Born in 1945, I was a bottle baby. There were no commercial formula products.

[Hekate]

74. Maybe. Several days ago I hunted for the old one that MinMan produced -- and couldn't find...

…exactly what I remembered. I was born in 1947 and am the big sister (I was pressed into diaper service at age 6, and was proud of being thought so responsible) meaning I remember a lot of things first hand.

Anyhow, I couldn't find the “real” recipe, and am glad MinMan did. What I did find was people tweaking the recipe to reduce the sweetener (wrong — mother’s milk is sweet because babies need the sugars) and scolding comments from wet-behind-the-ears doctors who thought homemade was actively dangerous and that the only acceptable substitute for mother’s milk was something expensive produced in a factory.

I understand the desire to have something nutritionally perfect. My gods do I understand that. I also understand the desire to go natural and breast feed — I did LaMaze births and I nursed my two kids for 13 months each.

But here’s the dirty little secret about the wave of going natural in the 1970s: we can’t all do it, and if I had had any kind of supportive advice whatsoever I could have been spared 2 years of mostly agony from cracked nipples and clogged ducts. I was determined as hell to do the right thing — and it never got better for long.

My babies grew plump and healthy and came out smart as anything — but I am here to tell you that my Mom’s babies also grew plump and healthy and came out smart as anything on the homemade formula from canned milk she used, after she was actively discouraged from doing what came so naturally to her, which was breastfeed.

There are indeed babies who can’t digest cow’s milk, and there are other gut conditions and medical conditions as well — they need the factory-made formulas all the time, and god bless them.

But I would say the majority of infants will be more than adequately nourished by the very same recipe in the OP. Boil the water, use clean bottles and nipples — store in the refrigerator at once. Give the baby pediatric liquid vitamin supplements. And for gods’ sake don’t think you are harming your child permanently.

When I answered “maybe” to your question it’s because I really don’t know what alternatives folks are coming up with these days to try to cheaply achieve something as complicated as the expensive brand name items. A chemistry set, right? Or the (expensive) items in a “health food store.” I just know fads come and go and I’d be wary.

Resume what you’re comfortable with when the shortage eases, and all the best to you and your little one.