My granddaughter was christened yesterday (she's 18 mos), so of course, she and her development were the topic of the day - for 3 GMs, 2 GFs, 2 GGM along with aunts, friends...
I generally keep the "you should try/ be doing" parenting suggestions to myself, and this was no exception. The discussion amongst a few others got rather intense. DIL will be going back to work this week, and will thus be forced to wean GD. Milk is out of the question for 'moral' reasons. Apparently there is vegan formula in powder form out there (news to me). Amazingly the controversy was not about the 'morality' of the formula itself - it concerned the water. DIL uses mineral water, her own mother says nothing but 'healing water' (must find out what that is) is appropriate. The other grandmother and I just gave each other a look and stayed quiet.
My specific dilemma: Now that I won't be able to give GD pumped mother's milk when I have her, what do I do? Our tap water is NOT potable (above ground water lines). Bottled water is a problem as I do not have a car and can't carry the weight over such a long stretch. We installed a reverse osmosis unit for exactly that reason and use it for everything other than the washing machine, shower and toilet. Can I use this water without saying anything? (In good conscience, probably not.) Do others use this? According to the literature, it's supposed to be good for baby food. What are your suggestions? I'm sure others out here have children with strong ideas about parenting?