Reheating baby food while out - RANT!

[chicaguapa]

I had forgotten what a palava this was. Does anyone actually know how long it takes to reheat a jar of food standing in hot water?

I am really uneasy about giving my baby food with meat in, or even just vegetables for that matter, at room temperature from a bacteria point of view.

I'm sick and tired of uncooperative staff who don't give a monkeys about whether your baby eats food that's safe for him. I know it's a food hygiene issue in restaurants/ cafes etc as to why they won't heat up baby food for you. But does the baby not have any rights about the risk of feeding food that's not been reheated properly? Not to mention the risk of having a 4 year old at the table with a jug of boiling water sitting there for half an hour!

Are mums just not supposed to go out around meal times? It's like living in the dark ages!

Surely there's something we mums can do about it!?

[SoupDragon]

Warming the food up to eating temperature isn't going to kill any bacteria though.

DSs always ate food at room temperature when out and about.

[QueenFlounce]

Give them it cold. I've never heated baby food and if I was I'd probably just ask the waitress to bung it in the microwave.

[oliveoil]

The whole point of jars IMO is that they are convenient when out and about to just pull out of your bag and spoon in. I have NEVER heated them (much to MIL's ).

[soapbox]

Never heated milk or food for either of mine. Always served it at room temperature.

As Soupie says unless you warm it to boiling point you will do nothing to kill off bacteria. So from a food hygenine point it matters not a jot!

[Lizzylou]

Same here, only buy jars for when we are out and about and never heat them up, they are all OK at room temp....

[dancer77]

I never heated them either when out and about. to be honest by the time ds could actually eat it it was room temperature anyway.

[Surfermum]

DD wouldn't eat anything from a jar, so I didn't have this problem. What about taking something that doesn't need heating, like a banana or yoghurt?

[starshaker]

a bit unrelated but hey ho dp and me were out for a meal and i asked for water to heat dd's bottle (it was out fridge and 2 cold to give her) they must have put it in the microwave it was bloody roasting i couldnt have drank it. i had to go up and asked for a jug of cold water to cool it down

[kazoo]

I have been to a few places recently (Pizza Hut was one)where they refused to give me jug/cup of hot water to heat baby food. They said it was because it is not on the menu and if I'd spilt it on me or baby I might sue them. What is wrong with these places?

[crumpet]

A lot of the jars taste fairly grim anyway warm or cold, but we did find that the heinz plastic tubs of puree somehow tasted more like real veg/fruit and less like cardboard, and were the best for eating un-warmed.

[handlemecarefully]

Mine always ate food tepid at room temp when on the move....also was eating finger food at 7-8 months so often took that with me.

[Twiglett]

like most other mums here I served jars and milk at room temp so no heating required

[aloha]

The contents of unopened jars are sterile so you can easily give those at room temperature. Or just give bits of bread and cheese and stuff - all perfectly safe. I never once asked anyone to heat up food for my ds. He either had a jar or shared my food.

[babyonboard]

what about newborns? is it okay to take bottles of breast (or hopefully not..)formula out with you and give it to them, or should i use a cool bag or something?

[bundle]

i just bf my girls when i was out and took occasional jars/yoghurts/avocados to mush up

[bonniej]

I was always told you shouldn't give them milk which had been out of the fridge for more than an hour so I used to carry the bottles in a cool bag and a flask of hot water with a plastic jug where i could heat the bottles. A complete hassle and as I am due in october I can't believe i've got to do it all again!! if anyone has an easier method, please let me know!

[bundle]

bonnie, can't you just take out bottles of boiled water and the powdered milk, and give it at room temp?

[starshaker]

start by giving them milk at room temp then the wont want it warm. dd will take it anyway it comes cos its food lol. if im goin out i make a bottle before i go and by the time she gets it its just the right temp

[Ameriscot2005]

I don't think I ever worried about baby food when out. I just stuck the baby on the boob, or let the eat food from my own plate - there was usually something appropriate.

[bonniej]

good idean, bundle, that sounds easier!gosh I'm thick sometimes

[handlemecarefully]

bundle - that's exactly what I always did.

[aloha]

I fyou are breastfeeding just feed, if you are bottle feeding you can buy great little plastic containers which dispense the right amount of powder into a bottle of previously boiled water. You shake and feed. Easy!
As for food, I could always find something, even it was just a banana and some yoghurt and a bit of bread roll.

[SoupDragon]

Or buy cartons of ready mixed.

[bundle]

bonnie

a friend who had a child before me said if she could only give one piece of advice to a new mother it was never to reheat milk

[handlemecarefully]

Chicaguapa

Are you a bit peed off with us for not empathising?