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Baby formula shortage poses drastic problem for Chamblee mother of twins
In the midst of the baby formula shortage, a Chamblee mother says she spends hours out of the day to search for baby formula for her two babies. She says she can not find her one specific formula for her babies, leading up to her searching about 20-25 stores and looking in other states.
CHAMBLEE, Ga. - Quinn Shealey of Chamblee, a mother of five and realtor, feels like she has a new full-time job: trying to find infant formula for her twins.
"Yesterday, I visited 25 stores, called upwards of 50 stores," Shealey says. "No one has it."
Her girls, 6-month-old Alani and Alana, were born nearly two months prematurely, landing them in the neonatal ICU.
Shealey breastfeeds, but says she cannot produce nearly enough milk to feed them.
Both girls are allergic to cow's milk and have other digestive issues that limit what they can eat.
"So, the only formula they can have is Nutramigen," Shealey says. "I can't really try anything else; it's this one particular formula."
The problem? Shealey can't find it, anywhere.
6-month-old Alani and Alana were born nearly two months prematurely, landing them in the neonatal ICU.
US IMPORTING BABY FORMULA FROM MEXICO TO EASE SHORTAGE
"Yesterday, I was only able to, because I still work, I was only able to go to about 15 stores," she says. "On average, I visit maybe 20 to 25 stores a day."
The afternoon after she spoke to FOX 5 Atlanta, Shealey says, she visited a Kroger, CVS, Walmart, Whole Foods and 3 other stores.
She found nothing.
"I have grocery managers calling other states for me, that's how much my community knows how bad the situation is for me," Shealey says."
"And, at this point, I don't know what to do because I physically can't feed my children."
It's been 4 months since the country's largest infant formula producer Abbott recalled its baby formula products and shut down its Michigan plant amid safety concerns, after 2 infants died and 2 more developed serious bacterial infections after consuming formula.
The plant reopened June 4, then shut down again June 13th because of severe storm damage.
Shealey says her girls are now going 4 or 5 days without any formula.
"And, no one's talking about it," she says. "When I call places to try and figure it out, it's 'Well, you know, it's a shortage! There's nothing we can do." There has to be something we can do to feed children. We're talking about infants that can't... we're supposed to be advocates for them. We're supposed to be providers, and I cannot do that!"
Quinn Shealey of Chamblee, Georgia, says she is visiting as many as 20 to 25 stores a day in metro Atlanta, looking for the infant formula her 6-month-old twins need.
Shealey says she found a sample can through the girls' pediatrician, and two more from a mom in her Facebook group, but that's it.
One mother in the group offered her breast milk, which Shealey says she couldn't take because of the twins' allergies and safety issues.
"Unfortunately, there is no way to stretch the milk," she says.
Following the pediatrician's advice, she says, she is not diluting the formula or trying to make her own, both of which are not recommended.
For now, she is mixing in fillers like baby cereal, and feeding them apple juice and water.
On home video, she gives one of the twins a bottle of water.
"This is the third water bottle of the day," Shealey tells the camera. "And this time she's not really interested... (she's) getting frustrated."
Shealey says she can tell the girls are hungry.
"They're not sleeping through the night," she says. "One of my daughters, I know she's extremely tired. It's hard for her to stay asleep because they're not full, they're hungry!
The White House is airlifting formula from Europe and trucking it in from plants in Mexico, trying to shore up the US supply, but Shealey still can't find the formula they need, and she knows she is not the only one.
She says parents need help.
"We're not getting answers, and that is what's scary for me: no one has an answer as to when this problem will be solved," Shealey says. "Come up with a plan, let us know what the plan is, so that we're not left in limbo. We need to know where we go from here."
The formula Shealey needs is a hypoallergenic powdered infant formula made by Mead Johnson, which has been affected by supply chain issues.
This weekend, Shealey says her mother managed to find two small liquid bottles of Nutramigen at a local store.
She says someone tried to take the bottles out of her mother's cart as she was waiting to purchase them.