Recently, new mothers everywhere have been in a fantastic (I don't mean awesome, learn context please) fuss over the Similac formula recalls. They found small domestic beetles inside some of the formula and recalled all the formula just to be safe. I don't know about any of you, but I distinctly remember a five year old filipino boy in my kindergarten class that admitted to eating a whole praying mantis and living to tell the tale. Honestly, kids eat dirt and bugs and all kinds of gross things no one wants to think about. They wipe their snot on their hands and wipe those cute little screw-on hands on things other kids touch. It's just a fact of life that your children will get messy and dirty and in general be gross.
The message of today is, new moms take a breath. Similac has already released a statement saying that the little creepy crawling beetle parts won't harm your baby. I'm inclined to believe them, three children and the annual battle with the flu and strep throat later. Eating a little bug leg won't hurt your baby, I promise. There are scarier things out there than a little bug leg in some formula if you happen to miss it and don't scoop it out. Try this one on for size. Anything put on your skin absorbs into your blood stream within 27 seconds, so if you ate something with peanut oil in it with your hand and touch your baby...well, baby has it's first peanut exposure and you may be stuck with an allergy later down the road.
All Moms that have been around the child raising block a few times will tell you two things. The first it that you will always be the most panicked and overprotective of your first child. They will also tell you to stop, because this is how your baby is going to develop an immune system since you're not giving them your antibodies through breastfeeding.
Now, I don't mean to say you should ignore your child when it's about to roll off the couch and just let it fall so it will learn. I mean, calm down and really assess the situation. One bug leg in the only can of formula that wasn't returned during the recall dates doesn't mean to raise the alarm or start a lawsuit against Similac. It means you just need to dig the little sucker out, toss the can if it makes you feel better, and move on. Maybe call your mother or a best girlfriend for moral support. But if you want your baby to be healthy, it needs a chance to get sick once in awhile. Don't stray from the normal precautions, but if there is a kid at school with chicken pox and your child didn't get the vaccine, have a play date. Don't wait until the child is sixteen to get chicken pox. Get it while they're still little enough that it won't be too severe. Let em eat a little dirt, it's good for them. (Ok, maybe not. But let them get away with it once anyway.)
Don't fight a losing battle, compromise with yourself.
Love, Polly.
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