To make baby bottles in advance?

[MrsMotherHen]

I have a tommee tippee machine but it doesnt make the milk warm enough for my DDs liking. Its a struggle to get milk in her as it is now today I made a bottle with boiling water so by the time we got to play group it was nice and warm (not red hot but hotter than the perfect prep) ready to give her she downed 5oz then did the same with her next bottle.
So am thinking of making her bottles up in advance then ping in the micro. How is it done? just make them up then throw in fridge?

This is daft i have two children and dont know how to make a bottle

[PotteringAlong]

Do not microwave them! It won't heat it evenly and you run the risk that part of it will be scalding hot!

[DipsyLaLa22]

Yes, it's fine. I had twins and it was impossible to make milk as I went, as I had older ones too. I made all the day's bottles in the morning and put them in the fridge until I needed them. Then used microwave to heat.

[kaytee87]

You should never heat bottles in the microwave as it causes hot spots and can scald your baby, or make them with boiling water in advance and leave to cool down gradually as they will be full of bacteria by that time. (Water temp should be 70 degrees rather than boiling)
Link to NHS guidelines

www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/Pages/making-up-infant-formula.aspx

If your babies weight gain is fine and there are enough dirty/wet nappies then don't worry about how much milk she's having.

[DipsyLaLa22]

If you are sensible with microwaving it's fine. Heat gently and give them a good shake to even the temperature.

[Twofishfingers]

it's better to follow the instructions on the box. However, I used to make the bottle with boiled water, leave it to cool and at playgroups warm the water up in the microwave for 45 seconds and tip in the right amount of powder pre-measured in a little container like this one. You really have to shake the bottle lots in order to avoid hot spots in the water.

Not sure if this was the correct way of doing it though, maybe others will have better options.
<a class="break-all" href="//www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-SCF135-06-Powder-Dispenser/dp/B000MMQO7O/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1506433225&sr=8-1&keywords=baby%20milk%20powder%20container&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">//www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-SCF135-06-Powder-Dispenser/dp/B000MMQO7O/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1506433225&sr=8-1&keywords=baby%20milk%20powder%20container&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[MrsMotherHen]

so do you put the boiling hot milk ready made up into the fridge?
potteringalong If i micro then which i have done once or twice if her bottle gone cold i give a good shake to get rid of hot spots.

[kaytee87]

If you need to make them in advance then rapid cool them in very cold water before storing at the back of the fridge. Then heat them by sitting in hot water rather than microwaving

[Wooders09]

Why not just heat the ones made with the perfect prep machine? Making bottles in advance isn't advised. Also if you've already bought the machine seems a waste not to use it?!?

[wowbutter]

Make the milk like you would normally.
Leave to cool for a bit, not long, twenty mins ish.
Put in fridge.
Take out of fridge.
Heat.
Shake.
Test.
Baby eats.

[MyDcAreMarvel]

Microwaving is fine just gently shake.

[MrsMotherHen]

Just to add her weight gain is poor shes on weekly weights so this is why am thinking of doing it this way.

[kaytee87]

I'd ask your HV for advice then rather than risk giving her food poisoning.
I know it's hard op so not having a go

[ineedwine99]

I used to make up a bottle before going out somewhere, would either sit it in boiling water for it to heat up (keep swilling it to mix the warm and cool) or microwave it and give give it a damned good shake! Though this can be an issue causing it froth then have to swill it to get rid of the froth.

[Peachyking000]

I used to make mine up in advance twice a day and microwave them, shaking well to avoid hot spots/scalding. This was 10 years ago though.

I see a lot of people now make up bottles the way TwoFish describes. I wondered if this is considered safe, since the powder isn't sterile and is only being added to warm water rather than very hot water?

[kaytee87]

If I were you I'd make it in the Prep machine then put into a bowl of hot water to give it a wee extra heat.

How old is she? How often is she feeding and how much at a time?

If she's having big gaps (3/4 hours) between feeds try feeding her every 2 hours with less milk.

[BettyOBarley]

Obviously not the way it's advised but I did the following with my two with no problems.

Make up that days bottles using just boiled water
Cool in a pan of cold water for exactly 10 mins
Straight in back of fridge.
Warmed using bottle warmer when needed

[Blueskyrain]

It's absolutely fine, it's what we do and it's very easy. Just make sure you cool the bottles reasonably quickly, and give them a very thorough swirling after taking them out of the microwave, and test each time.

The hot spots won't be an issue, as long as you're sensible with how you use a microwave, and remember that each microwave is different, so test, test, test.

[Mrsdraper1]

You can microwave bottles. With eldest I made up bottles and kept in fridge. When youngest was born advice had changed so we made up bottles of water then added the powder just before warming them up.
I was nervous of microwaving and my auntie said to me "you do know the advice is for stupid people and you're not stupid so put the bloody bottle in the microwave and shake it after!"
I was a bit taken aback but I guess she was kind of right.

[welshweasel]

Ideally you should make bottles up fresh, but it's perfectly acceptable to make up a batch using boiling water (it's the powder that you need to sterilise) and cool under running water then place straight into the fridge. When you need it then warm up in microwave or in bowl of hot water (I prefer microwave, just make sure you shake well to avoid hot spots) and make sure all the bottles are used within 24 hours.

[TammySwansonTwo]

I have twins and physically can't make up bottles as I go - it's a nightmare. The NHS guidelines if you look actually say bottles of formula should be kept refrigerated and used within 24 hours so it's fine.

You need boiling water to kill an bugs in the powder so here's what I do:

• add 60ml boiling water per bottle
  
• add formula and mix (i use a fork that I sterilise first as they have hydrolysed stuff which doesn't mix well)
  
• add cooled water (I stick a bottle of boiled water in the fridge every morning, or now they're over 12 moments use tap water if necessary)
  
• stick in the fridge
  

Mine drink straight from the fridge thank god but I wouldn't microwave - if anything, microwave a jug of water or add hot water from kettle and stick the bottle in that, or get a bottle warmer

My boys are fed on demand and have always been random / unschedulable until recently so it was hell trying to make as we went. This is so much easier

[BlurryFace]

Make up with water (I think 30 mins after boiling) plunge sealed bottles into cold water for a few minutes then put in fridge. Warm by putting in a bowl of hot water.

[boredofmyoldname]

When I had my DS 11 years ago my HV told me to make them up in advance, she said to:
boil fresh water
leave for 10 minutes
fill the bottles and add powder
shake and rapid cool in a basin of cold water for 15 minutes
store in the back of the fridge for up to 24 hours.

I microwaved them for 30 seconds and shook out heat spots.

Now I make bottles up in work they have to be done fresh so I:
boil fresh water
Leave for 10 minutes
Fill bottles halfway
Add powder and shake
Top up with cooled boiled water
Shake to mix

This way takes 15 minutes but can be done an hour in advance, it's actually easier in some ways as it's already warmed and you don't need loads of bottles sitting around.

[MyBlackCat]

I make mine up in advance and put in fridge:

6oz bottle - 3oz of boiling water with powder then add 3oz of tap water (he's over 6 months) or you could use cool boiled water stored in fridge.

My LO doesn't like them too warm - 20sec in microwave to take edge off with bottle shaken and tested before he drinks it.

[Topseyt]

I always made up the bottles the night before and stored them in the fridge after cooling.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with microwaving them to warm them up. I always did that too and all of my three are still here. Just give it a good shake to get rid if any hotspots.

[Topseyt]

Oh, and I made up enough bottles for 24 hours.