Using ready made cartons - sorry if this is a repeated topic but I am very confused

[Mum1212]

I am primarily breast feeding but want to start using Aptamil ready made cartons for when we are out for the day or dd is at her grandparents. I am not successful at expressing at the moment, so cartons seem like a good option.

I have been looking online and the advice given all seems to differ and conflict. Could anyone using the cartons please help me with the following:

• Once milk has been decanted into a sterilised bottle, how long can it be left at room temperature before it has to be used - answers I have see differ between 2 and 4 hours.
  
  
• can I pour left over milk into a sterilised bottle and store this in the fridge or does it have to be left in the carton?
  
  Any other advice/information on using the cartons would be really appreciated.
  
  Thanks :-)

[karatekimmi]

Not sure about how long to leave it but when I was in hospital they said 2 hours.
The milk is UHT milk, so normal UHT milk lasts around 7 days from opening in a fridge. On the small boxes it says 24 hours from opening, but on the bigger 1litre containers it says 48 hours. Me being a cynic believes this is a marketing ploy to get you to throw away milk and buy more. I see no reason why the big containers can be left for 24 hours longer than the small cartons. Fwiw I used them with a few days but definitely longer than 24 hours. I kept it in the carton and in bottles.

I used them the same way, I found it handy to have one in my bag, and the grandparents had them too (I found frozen milk even more of a pain and it usually had gone off by the time I wanted to use it!)

[Mum1212]

thank you :-) this makes much more sense. As a first time mum, I found this whole area very confusing

[sarahanneg]

I've also been using the 200 mls cartons, in the beginning she would only drink about 90mls so I would pour whole carton into bottle and use it for 2 feeds. And for going out pour milk into sterilized bottle, heat it up and keep it in an insulated bottle 'carrier'. Really easy. I only use 1 a day now so not too expensive.

[scoobydooagain]

Karatekimmi- the difference is due to vitamins, the stated vitamins drop quicker in little bottles than the bigger ones, so the milk would be safe but would not have the stated vitamin content.

[ceeveebee]

I used to keep opened cartons either in carton or fridge for up to 24 hours

2 hours at room temperature. Longer in a cool bag with ice packs. Wouldn't try to keep them warm in an insulated bag though