How much baby formula do you need for emergencies?
災害時用の粉ミルクはどのくらい必要？
Can I continue breastfeeding after a disaster? If so, I don’t need to prepare a lot of baby formula.
My baby will start eating solid baby food soon, so I don’t need to get a lot of formula.
If I bought lots of baby formula, it would be a waste!!
Everybody needs to know that many baby mamas can not simply breastfeed at will, anytime, anywhere. The reasons for this are varied, and I’m not going to go into the details of why. Just know that many moms do struggle with breastfeeding, through no fault of their own; breastfeeding can be extremely difficult.
As you know, breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to promote the health and well-being of the child, but moms are not always up to the task.
Fortunately, nowadays, we can get good-quality baby formula. This helps many moms a lot.
But what’s a mom supposed to do after a major disaster? It takes time for relief supplies, including baby formula, to reach affected areas. How are you going to prepare your baby formula? How will you get the water you need to make it?
Prepare Water!!
Disaster preparedness for pregnant women and small babies, part 3 #105.
Need to know
▪︎ You don’t know what kind of formula you’ll be able to get for your baby, at an emergency shelter. You won’t have the luxury of being picky about what kind of formula you get, you won’t have a choice. But in a real emergency, you’ll be grateful to get what you get, no matter what kind it is. You’ll appreciate that — if you can get baby formula — you’ll be lucky! Alright, so under the circumstances, you can’t be too particular about the type of formula, but at least you can be particular about the way you prepare it…
▪︎ When you use baby formula, you need water. Do you know how to boil water in an emergency? And maybe more importantly, do you know how to make a fire?
▪︎ Do you have any extra baby bottles that are lightweight, unbreakable, and easy to wash?
▪︎ Do you know you might not be able to get the correct type of nipple for your baby, in an emergency? A given nipple won’t fit every baby. Some babies have strong preferences for nipple shape, size and material.
▪︎ Do you know all the items you will have to carry, for yourself, your family, and your baby, for an evacuation?
How to start a fire?
Can you start fire for cooking in an emergency? #20
How to prepare
1. Types of formula.
Ready-to-feed liquid formula
Liquid formula is the best for your emergency stockpile in your home. If you suffer a power outage or a water outage, this style will enable you to feed your baby.
▪︎ Plastic bottle
▪︎ Can
▪︎ Paper
▪︎ Pouch
Remember, the disposable types will make a lot of waste.
Powdered formula
▪︎ Can (traditional metal can)
▪︎ Tub (plastic container)
▪︎ Stick type (single serve packets)
With this style, you don’t need a measuring spoon to scoop the powder.
▪︎ Cube type
2. Baby bottles and nipples
You might not be able to wash your baby bottles and nipples in a serious emergency.
After using a baby bottle, if you don’t wash it, germs can grow quickly. But in an emergency situation, it might be a big mistake to use water just to wash something instead of drinking it. The priority is drinking water, not washing.
For this reason, you should have disposable baby bottles and nipples for emergencies.
Ready-to-use disposable baby bottles
chu-bo!
Clovis baby
Inner bags for feeding bottles
Kaneson
If your baby has a strong preference for nipple shape, size or material,
inner bags let you use your baby’s favorite bottle.
With these bags, you don’t need to wash the baby bottle, but you do still need to wash the nipple.
Feeding cup for an emergency
Pigeon
3. Spoon!
Using a spoon might be the last resort to feed baby.
After a major disaster, keeping a clean baby bottle and nipple is very hard. You should know how to feed baby with a spoon or cup.
Spoons are easily cleaned. If you can find alcohol, use a little of it to disinfect your spoon, and then let it air dry. You have to be resourceful in emergencies.
It’s just temporary. It is not perfect, but it’s better than nothing.
Have you ever dropped your spoon on the ground?
I used to wipe the spoon with the clothes I was wearing.
Is that just me???
Example video
Please take a look at this video of a 2-day-old baby. You will be surprised. Believe it or not, newborn babies can drink baby formula from a spoon or a cup.
It looks like a human feeding a human, not like a car fueling up in the gas station.
Flash P Ak
When it was hard to get baby bottles, a long time ago, people used to feed their babies like this.
Clean baby bottles were very rare back then. If our ancestors could do it, we can do it too!!
⚠️
Please try to find similar products where you live. I introduce many Japanese products in this post, but you don’t have to shop for exactly the same products. We always need to consider what we can use as replacements, especially in an emergency.
Tips
1. If your baby is ready to start eating solid food, I recommend you make the switch. (But don’t start solid food in the middle of a major crisis. At least wait until things settle down.)
It’s difficult to carry both grown up food and formula, at the same time. If you can switch your baby’s diet from formula to solid food (like apples or oatmeal), then do it. Then you and your baby can eat from the same supplies. That way, if baby formula becomes hard to find, you’re still covered.
However, you have to be careful about this. Disasters are challenging enough as it is, you don’t want to make a major dietary change in the middle of an already stressful situation. Wait until your situation is relatively stable before you switch your baby over to solid food.
Personally, I couldn’t wait for my kids start eating solid food.
We made the switch at 7 months old.
They showed me an interested face when I was eating.
It was hard to carry baby formula all the time.
My mom bag was too heavy.
It was enough to carry all the diapers, extra clothes, and other baby supplies…
2. Use the rolling stock (first in, first out) system.
Managing your emergency supplies using “first in, first out” approach requires more effort, but to reduce waste, it’s important. If you need a refresher on the first-in/first-out approach, please see Post #42.)
Most babies will stop drinking baby formula when the time comes. It will not be forever. Try to not make a lot of waste in your home.
Rolling stock!!
How to avoid wasting the food in your long-term emergency stockpile #42.
3. How much baby formula
▪︎ Mom’s bag
You should always carry extra baby formula for emergencies. How far will you and your baby be from your home? Calculate how much baby formula you will need, before you go anywhere. You might need to get back home, on foot. How many hours will you need to get home, walking?
I used to bring extra formula in my mom bag: 4 times the normal amount.
Two times powdered baby formula, in small containers. One stick type.
And one ready-to-feed liquid formula in case I accidentally dropped the powdered formula
or something else unexpected happened.
I would also carry hot water in a Thermos.
Assuming you can get hot water (or even luke water), it is a good idea to carry extra baby formula in small plastic bags, prepackaged inner bags for feeding bottles, or stick or cube types, in your mom bag.
▪︎ Evacuation bag
Even though your baby might not need it, you should set up at least 3 days of baby formula in your evacuation bag. Do not expect to be able to use your stroller during and after disasters!!
If I were you, I would set up a can of powdered baby formula in my evacuation bag, along with water, spoon, and a cup.
Mom, you need water too for taking care of your baby.
I prefer to use the limited space in my evacuation bag for baby formula, rather than extra baby bottles and nipples.
Every time you get new baby formula, use rolling stock, and avoid waste.
Babies grow up! Be patient for just a few months!
▪︎ Stock at home
I recommend stocking baby formula for 1 week at least. (For example: a new born baby might need to eat 8 times a day for 7 days. 8 x 7 = 56. So you should stock 56 meals.) And then implement rolling stock. Use the older stuff first, before it goes bad, and replace it with new stuff.
If your baby is born in the cold season, you can stock baby formula in your car for evacuations. All stock in your home can be at risk in a major emergency. If you have a cool space somewhere outside of your home, it will be a good place for your emergency stockpile.
If your family or friends live near you, you can ask them to keep your baby formula temporarily. (Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.)
The place to keep.
Before buying emergency water #4.
I used to put a can of powdered baby formula in the coldest place in my home.
And I used a rolling stock system. I set up water in the car.
4. Substitute for baby formula in the worst-case scenario.
▪︎ Use ground rice, oatmeal, wheat flour etc.
Soaking ground, dried goods with water might help your baby temporarily, in a worst-case scenario. It’s not enough nutrition but it’s better than nothing. Our ancestors used to do that. Plus they would add sugar.
Another thing you can do is to find bread or crackers,
break it into small pieces, and then soak the pieces in water.
Finally, you can give your baby the liquid that rises to the top.
Bread and crackers might be easier to find than baby formula under dire circumstances.
But please use this technique at your own risk.
▪︎ Find animals.
A long time ago, animals’ milk was the most common source of artificial feeding. Please do not forget about that.
We can drink animals’ milk, like from cows, goats, sheep, donkeys, camels, pigs and horses.
▪︎ Find a person who can be a wet nurse for your baby.
Wet nursing might be the safest way to feed a baby, in the worst-case scenario. But you might need to help feed the wet nurse to help her produce breast milk.
I already finished taking care of my babies. I like to say “the babyhood goes by so quickly.” But at the time, I felt it was a very long ordeal. I was lucky we didn’t experience any major disasters. Yes… I just say I was lucky.
Parents, family and society have a duty to protect all children. Preparing emergency baby formula, food and water is a big challenge.
But we must!!
See you next time.
Remember, “Protect your life by yourself” （自分の命は自分で守る). You need to survive first, and then you need your emergency supply. No matter how well you prepared your emergency supplies, if you die, then all of your preparations will have been for nothing. First and foremost, keep your health up all the time. Build your stamina so that if you need to, you can evacuate as quickly as possible. Stay healthy.
