How We Almost Had to Start Using Formula Crates as Furniture

We had a funny experience this past weekend. Because of her prematurity, Ione is on special formula. The hospital gave us a WIC prescription for it, so I went in to the pharmacy early last week to make the order.

I probably really don't need to set the scene...you've all been in pharmacy lines. There were people everywhere. The impatience could be felt in the air. It was like barely controlled chaos. But, I needed to put the order in, so there I stood with my two kids in the pharmacy line. 

I handed the lady at the counter my WIC slip and explained what we needed, and that I had 5 total orders for the month. She started to panic. She didn't think they could get the formula in time to meet the expiration date of my slips (which I had just been issued that day). After discussions with others in the pharmacy, some computer work, and a phone call she came back and said that she could only get enough in to fill two of my prescription slips before their expiration date, as they'd reached their max order amount for that day (which seemed odd to me, but oh well).

That wasn't the best news, but some formula was better than none and figured we'd just roll with it and see what we could do. So she put in the order and said that it would arrive the next day. 

And it did!

She called me and at the end of the phone call she said, "Now, you'll need to bring someone with you. There's no way you can handle two kids and your shipment." That seemed odd. It was only two orders worth, surely I could handle it. 

So after Cameron got off work we went over to pick the formula up. We got to the pharmacy and we could see "our" basket in the back. It was completely full and overflowing with boxes of formula. It was a mountain of formula! They could barely maneuver the cart it was so full and heavy. Our eyes bugged out. She explained that this was 96 boxes (with 8 bottles each...that's 768 individual bottles!) of formula and that she was going to put another order in on Monday and see if she couldn't get the rest of our shipment in. It made sense then why she couldn't order more the previous day...we probably cleaned the warehouse out. We just stood and stared, and then finally went off pushing this barely mobile cart through Walmart back to the registers. 

Let me tell you, the looks we got were hilarious. There's me with a toddler and a newborn and Cameron pushing the biggest squeakist cart full of just formula. The squeak really made it. It's like it was announcing our arrival to the store and drew even more attention. We felt like we needed a sign, "Hungry baby, clear the path." or "Hoarders Coming Through". We were getting enough awkward stares (not just glances, but stares) that it became really funny and I was just giggling. 

Where were we going to put all of this?! And this was just 2 slips?! We were going to have to start building furniture out of formula boxes. 

We got the register and looked over the prescription slips again and realized a mistake had been made. Each was for 48 2oz. bottles, or 6 of the 8 packs. The pharmacy, understandably trying to go fast to get more people through, had read the one slip as 48 8 packs. It made sense finally why they were feeling so flustered at the idea of trying to get in 5 times that amount! That would have been 240 8 packs! I'm sure grateful there was only a limited amount they could order that first day, bahaha! 

So we got the 30 cases our checks would cover and had to wheel the (still very very full) cart of leftovers back to the pharmacy and explain. The poor lady...once she realized what had happened she laughed...they now had to figure out where to store the rest of the formula until our next order slips are valid. They had ordered enough to fill 2 and a half months worth of prescription slips, thinking that they weren't even ordering enough to fill 1 month's prescription. 

We've been giggling about that ever since. The poor lady was so flustered, and that was the biggest mountain of formula we'd ever seen, and it was just such a weird and funny situation all the way around. We're sure grateful to know though that we're all set on formula for the next little bit and that we don't have to start making couches out of formula cartons. That would take small space living to a whole new level!!