Quickest way to make formula?

[trebleclef101]

I've recently starting using formula and DH and myself are now facing the idea of making up bottles during the night.

What's the most efficient / quickest way to mix up a bottle a 2am when half asleep? How long can you keep a pre-made bottle sitting in a bottle warmer? Can you make one with a small amount of hot water and top up with cold?

Any advice / suggestions welcome! Tia

[Artandco]

I would just make fresh as on tin and run bottle under cold water to cool quicker

[Doje]

I always made up the bottle beforehand, cooled it quickly and then stored at the back of the fridge. Come 2am, quick 45 secs in the microwave, make sure you swill it about to mix it, then good to go.

DS 1 is 2.5 now and the advice then was that it was ok to store formulasfor 12 hours in the fridge.

We did the same for DS2 who is 8 months, and neither of them died.

[Keepittoyourself]

I used to mix 7 scoops of powder with 4 fl oz of boiling water (out of a flask) shake to mix the powder then add 3 fl oz cooled boiled water to make it the right temperature,

[spacefrog35]

To make 'fresh' takes approx. 40 mins by the time you've boiled the kettle, waited the obligatory 30 mins for the water to cool to 70 and then made / cooled the formula. No way was I doing that with a screaming baby at 2am!

Perfect prep machines are very popular for this, which basically do hot water with a cold top up. I however do the same as Doje & make in advance then store at back of fridge.

[villainousbroodmare]

Make in advance and serve cold. How old is your baby?

[LittleElephant123]

We use the Perfect Prep machine only during the night. It's a life saver

[GingerCuddleMonsterThe2nd]

My perfect prep machine is my saviour, and I go to the Church of Tomme Tippe

Fresh bottle in 2minutes, used it since ds was a new born and he is 2 in August and still has a warm goodnight milk from it

[ILoveMyMonkey]

We used to half fill the bottle with boiled water before bed and leave to cool then put hot boiled water into a thermos to keep it hot and add it to the cool boiled water when needed. We also pre measured the powder and put into one of them powder dispensers so we didn't need to measure it out in the night.

[welshweasel]

At home take the perfect prep machine to bed with us. If we are away we either use ready made formula or take a flask of boiling water and a bottle of cooled boiled water up with us and do in the same way.

[Stiddleficks]

I got a second hand perfect prep (put a new filter in) and it's the best purchase I've ever made. Dh is very old school and liked to make bottles up in advance and warm when needed but even he wouldn't be without it now.

[NapQueen]

We made four at a time and chilled them and put them in the fridge. Served from the fridge, no warming.

[WatchMeSoar]

Buy cartons of ready made formula. Into a sterile bottle, heat as usual.

[GlitteryFluff]

Make as instructed (hot boiled water that's cooled slightly but for no longer than 30mins - this kills nastiest in the powder), cool quickly, store in back of fridge. Microwave/jug of hot water when needed (shake and test first obvs.). Use pre made ones up within 24hrs. Once you've warmed it up to feed baby discard any left in bottle after 2hrs.

[GlitteryFluff]

Also try straight from fridge. Much easier if they'll accept it cold.

[purpleporpoise]

Our perfect prep lives upstairs, along with bottles. We out formula in a massive Tupperware tub as ours only comes in small tins. Also recommend a clevamama scoop and powder pots

[trebleclef101]

Villainous she is 10 months.

I'd love to say she'd take cold formula but when she's had expressed bm in the past she's been very picky about the temperature!

[originalusernamefail]

Buy pre-made .

[BayLeaves]

I know it's 2 months earlier than official guidance but I started giving my DS cows milk at this point. I was returning work and exclusive BF before that point, he was a bottle refuser only drinking small amounts from a cup so I thought what the hell. Not recommending it as such but bear in mind you can certainly start on cows milk in a couple of months.

[Butterchunks]

This is how we did it in the early days, based loosely on hour the perfect prep machines work with a shot of hot water to sterilise the powder followed by cooled boiled water to make up the volume for the whole feed:

Get a cheap kettle for use in/near the bedroom, have it somewhere you can't kick it over by accident.

Get a formula dispenser like this this and measure out how many scoops you will be wanting for the feed (saves having to keep count when half asleep.)

Have a few spare bottles (whatever you are using to feed if you have enough spare, or grab some from ebay and fill one or two with freshly boiled water, lid on loosely. These will provide you with a supply of cooled boiled water in a few hours when you need them.

When its feeding time boil some water, you want enough hot water for 1/3 or the volume you will need (eg if its 5 scoops of formula you will be using 150 mL over all, so you need 50 mL freshly boiled water). Add powder to the freshly boiled water and swirl gently to dissolve. Then add 100 mL of the cooled water from earlier. (Don't forget to empty and refill the bottle with water from the kettle so you have cooled boiled water for next feed.)

If in the middle of the night it's difficult to see marking on bottles you can always weight the water (we have digital scales with larger readout so i can see better without glasses) 1 mL of water (not formula made up, just water = 1g, so 50 mL = 50g).

This way takes 5 mins, and you can always cool further by running under a tap for 30-60s, as opposed to 10 mins if using all boiling water.

[LazyMilk]

Just to clarify- the point of making bottles with boiling water is to sterilise the powder with water at least 70degrees, so half cooled half warm bottles with powder added doesn't do this. Also, I'd be careful topping up bottles once you've added powder as the formula will increase the volume of the water already in the bottle. Another vote over here for the perfect prep.

[Bails2014]

Back in the day...

Boil a kettle. I had a dedicate flask that only held hot water for bottles. Fill this before bed.

Measure out X number of scoops of formula and place in pot (tommee tippie weaning pots were great, I then used them at weaning and still use them today). For this example I will make 180ml of milk so need 6 level scoops.

Using the hot water from the kettle, fill breast milk storage bottles, I would in this instance fill mine to exactly 120ml. (I used to do a load of them and leave them in the fridge for each day)

Come silly o'clock when child wakes:
-Fill baby bottle to 60ml with the 'boiling' water
-Add in formula and shake
-Add in 120ml of now cool water

You now have a bottle at perfect drinking temperature. If you are doing more than one night feed you just make multiples. I used to take a little tray up to bed with us.

I used to measure everything out in the morning, knowing that we were on six bottles a day and so every bottle was pretty fast and easy to make. I seem to remember measuring the temperature of the water in the flask and it would stay hot enough for about 6 hours overnight.

[ChubbyMummy12]

I have a prep machine for the night feeds if DD wakes up- it's amazing