On another forum I go to, a lady has made a plea for help and so I am going to copy and paste her thread so you can read it. I don't know much about what she is talking about because I live in Canada however some of you may know or may be able to help out. If so, let me know and I will pass along the information to her. HELP please Formula Coupons/Checks... Hi, I know many of you are breastfeeding only so please dont flame me.I would have preferred to breastfeed also. As many of you know I had a preemie born 10 weeks early and he spent over a month in NICU so was fed bottles. He never took to breastfeeding , I think the bottles in NICu were a factor and also he has severe gerd and cannot lie down so would always scream when we did attempt to breastfeed. It was very important for me to breastfeed and I have shed many tears over not being able to and have felt like a failure. I was able to pump for 2 1/2 months after a horrible yeast infection, clogged ducts and pump trauma. Finally I was not producing any milk any more only 1 - 1 1/2 ounces at a time and my baby was constantly screaming when I needed to pump due to reflux . So it was either pump that little bit or comfort him. I know that was long ,but to the point of the post now. We had to switch to formula and he is severly allergic to milk and is on hypoallergenic formula Alimentum (simlilac brand) nutramigen (enfamil brand). It costs $8.49 to feed him per day .(which is a huge strain on our budget) He can only tolerate ready to feed due to reflux. So I am asking any one who is breastfeeding and getting forumla checks coupons that you dont use . Please pass them on to me if you can. It would be a great help to us. This is killing our budget. I got the idea since someone was so kind and blessed me with some. So if they just get thrown away at your house I would put them to good use. Thanks to anyone who can help.You can PM me for my address
Formula checks sounds like a WIC voucher, which you have to qualify for. No one is throwing those away.
Well actually there was one reply to that thread - the lady had a whole bunch to get rid of and she sent them to this lady. I did see a post about WIC (or something like that) and something about over qualifying by $21. If nothing else we can pray for them - I can't imagine that kind of burden.
the special formula is provided by wic if she gets a doctors prescription for it. I know because I had to do this and went through the whole sagwa with the twins, it was terrible, you do feel like a failure (although my reason for only getting such a small amount of milk was because my body still though I was pregnant) I feel really bad for the lady. Brenda please tell her how I had the same experience with my twins. I feel for her. Also I think the coupons she is refering to is the kind that new mothers get in the mail (from compeeting brands) for a free or reduced amound of their formula to try. and possibly they are good on her type of formula needed. (it seamed like I got so many of those coupons, from the doctor, form the hospital, form some kind of baby magazine..... and so on). Also perhaps some of us can request coupons from the companies?? But Brenda if she is in the united states tell her wic will cover the special formula....with some persuasion from the childs doctor.
I just saw your part of your post where she doesn't qualify for wic by $21, I would tell them to figure out how to redece the income by that much.... so they can qualify, because the amount of the formula plus her getting the chese, milk, peanutbutter, cereal and stuff will out way that amount, as stupid as the system sounds its true. At least until the baby doesn't need the formula.
I agree with Aball, tell them to find a way to make there income a smaller even if they have to have the boss hand that much money cash or something it would be worth it to go on wic. But, if for some reason they can't talk to the doctor I know when my dd was on it. I talked to the doctor and he gave me lots of free sample and coupons. Some times it can be written out as medication or special and the insurance will pay for it. Just ask her to try it.
I once overqualified for childcare help by $5, and they would not let me slide! They said they had to draw a line. They said what if the next person overqualifies by 10.00, should they be let by too? What about a person who's over by 20.00? I got their point, but it still stank. I was single then, too, and they still wouldn't help me out.
No, Wic vouchers are good at any grocery store that accepts them but has to carry all the items that can be gotten with wic. In Washington it wasn't that bad for getting wic, you had to write down a typical days diet once in a while to show you are using the stuff, but in Arizona they make you go to a class every so often (per child recieving) and for me it was an aggrivation, the twins had aged out and they cut Donald off at a younger age even though he was under weight and on Chemo.
Giving WIC vouchers to another person, I would think, would be considered Welfare Fraud and could get a person (both the giver and the givee) in lots of trouble. At the very least, you would lose them altogether. Saving manufacturer's coupons and sending to someone needing them is fine. I agree wholeheartedly with what ABall said. I breastfed all three kids, and feel it's the best. But sometimes it just doesn't work out. You do the best you can. No child is going to be maladjusted for the rest of their life simply because they were bottle-fed! I wish there was a way we could reassure her that it's OK!!! There's so much more involved than just that.
Tanner was on that Alimentum (sp?) for the first 6-8 months. It is about $20 for a small can. For regular formula it's about half that. It is corn based formula which is a natural laxitive so it is easier for babies to digest. Many babies who are colicy are put on it (that's the reason for Tanner) because it is very easily digestible. I have to say it worked great for him, but it was extremely expensive. Tanner's doctor was great about it and would let me call weekly to see if they got any shipments in for samples. They would get full cans of the stuff to give to parents of colicy babies and because of the cost and the low-need for it at the time, he let me take whatever they had when I called. I can understand what this mom is going through and will pray. As for our next baby, I will definitly be breastfeeding. I just have to put my own insecurities aside. I don't want the huge formula bill again. Diapers are expensive enough by themselves.
LOL LOL LOL!!! Ask the hubby! I would be willing to have one right now, but he says he'd like to wait another year or two once Tanner is 5 or so. His mom and my mom are even telling him to get on the horn!
I got WIC for Kevin and I thought they made them out to me. I know you get a list of stores that will take them. There's a store here that used to refuse to give certain things, like brown eggs or certain cheeses. I reported their hiney and some time after they stopped accepting vouchers.
Do you think maybe they've changed things since then Becky? I don't know much about it, so I wouldn't know, just wondering.
I think making them out to just one person would make it difficult to use. If you're a single mom, it's conceivable that you and a friend might trade off going shopping, or your mother might go for you, or whatever. With YOUR name on it, you wouldn't have as much freedom to do something like that. (But since when has our government ever taken that into consideration?)
Jen tell him to get on the ball 5 years is along time. The kids can do things together. If they are closer.
Oh, I don't know how WIC works now. Remember, that was almost 20 years ago now that I used it. I wouldn't be surprised to hear they switched to a plastic card, like social services gives instead of food stamps. To me, that would be easier than those paper vouchers.
I do remember having to show ID at the store, so maybe just in MD they are made out to the individual. Then again, that was probably just a rule of that funky store I had to use. There are few stores around here that even take WIC vouchers now.
