Baby formula shortage sends East Tennessee moms on the hunt

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Knoxville mom, Amanda Jablonski, said she drives up to an hour and a half on her day off to search for her 7-month-old son’s formula.

That’s because he’s allergic to dairy.

“It’s one of those things that it’s like, does your kid just not eat or do you like just pray that this isn’t going to hurt his little belly,” Jablonski questioned.

For a couple of months now she’s been having trouble tracking down “Pure Amino.” She went to her son’s GI doctor a couple weeks ago and said the doctor couldn’t find any samples.

“My first thought was like this is a baby belly doctor for babies that need, you know, special care. And if they can’t get it then I’m sure as heck not going to be able to find it anywhere,” Jablonski said.

Amanda Shults in Sevierville said she switched formulas a few times for her 10-month-old daughter because of the shortage.

Now she’s trying the Costco formula.

“It’s been hard because it’s 20 dollars a can. That adds up and it gets expensive but she eats food on top of the formula so I’m thankful for that,” Shults said.

Kimberly Floyd lives in Clinton and has full custody of her 4-month-old great niece who has been on Enfamil ever since Similac was recalled a couple months ago.

Floyd said she checked her local Walmart, Food City and Ingles at least two to three times a day, but she’s getting desperate.

She has two containers left which often lasts about a week.

“I’ve got relatives. I’ve posted on Facebook if people find this kind, let me know, I’ll be glad to meet you and pick it up and reimburse you. It’s just been impossible,” Floyd said.

Jablonski said she’s got about a week’s worth of cans right now as well.

“Every day I wake up on my day off and I’m like packing him up and we go hunting for formula,” Jablonski explained.

She calls pharmacies in Knox County daily.

“The Kroger over here knows my number when it comes up on their caller ID,” Jablonski said.

But the answer is the same.

“They have no formula. They can’t get it from their distributor,” Jablonski said.

There are possible solutions. In a pinch you can check with hospitals and emergency rooms. A pediatrician told CBS News if your baby is over 6 months, you can increase baby foods, but shouldn’t replace formula completely. You can also try to order on the formula website or Amazon.

You should not switch to cow’s milk until the baby is at least a year old, since it can put the child at risk for intestinal bleeding.

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