boiled water in a thermos flask?

[nk1605]

trying to think of easier ways to make bottles of formula during the night and when out and about instead of waiting on kettle to boil and cool etc.

could I boil water in advance and store in a thermos flask? The flasks claim to keep it warm for 24 hours. so all I'd need to do is pour into sterilser bottles and add formula

[Mamab33]

How would you sterilise the thermos?

[ThinkIveBeenHacked]

The water has to be above 70° when it mixes with the powder. Is the flask able to keep it at that temperature? What happens then wrt cooling it to a drinkable temp?

I am probably not the best person to tale advice from as I make my feeds four at a time. I refridgerate them, but if I go out I just put one in the bag from the fridge and feed when needed at room temp.

[0ddsocks]

Why not make up 24 hours worth of bottles with boiling water and formula and store in the fridge. Then warm when requires

[TywysogesGymraeg]

Either make bottles and store, or try giving to baby cold.

[ThinkIveBeenHacked]

Agree ^^ a baby who is happy to drink the milk at room temp or cold is handy! They need to be made hot though. Please dont mix the ppwder with cold water.

[nk1605]

I thought you couldn't pre make bottles? I was told they need to be made as and when required. If I'm wrong then that would make life so much easier! does a bottle keep for 24 hrs if refrigerated? how long do they keep once taken out of the fridge?

[dementedpixie]

nhs says 2 hours at room temp, 4 hours in a cool bag with ice pack and 24 hours in the fridge

[dementedpixie]

www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/Pages/infant-formula-questions.aspx- should answer your questions

[nk1605]

Thanks

[Jenny1231990]

I've added boiling water from thermos at bedtime, long trips out for both of my children. I add so much cooled boiled to each bottle and top if up with boiling from the thermos, add the powder.
Hasn't hurt either of my 2 and will do the same for baby number 3.
Wouldn't personally give baby a cold bottle but each to their own :)

[moomoob]

Get a perfect prep machine they are fab. When going out give the bottle at room temperature put in the boiling water before you go out then add the powder when baby is ready for a feed the water doesn't need to be at a certain temperature before you add the powder

[Roseybee10]

We used a thermos for my first baby and it was great. Much better than waiting for kettle to boil.

Now we have a perfect prep which is amazing. When we're out and about i mimic the perfect prep and add a small amount of boiling water to the bottle then add the formula, which sterilised the formula. Then I top it up with cooled boiled water and that makes it the right temperature for drinking.

Moomoob, sorry to say but you're incorrect in saying the water doesn't need to be a certain temperature before you add the formula powder. The water needs to be around 70c to kill the bacteria. That's why you need to use boiled water, not to sterilise the water but to sterilise the formula in effect.

[AnnoyedByAlfieBear]

I used a thermos overnight for ds when he was a baby. It worked for us. There are so many different ways of doings it.

[Minion]

Rapid boil kettle in madams room.
Bottles with a third of the amount of cooled boiled water, add the last third of hot freshly boiled water, add formula, shake abs serve.
Seems to work for Mine.

[moomoob]

I've never heard that before. This is how I was told to do it when I had ds1 8 yrs ago. Put in the amount of boiling water you need leave to stand to room temp add powder when needed. I did this with all 3 of mine never done them any harm, just shows how advice changes in such a small Time. Some things I was told to do 8yrs ago im now told not too and vice versa it's a wonder how any children have ever survived!

[ThinkIveBeenHacked]

moo its on the tin.

[TywysogesGymraeg]

nk if you don't make bottles ahead of time, how do you manage when you're out and about?

It's a long time ago, and the world has changed but I used to make up a day's worth of bottles every morning and keep them in the fridge, or just in my changing bag when out and about.

The temperature at night time at the moment is cold enough to keep bottles out of the fridge by the side of your bed, unless you keep your heating on all night.

[butterfly86]

We have a perfect prep but dd is on comfort milk so when we go out we have to make fresh as they don't make it in cartons, we got a tommee tippee flask it keeps the water really hot all day then take a bottle of cooled boiled water, if I'm making up a 7oz bottle I put half boiled water add the powder then top up with cooled water that makes it like room temperature ready to drink.

[Roseybee10]

I think for the most part it is fine but that seems to be where the danger lies in terms of bacteria.
Basically the water needs to be hot enough to kill the bacteria in the formula when it's added to the water. Then you can top it up with cool water. So if you're filling the bottle with cooled water and boiled water before you add the formula then it won't be killing the bacteria.

If you make up bottles in advance then they're ok as long as you put them straight in the fridge as then they're too cold for bacteria to breed. Room temperature even in winter is warm enough to let bacteria breed, if left longer than the recommended 2 hours after prep as per the WHO recommendations.

It sounds really complicated but basically boiling water kills the bacteria but once the bottle then reaches room temperature it's the optimum temperature for bacteria to breed again.

Hope that makes sense. I'm not criticising anyone for doing it differently and I know it's unlikely to cause major issues but that's the science behind the recommendations for anyone who is interested. X

[IDontWantToBuildASnowman]

I would go to bed with bottles that I had sterilised then half filled with boiling water (which was cold by the time I needed it), a flask filled with boiling water, and a compartmentalised pot with pre-measured powder. When it came to a night feed, I would add some still very hot water from the flask to the cold water in a bottle until it was the right drinking temperature, then pour out any excess above the level I needed to match the pre-measured powder, then add the powder, mix and feed. Took about 20 seconds to prepare a bottle at the perfect temp. I know milk powder is supposed to be added to 70'C water, but by the time I started doing this little one was well past what I would call newborn or risk stage for catching bugs.

[WorkingItOutForMyself]

I take a thermos up at night.

When he needs his feed I pour in 2oz of hot thermos water, then add the powder. I give it a good shake to mix it and the top up with cooled boiled water which I keep in another flask.

i think this is essentially what a perfect prep machine does?

The important bit is that the milk needs to be sterilised by water above 70c :-) once it has been, cool water can be added to bring it to a drinkable temperature.

[5madthings]

What working does is what I did. So the formulaic mixed with hot water to kill bugs and.then you add the cool water to get it to drinking temp. You need the water to be pre measured so you are mixing it right.

You don't need to sterilise the thermos.