Anyone remember National Dried Milk?

I remember the "baby orange" juice, the malt extract that you licked off a spoon - and, my absolute favourite Rosehip syrup.

When I moved to Sweden I discovered that "rosehip soup" was a thing!

Babies with acute fevers in hospital in the late '40s were fed NDM but got Ostermilk if they were accustomed to Ostermilk.I think there was half cream and full cream NDM to choose from according to babies' digestions.

Mae, the wartime rations were adequate to maintain good health, after the war too the rations were adequate so I guess your mum's bad health was not due to rationing. Many fed better under rationing than they fed before the war.

My older DD had National Dried milk, she had dreadful colic even when breastfed and it was the only milk which suited her.

The orange juice was lovely.
I had Sister Laura's, apparently.

Sarnia

I don't want to hijack this topic but another GN has mentioned orange juice, so here goes.
Did anyone out there have a spoonful of Virol every day? I loved the malt flavoured stickiness. It was given to toddlers to build them up. I was very put out when the Virol was replaced by a daily cod liver oil capsule. Yuck!

Yes, I had Virol!

My Dad was always "inventing" something - he made a bedwarmer out of an empty National Dried Milk tin by putting a light bulb inside it and plugging it into the mains.
I only found this out after wondering why some of our woollen blankets (utility marked) were singed!

I remember NDM very well although my mother fed us on Ostermilk.
NDM was used in hospitals both for newborns and older babies.I did my midwifery training in 1966-67, and NDM was the milk of choice for non breast feeding mothers.I dd the first part of my training in a well known London maternity hospital where the mothers had a choice of baby milk, one of which was Carnation!

In the nineteen forties Iremember us being given this at school. It was very welcome at home and we ate it by the spoonful. It was lovely.

SueDonim

I also recall that when I had my sons in the 70’s tins of evaporated milk had instructions on the side on how to dilute it to make it suitable for babies feeds!

I remember reading that, too. IIRC it needed to be diluted to a particular extent, and have some sugar added - breast milk apparently being very sweet!

I loved Rosehip syrup and haliborange not spelt correctly but they sent your tongue bright orange . If we are going down memory lane lardy cakes that where so full of lard the page bag was greasy loads of sugar and plump dried fruits . Buying broken biscuits out the corner shop that was someone's front room of their house. Big tubs of pork dripping in butchers shops which always had spring of rosemary on top. Pure white with a lovely brown tasty jelly under it. Lovely on proper toast ,toasted in front of a real fire . 😋

National Dried Milk tins were used by my dad to store maggots for fishing 🤢

They were kept in the cupboard under the stairs and I used to like shaking them (for the rattling sound) until I realised what was inside. I still can’t look at those tins without shuddering and I still have a phobia of maggots. He did use them for screws and nails as well, but I never felt inclined to look inside, just in case!

I loved the orange juice and the malt. I vaguely remember the dried milk, and Scott’s Emulsion, which I hated.

One of my sons was fed Carnation evaporated milk when he was a baby. He is perfectly healthy at 50, so it can’t have been so bad!

A delicious orange cake could be made from the orange juice, and I must be in a small minority who actually liked cod liver oil - still do in fact.

I've still got one of the tins, empty of course
.

Greyduster

I had my first child in the Far East and National Dried milk was the only baby milk available to us. Problem was, he wouldn’t take it. Our health visitor, in desperation, suggested I try him with Ideal milk, which was then deemed suitable for feeding to babies. When I mentioned this in a letter to my mother she was mortified - had never heard of such a thing! He never looked back - was always a strong, healthy child.

I had mastitis when my first child was 6 weeks old, and this reduced milk production in one breast. My (wonderful) midwife suggested supplementing with one or two bottles a day, and recommended Carnation evaporated milk, which at that time had ratios of milk to cooled boiled water printed on the label. He thrived on it, and is now 50.
By the time my daughter was born 3 years later, the feeding instructions on Carnation had moved, and were printed on the inside of the label. They later disappeared completely, and now the idea fills people with horror - but my son is proof of how well Carnation nourished babies (and how easy it was to mix - no shaking, no lumps) 😀

My mother had one of those blue and white tins on the shelf for ages. I think she kept flour or sugar in it. We were both bottle fed as she was told she didn't have enough breast milk. I put this down to the insistence back then (the 50s) on a "routine". Feeding by the clock - 20 minutes every 4 hours.

I just breast fed mine when they wanted and I always had loads of milk.

I remember the white and blue tins (my dad used to keep nuts and bolts in them).

Ailsa43

Oh yes I remember it, and the orange juice. To this day in my mind I've never tasted nicer orange Juice..

Oh me, too!
It was delicious orange juice. The closest thing I've found to the taste (as I remember it) is Waitrose Clementine juice.

my nan kept buttons in ours, endless hours of fun when i was young

I was born prematurely weighing 2lbs. My mum was ill and in fact died when I was two weeks old, I was placed in Bernardo‘s children’s home once I was strong enough to leave hospital and then fostered. My 2nd Mummy, I was told that my 1st Mummy was in heaven with Jesus, used to give me the orange juice and malt and later on mum went on to have a baby girl and she was fed on powdered milk with the banana shaped glass bottles. Fond memories, also tiny jars of Marmite which I loved and still do.

Does anyone remember a powder which I called MOF , it made up into a very smooth delicious cereal , the MOF just stood for ministry of food!!

I may be imagining it but I seem to remember mum being given big tins of Marmite at the clinic, along with powdered baby milk.

My primary school used the tins to store things like crayons and pencils. Baby milk is so expensive now, maybe time for a new National Dried so babies don't go without. I've heard a report on TV about families making the formula up too weak to make it go further and babies suffering.

SueDoku

Greyduster

I had my first child in the Far East and National Dried milk was the only baby milk available to us. Problem was, he wouldn’t take it. Our health visitor, in desperation, suggested I try him with Ideal milk, which was then deemed suitable for feeding to babies. When I mentioned this in a letter to my mother she was mortified - had never heard of such a thing! He never looked back - was always a strong, healthy child.

I had mastitis when my first child was 6 weeks old, and this reduced milk production in one breast. My (wonderful) midwife suggested supplementing with one or two bottles a day, and recommended Carnation evaporated milk, which at that time had ratios of milk to cooled boiled water printed on the label. He thrived on it, and is now 50.
By the time my daughter was born 3 years later, the feeding instructions on Carnation had moved, and were printed on the inside of the label. They later disappeared completely, and now the idea fills people with horror - but my son is proof of how well Carnation nourished babies (and how easy it was to mix - no shaking, no lumps) 😀

Maybe it was your milk that made him the man he is, if you were only supplementing with Carnation you might not be giving yourself the credit you are due.

Allira

Sarnia

I don't want to hijack this topic but another GN has mentioned orange juice, so here goes.
Did anyone out there have a spoonful of Virol every day? I loved the malt flavoured stickiness. It was given to toddlers to build them up. I was very put out when the Virol was replaced by a daily cod liver oil capsule. Yuck!

Yes, I had Virol!

I couldn't remember what it was called. My sister, one year older than me, loved it so used to pinch my share.