Nestle launches first innovative (!!) complete feeding system for babies

[Meercat]

I agree it is a bit dissapointing.

Is there a similar thread about any of the the other contraptions out to make mothers lives easier? I have the Avent steamer that flips over to blend the food. Am I lazy for purchasing that?

I doubt very much the machine would be allowed for sale if it didnt meet health regulations for preparing formula?

I get so much hassel IRL for breastfeeding. Sometimes it feels like the the FF Mamas get just as much if not more

[Traveller]

Delphmoon, I think a funky machine for formula preparation would be great for those mums who can afford it, and who choose (or need) to formula feed. But it must be safe, and this cannot be. Formula power is not sterile, and this product could lead to infections and/or deaths. Nestle are doing their typical trick of not releasing information about the product in a language that will address the concerns of their critics (ie not in english), and are actively advertising their formula for children under the age of 6 months in a direct breach of the WHO international recommendations for the marketing of infant formula.

However I do like the idea of single serve packets for the formula, and a machine to ensure it is prepared safely sounds great to me. The problem is that will take a lot longer than a minute which would negate the "convenience" aspect of a machine to do a kettle's work.

[Roryrory]

However I do like the idea of single serve packets for the formula

Yeah but like I said, what about all the waste?? I've nothing against the machine (other than the fact that I hate gadgets which eventually create landfill) but what about all those pods?

Sorry Trav, I don't mean to pick on you personally

[helle]

Does anyone know how it actually works before we start declaring it's gonna kill babies?

What if it boils water, adds the formula and then adds cool previously boiled water to make it the right temp? Ya know... Like how mums do it?

[Tinks]

I get so much hassel IRL for breastfeeding. Sometimes it feels like the the FF Mamas get just as much if not more

You're right Meercat, you can't win either way.

[Phteven]

I doubt very much the machine would be allowed for sale if it didn't meet health regulations for preparing formula?

Why do you doubt that? Governments all over the world allow unsafe stuff be marketed. In Australia we can buy foods with all sorts of additives that are banned in other countries because they are so toxic.

As for all the other machines that makes mother's lives easier.... TBH I don't think that they make our lives easier so much as they clutter up our homes, fill up our washing machines and contribute to landfill. Funnily enough I survived without a machine to wrap nappies, a machine to blend food, a machine to rock my baby or a machine to mix up bottles.
Parents can get by just fine without at least 50% of the junk they sell in baby shops, probably more.

[delphmoon]

Surely the amount this machine costs combined with the huge cost the formula must be in all those individual containers would be enough to pay for good lactation support or a killer electric double pump.

This gadget is really for the "I didn't want to breastfeed" market so they can't be getting up in arms about comments on the inferiority of formula.

I had the lactation support AND I had the super dooper expensive pump (a couple actually) and still I struggled...for months and months.....

Don't make assumptions that people who don't breastfeed make the choice because they don't want...from what I see here on BB most FF because they physically can't breastfeed. Wh not let us horrible FFing mothers have alittle luxury...???

[Roryrory]

but what about the waste?

anyone?

really, both BF anf FF mummys should be trying to eliminate as much landfill as possible. both BF anf FF babies will inherit the rubbish we leave behind....

[BellyBelly]

I get so much hassel IRL for breastfeeding. Sometimes it feels like the the FF Mamas get just as much if not more

Friends? Family? General public? I breastfed my two until they were 2 and 3 respectively. I got not one comment from the public or friends, even while breastfeeding my 2 year old in a stand at the Parents, Babies and Children's expo where loads of people were walking around. My family were unsure at first being the first grandchild but it didn't take long. Surround yourself with a positive cheersquad, hang out with people who support you and your choices. The more you believe something, the more you'll see it, and the worse you'll feel. But you can shift that by being around supportive people. The ABA has regular mothers groups for starters.

Rory - I have used a pod machine before and I agree it is very environmentally unfriendly.

[delphmoon]

I just read the guidelines and it seems I didn't prepare formula to the WHO standards either . So, it doesn't make me care any more or less.

hmmm, me neither...bad BAD mummy!

[BellyBelly]

Your words, not ours ladies. So please don't blame us for labelling.

[Junglemum]

These topics always end up the same way. People who FF feel like it's an attack on them, or unsupportive. And it's always the same, others point out that no one can make you feel bad, it's something you do all on your own. We all make decisions and do the best we can with what we are given. It's not for us to judge or feel judged, but the truth is that many people aren't making informed decisions. These kinds of threads aren't really to make anyone feel bad, but i see them more as helping inform people of the facts.

I'm not a fan of Nestle. Nestle are unethical. I live in a country where a tin of formula is about a weeks wage, and yet i see many women formula feeding because they think it is best for their baby. They see the signs, they see other white women bottle feeding and think that is what's best. These a facts they have told me, not something i am making up. People are amazed and stare when they see me, a white woman breast feeding. So i do it everywhere i can as publicly as i can and i tell anyone who will listen how important it is to BF their babies. Not only because it is the most nutritional thing for them but because they live in poverty and it's free. There i am, one person in a small village in the middle of a huge country changing the minds of perhaps a few. But everywhere i turn, TV, billboards, shops there is Nestle promoting their products.

This particular product wont effect the women of PNG, because they could never afford it, they can barely afford to eat. This is obviously aimed at more affluent people, perhaps people who are a little more educated, informed and are able to make an informed decision on their own. But that's not the point, the point is that this company are doing the wrong thing on so many levels, for me this is just another strike for them.

The same company promotes 2 minute noodles as a balanced meal?! So instead of buying cheap fresh vegetables to feed the family, a family of 5 will share a pack of noodles for dinner?!
I'm sorry Nestle, but that just isn't right.

[Beautiful Disaster]

I think making the comment that FF results in a higher rate of leukaemia in children is pretty much guaranteed to make FF mums feel pretty bad Kelly!

Absolutly LuluHB

As someone who is already living with a crap load of guilt for not being able to BF this comment has just made it 100 times worse. Thanks

[Meercat]

Friends, Family and General Public. Most of my friends are younger than me... so I am really the first person they might have seen breastfeeding and I know I am the first person even my older friends and family have seen breastfeed past 6 months (DD is 14 months now and still going)

I am proud that I am showing them it CAN be done, it IS normal and it that Formula Feeding doesnt have to be the first choice.

BUT

I think that sometimes we forget that every single aspect of motherhood is a choice and that includes what and how we feed our children. I would never tell a FF mama that she is doing the wrong thing and I expect the same respect in return. It is one thing to educate and another to be so caught up in what we think is right we forget that some mamas dont have the choices we do.

Sometimes it reminds me of the south park episode where people start driving hybrid cars and become so in love with how much they are doing to save the environment the love the smell of their own farts!

(PLEASE PLEASE ladies that is a JOKE. I dont think anyone here loves the smell of their own farts... unless they do and hey that is fine )

In my mothers group only one mum Formula fed. We all knew it was because she tried and tired and just couldnt make it work. We made a huge effort not to make her feel bad because she wasnt breastfeeding, and even then she would sometimes have to leave the room because seeing us feed our babies upset her. I wouldnt dare blast her for buying something like this, just like I wouldnt want her scoffing at me buying a nursing pillow.

[LuluHB]

Kelly - I absolutely agree that we all need to know the risks that are possible with FFing and there are plenty of articles, threads and comments that point out those risks. Contrary to one of your posts, I am not low, defensive, guilty or anything else for FFing my girls. I did it out of necessity and I have absolutely no regrets about doing it. I do, however, have disappointments but that is a completely different thing.

Many mums FF out of necessity. It seems whenever one of these topics comes up there is the seemingly inevitable breast v. bottle debate. I quite honestly think its a pretty cheap shot to throw in the old leukaemia/delayed development/reduced intelligence or whatever else comment that is nearly always thrown in. We KNOW breast is best for our babies and we know WHY breast is best. Is it really appropriate to continually tell those of us that don't have a choice that we have not done the absolute best by our child, despite the fact that what is best is out of our reach? Its a bit like telling the person who bought a car with a 4 star safety rating that they really should have gone out and bought a Volvo with a 5 star safety rating, despite the fact that it is priced out of their range.

Meercat - I absolutely agree that motherhood is about making informed choices. You do the best you can and then stand by the choice you made as being the best you can do. But how we feed our babies is not always a choice. It seems that that is often overlooked. Its not a case that we should have just tried harder, put up with the pain, seen a lactation consultant or whatever. It just simply doesn't work for everyone - for a whole number of reasons.

[DANNIIM]

LuluHB - re your comment on how some ff'ers felt offended by my comment. A question: would you prefer to not know about risks of using formula at all? (and as a result, no-one on BB know). How about for our children not to know the risks in case they feel guilty? I think its important when weighing up a decision to do it or not, if you are in a position to make a choice. So many things are messed up in the process when you know that only 1% of women will have a medical reason to not physically be able to breastfeed, and as a country we have very low breastfeeding rates and they drop off quickly with age. Survival as a species wasn't a problem, but we didnt have as much interference as we do now. Thats why it's more important than ever to get educated, informed and learn, just like you would before buying a car or a home - even a dishwasher.

Someone said, its the same to me as buying a dishwasher. If I didn't have a compelling answer then there is no contrast, the rabbit hole goes way deeper.


Kelly my comment about the dishwasher i think you may have misinterpreted!! I said how many people use dishwashers and they don't always clean our dishes correctly (which in turn could cause bacterial blah blah blah) but no one blinks an eyelid at how much people spend on dishwashers. When it could have been just as easy to fill a sink full of nice hot soapy water and wash them yourself. But some of us choose not to do that because it is easier to stack a dishwasher flick a button and unpack it later. It's all about todays society and we all do what we need at the time to make our life easier. Same as the product that is being debated.

Yes and i totally agree as said before about needing more support and education for mums out there. Maybe the government should help with this and it might just help alleviate some of the problems associated with debilitated health system at the same time or at least make sure Child Health Nurses are properly trained to give correct advice.

We need more money invested into breastfeeding, but, no-one will be making money from it, so it will remain a dormant issue which will only get exposure through mothers talking, and people donating money to causes like the ABA.

delphmoon - I don't see any bashing going on.

[Junglemum]

I love the smell of my own farts..... i thought everyone did??

[Meercat]

Oh good not just me! I can now admit mine smell pretty special lol