures of habit. Once a Similac mom, always a Simliac mom right? That is until the end of August when Similac recalled 5million cans of their product due to Beetle remains. I thought back to the new Enfamil line available on the market... But Savannah got the good stuff up until the day she passed. 

 About two weeks ago, I received a package in the mail. Things still arrive in the mail congratulating us on our "new baby" every once and awhile. I've gotten used to it now... 

Email's announcing Savannah's weekly milestones. 

Coupons for diapers... formula... baby goodness.

And now...

An actual can of formula.

"Enfamil Newborn"

I've always loved the smell of baby formula. {With the exception of Alimentum.} And here was a small container of a formula I would never get the pleasure of introducing to precious butterfly Playtex bottles. I contemplated that evening what I would do with an unneeded can of milk... 

Should I save it for the next baby? 

I checked the expiration date. 

Yep, it would still be good. 

Should I donate it to someone who needs it? 

After all there are families with babies who are struggling, 

and formula is expensive.

 Should I open it and do what I know

in my heart I want to do?

Yes.

I opened the can and took a deep

long smell of the familiar,

but very distant smell.

The can sat in my kitchen since the evening I received it. I knew when it was time I would know what to do with it. Last night, one scoop at a time, I held the formula in my hand as I rinsed it down the drain. The smell of fresh baby bottle filled my kitchen, and in an instant it was gone. I smelled my hand after enjoying the faint remainder of the baby bottle that would never be. I tucked the empty can into Savannah's treasure box. 

"Savannah's first bottle" I told myself.

"Savannah's first bottle."