Gov'ment Cheese
Friday, November 17, 2006
I went to our county health department and got approved for the WIC Program today. I'm so excited about this! I loved getting my little vouchers, or "food instruments", as they call them. Is it weird that I'm so happy about getting government cheese? Hee hee :) As a pregnant woman with no children, I will receive these items monthly:
80 oz of dry milk (I opted for dry milk because of the connection my midwife sees between regular store-bought milk and GBS....I seem to remember her saying that powdered and canned milk should be safe in that area. The WIC officer said that their program does not give vouchers for soy, rice, or almond milk....yet. I've never had dry milk before, but I usually only use milk on my cereal, so maybe it won't be gross.)
72 oz of juice (half in pourable concentrate cans and half in frozen concentrate....all 100% juice)
2 lbs cheese (No pasteurized-processed cheese-food allowed: only REAL cheese.....which is what we buy anyway. Woohoo!)
2 doz eggs (I sure do go through a lot of eggs around here)
1 lb dry beans or peas (I *heart* beans)
30 oz cereal (must be on the WIC-approved list....but there are plenty of options. Mainly, any type of whole grain cereal that isn't super fancy and expensive)
After the baby comes and I am breastfeeding, I will get a lot more of the foods I listed, plus: tuna, carrots, and *I think* peanutbutter.
I was really impressed with how pro-breastfeeding the office was. The WIC officer that met with me asked how I planned to feed my baby and was very excited when I told her I plan to nurse. She also made sure I knew that it is the best for baby if I breastfeed for the bare minimum of a year. There were La Leche League posters all over the place and signs about the health department's monthly breastfeeding class. I particularly liked the sign that read, "Please feel free to breastfeed anywhere you like."
I suppose it makes sense that a government program that gives vouchers for baby formula would be avid proponents of breastfeeding....the more mothers who breastfeed, the less formula vouchers they have to give out. But still, it's nice to be in an environment that encourages breastfeeding.
On a different subject, I totally missed yesterday's episode of The Office! I'm so sad! Well, DH is currently downloading it for us to watch later, so I'm not COMPLETELY heartbroken. I openly admit that I am addicted to that show and my favorite day of the week is Thursday because of it. The long-running drama between Pam and Jim has me hooked....especially with this "Karen" girl from the Stamford branch moving in on Jim. Yikes. Of course, I love the show for the humor as well. Cracks. Me. Up.
80 oz of dry milk (I opted for dry milk because of the connection my midwife sees between regular store-bought milk and GBS....I seem to remember her saying that powdered and canned milk should be safe in that area. The WIC officer said that their program does not give vouchers for soy, rice, or almond milk....yet. I've never had dry milk before, but I usually only use milk on my cereal, so maybe it won't be gross.)
72 oz of juice (half in pourable concentrate cans and half in frozen concentrate....all 100% juice)
2 lbs cheese (No pasteurized-processed cheese-food allowed: only REAL cheese.....which is what we buy anyway. Woohoo!)
2 doz eggs (I sure do go through a lot of eggs around here)
1 lb dry beans or peas (I *heart* beans)
30 oz cereal (must be on the WIC-approved list....but there are plenty of options. Mainly, any type of whole grain cereal that isn't super fancy and expensive)
After the baby comes and I am breastfeeding, I will get a lot more of the foods I listed, plus: tuna, carrots, and *I think* peanutbutter.
I was really impressed with how pro-breastfeeding the office was. The WIC officer that met with me asked how I planned to feed my baby and was very excited when I told her I plan to nurse. She also made sure I knew that it is the best for baby if I breastfeed for the bare minimum of a year. There were La Leche League posters all over the place and signs about the health department's monthly breastfeeding class. I particularly liked the sign that read, "Please feel free to breastfeed anywhere you like."
I suppose it makes sense that a government program that gives vouchers for baby formula would be avid proponents of breastfeeding....the more mothers who breastfeed, the less formula vouchers they have to give out. But still, it's nice to be in an environment that encourages breastfeeding.
On a different subject, I totally missed yesterday's episode of The Office! I'm so sad! Well, DH is currently downloading it for us to watch later, so I'm not COMPLETELY heartbroken. I openly admit that I am addicted to that show and my favorite day of the week is Thursday because of it. The long-running drama between Pam and Jim has me hooked....especially with this "Karen" girl from the Stamford branch moving in on Jim. Yikes. Of course, I love the show for the humor as well. Cracks. Me. Up.
posted by Unkempt Mommy at 5:54 PM
4 Comments:
Oh, The Office was a good episode this week too. In fact, I think I'm going to watch it again this afternoon.
OH, and it's not "gov'ment cheese" unless it's a 10 lb block of American cheese in a white and black box. We lived on government cheese (and peanut butter) when I was a kid, and I still can't stand American cheese because of it. At least with WIC you can pick out what you want. That's awesome your WIC office is so pro-bfing.
Some WIC offices even provide breast pumps. You never know when you might temporarily have to pump and dump (shudder shudder) due to meds that are not bf friendly.
I have used powdered milk before to save money. To make it palatable mix it up at least the night before you plan on using it.
I'm glad you had a good experience. I've heard WIC horror stories.
We used to drink powdered milk when I was a kid. It reminds me of skim milk. My mom maybe made it watery to last longer though! :o) I love getting free stuff!
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