Making up night feeds??

[BettyBoo246]

Hi all
I am looking for advice on how every other mum makes up their night feeds?? I'm being told so many different things its confusing :(
I am currently giving lo (2wks old) the ready made cartons but this is turning out to be very expensive as I only use half then have to throw the other half away after 2hrs.
How does everyone else make up their night feeds? Can I boil the water and pour into 4 bottles then just add formula wen he wakes (he does drink at room temp) or make then up completely and keep in fridge and then warm up when needed? Any advice will be helpful :)

[5madthings]

If you only put half the milk from the carton into the bottle you can then put the rest of the carton in the fridge and keep it fro 24hrs?

You cannot add the powder to cold water it must be hot.

You could make the bottles in advance say when you are going to bed, flash cool them in a bowl of cold water and then put in fridge to heat when needed.

Or what to did was have two bottles one I filled to half the quantity I needed with cooled boiled water. Had that upstairs with me and a flaks that kept the water HOT is 70 def hot that I took up to bed with me, along with an empty bottle.

At feed time I would measure put half the amount I needed of hot water into the empty bottle so a 6oz feed I would have 3oz of cooled water in one bottle then in the empty bottle I would pour 3oz of hot water, the tip all six scoops of the powder (pre measured in a little pot) into the hot water and shake well, then add the cold water that you already have measured out and shake well. This makes it drinkable temp, you may need to fiddle around with quantities of hot/cold until you find the right balance, sometimes its 1/3 hot and 2/3 cold but always add the powder to hot water.

[joanna0211marie]

Best thing I ever did was buy a tommee tippee perfect prep, takes 2 minutes to make a bottle and it's at the perfect temperature so no need to cool, just have a look on amazon and read the description, it is FANTABULOUS!!! They're quite pricey but I think it's on offer at 79.99 (typical as I paid full price a few weeks ago!) x

[BettyBoo246]

That does look good! Does it really only take 2 mins tho? Do you keep yours in your room? A couple of reviews say the beeping is quite loud! I will def look it up abit more on Internet as it is a bit pricey but so are the cartons lol!

[Littlemissexpecting]

OP so glad you started this thread as I'm wondering the same thing.
Currently giving cartons, but they are expensive.
Just bought tub of powder and really don't see how we're going to manage boiling kettle, leaving it to cool for 30 mins, making bottle then allowing to cool (but using immediately) as advised on box. I will spend all day doing this. At least your baby isn't fussed on temp, my ds will only take warm bottles!
Very grateful for any tips (sorry to gate crash thread)

[MrsWooster]

You can add powder to cold water so make up a batch of water bottles and use as needed.

[DontCallMeDaughter]

MrsWooster, these days the advice is that the powder has to be added to water at 70deg or higher to kill bacteria then cooled to drinking temp..... We did the same thing as a previous poster, add pre-measured powder to smaller amount of hot water and then add cooled boiled water.

[AmIGoingMad]

Hey little miss!

Last time around we only used ready made as I couldn't get my head around how we'd cope with the faff of making up feeds.

This time I'm making up in advance as per instructions on world health organisation website for what to do if you have to make up in advance.

I boil the water and make the feeds up pretty soon after its boiled (you can leave it cool for up to 30 mins but don't have to wait the full 30). I then flash cool and put them in fridge. When Dd wants milk I stand bottle in pan of very warm water for couple of mins while I'm changing nappy.
If we're going out I was using cartons but am now putting a made up feed straight from fridge into insulated pouch in change bag. If dd wants feeding within hour and half (sge takes about half hour to get through bottle) of milk leaving fridge, she has that. If not she has the standby carton.

I know I was stressing about deviating from guidelines but seeing that section on world health org made me feel better about it. I know its not the ideal but the making up as needed technique feels like its constant and with a baby who likes to keep us on our toes by varying time between feeds every feed it wasn't working for us.

I'd love to get the tommee tippee but could never convince DH so this is the way that works for us and my sanity.

Of course- when the health visitor asks, I'm making feeds up when needed. Although I have admitted to making up night feeds in advance and she didn't seem too horrified!

Sorry for essay! Hope it helps!

[joanna0211marie]

It takes about a minute, the beeping is ok and baby will be awake anyway! It's fairly small so you could take it up to your bedroom on a night and back to the kitchen on a morning, all my friends whose babies are past the bottlefeeding age are jealous this wasn't around when they were doing night feeds, and if u think that guidelines also want you to boil the kettle with a fresh 1 litre of water every time and u only use 120ml!! It's cost effective in the long run coz you'll save on wasted water and electric, my baby hasn't cried in the night for weeks because im always to quick ..... Ps im not a spokesman for tommee tippee lol :-D

[MyDaydream]

We made up all the bottles at once, put them in a sink of cold water to cool quickly then in the fridge then heat up when needed. We have a cheap bottle warmer I found reduced in TK Maxx for the heating. In the early days when the bottles were smaller by the time I'd changed the nappy the milk was ready.

[Littlemissexpecting]

Thanks AmI
Once the bottles are in fridge how long can you keep them for?

[Littlemissexpecting]

No chance of persuading dh to get the TT perfect prep after spending £100 on a breast pump that's now going to sit in a box somewhere.

[MyDaydream]

I read it was 24 or 48 hours, I can't remember, but we make up 4 at a time because our steriliser holds that many bottles.

[5madthings]

The shorter the time in the fridge the better, I think they say for 24hrs is open days worth of feeds, I wouldn't do longer than that, in fact probably less ie 12hrs, so make them in the evening before going to bed,'cool and in fridge.

[RobotHamster]

Fine to make in advance and store in fridge.

[beckslovestimmy]

I make up my bottles for the next day last thing at night. For a 6oz bottle I put 6 scoops in the bottle, then use a clean bottle to measure 3oz of boiling water. Give it a good shake then add 3 oz of cold water from the tap. Flash cool in a bowl of water and into the fridge. When needed I microwave for 20sec then give it a really good shake (20sec only takes the chill off so if you want it warm you'd have to microwave for longer)

[RobotHamster]

AmI - you are doing it to the guidelines though :)

(p.s. if you get a good cool bag and a bigger ice pack you can keep a ready made bottle in it for up to 4 hours - ok,prob not when it was boiling hot here, but try it - you'll find it stays fridge temp for ages)

[RobotHamster]

Becks - just make up with the full amount of boiling water and stand in the kitchen sink to flash cool. No need to faff around adding cold water (and would water out of the tap even be sterile?)

[lozster]

It's a pain in the bum and/or wallet. When other half is working I go for cartons. You can leave them in the fridge 24 hrs once open.

Just to be clear for mums of older children, the Dvice on bottle prep changed in 2005 to advise preparing one bottle at a time as needed.apparently this has vastly reduced admissions to hospital due to d&v.

I did a web chat the other day with a cow and gate advisor. She advised filling a flask with water for overnight or or and about. Apparently this is ok for 6 hours.

I'm going to look at those links for WHO and tommy tippee. I am mixed feeding after my baby was admitted to hospital after ebf. The gaff with bottles was exactly what I wanted to avoid. I can see the temptation to batch prepare especially if you have done this before advise changed. Personally as my ds has already spent 4 days on a drip due to feeding problems, I just daren't take the risk however small yet.

[AmIGoingMad]

Thanks robot! I will look into the cool bag and see if I can get one small enough for lugging around with my huge change bag

Lozster- I believe the Nhs guidelines have always ( in the last 10years) been to make up as you need. The guidelines I'm talking about are the current world health organisation ones so I'm happy they are valid. I would link but haven't a clue how to on phone! Dd is nearly 7 weeks and no issues as yet though I do appreciate what you're saying. I think the bigger risk is to make the feeds with water that's been boiled but cooled so is cold when adding the powder as that wouldn't kill the bacteria in the fomrula.

Little miss- like someone else said- I make 4 at a time which will last us around 12ish hours

[RobotHamster]

AmI - there's an Avent one. Its designed for 2 bottles, but if you just put in one cold bottle and a cool pack it works v well. Make sure the bottle has been in the fridge for 2 hours and is properly chilled through.

Lozster - I thought the NHS guidelines had changed too,and were in line with the WHO ones. Not sure though, will have to Google.

[RobotHamster]

Hmm think you're right, can't find anything very specific.

This page mentions it though and says:

"What if I need to transport a made-up feed?
If it isn't possible to follow the advice above or if you need to transport a feed (for example, to a nursery), prepare the feed at home and cool it for at least one hour in the back of the fridge.
Take it out of the fridge just before you leave and carry it in a cool bag with an ice pack, and use it within four hours. If you do not have an ice pack, or access to a fridge, the made-up infant formula must be used within two hours.
If made-up formula is stored in a fridge, use within 24 hours.
If made-up formula is stored in a cool bag with an ice pack, use within four hours.
If made-up formula is stored at room temperature, use within two hours."

[BettyBoo246]

It's so confusing and they change the rules every 5 mins! Think until I can convince dp to buy tommee tippee pp I will make them up by boiling and adding formula then storing in fridge and heat up wen needed for now! Does anyone use the microwave to heat up or is that a definite no no?

[StarlightMcKenzie]

water out of the tap doesn't NEED to be sterile. It doesn't contain the harmful bacteria found in the powder.

In fact, provided the bottles are clean and without milk residue, they don't have to be sterile either and tbh, whatever you don they won't be truly sterile anyhow.

[FoofFighter]

Just stand in a jug of hot water, only takes a few mins, and safer than microwave where you can get hotspots.

[StarlightMcKenzie]

microwave is fine if done safely. The liquid heats unevenly so you need to give it a good shake to dilute any hot spots.

however you must remember that when you heat anything up to body temp you speed up the rate the bacteria multiplies so use it quickly and don't leave it hanging around.