Perfect prep, yay or nay?!

[Fivebyfive2]

Hi! My ds is almost 10 weeks and we combi feed at the moment. Recently we're giving more bottles because it's becoming more and more difficult to breastfeed him. I want to carry on for as long as possible if I can, but am also looking into options in case we end up swapping over to just bottle /formula feeds. One big thing I'm worried about is bottle prep, especially at night as ds can go from 0 to 60 in a blink if he's hungry and at the moment preparing bottles fresh with the kettle can be a tad stressful! But I know current guidelines say to do this and not make up in advance.

Have thought about a perfect prep but heard mixed things. Some say it's a godsend, but am a bit worried; at our NCT course we were advised they're not safe because the hot shot can create hot pockets in the bottles?? Someone also mentioned hygiene, but I'd assumed if we cleaned it regularly, it would be OK??

Sorry I probably sound clueless and a bit neurotic/pfb about it all!!

[Blitzen2]

I used it with my second and it was a god send. A perfect bottle in two minutes makes a massive difference to a screaming baby. I just made sure the bottle was shaken properly to fully fix everything and checked the back pipes once a month. Never had any issues and it’s very easy to open up and clean. Have now passed it to a family friend who loves it too.

[scousadelic]

I have no idea because I am very, very old but my DD has one for making bottles for DGD and swears by it

[SpaceDinosaur]

The "hot shot" has been shown in tests time and time again as inadequate to kill the bacteria in the formula and the NHS really do not recommend them for this reason. The instructions say to make up the whole formula feed with 70deg water for a reason.

[ElevenOhFive]

Absolutely recommend it, we couldn’t believe how much it changed our lives for the better! We never seemed to be able to anticipate when a bottle would be needed with the traditional method and as you say the wait would cause stress. The one time DS had an upset tummy possibly from a bottle was one which we didn’t heat/cool down properly (we think, but who knows) and we never a single issue with the Prep bottles.

[Scrumptiousbears]

A yes from me.

[Iliketonamechangealot9876542]

Yeh I love it, used on with DS and now with DD.

[NutterPotter]

We were advised not to buy one as Tommee tippee apparently refuse to answer questions about their machine to NMC. we have a hot flask for overnight feeds saves having to wait for the kettle. We also invested in a digital kettle that allows you to set the temperature at 70degrees older baby bottles x x x

[Parker231]

Definitely perfect prep. Wish they had been around when my DT’s were born. It’s now the present I buy friends having babies.

[mynameiscalypso]

We have a perfect prep and I love it. Never had an issue with it. That said, I also go against official advice and make up two or three bottles at a time and quickly chill and refrigerate them. Again, never had a problem.

[Queenofpi]

We combi feed too. My husband LOVES the perfect prep. Makes night feeds a doddle. And as for hot pockets - shake the bottle well and problem solved! He's never had it happen.

[Thismummyruns]

Bought one my 1st, bought one for my 2nd.
Always the best thing I've bought!
Resold my first one for a good price too.

[novacaneforthepain]

I think these are great. Had one for my first and never had any issues. When I was finished with it I opened up the back and cut open all the tubes (I had heard some horror stories about mould) and it was absolutely spotless.

My DS is breastfed but occasionally has a bottle and we use the individual ready made ones and it's the absolute easiest if they don't need it warned up.

In regards to the poster saying the hot shot doesn't kill bacteria in the formula, doesn't the formula go into Luke warm water when making bottles the ordinary way? No idea, Ive never made one!

[squaky]

@mynameiscalypso I didn't know this was an issue? I make up 5 bottles with cooled boiled water and use them overnight from the fridge.

[MyDcAreMarvel]

WHO guidelines say it’s fine to store bottles in the fridge for 24 hours. The nhs begrudgingly agrees.

[RiddleyW]

Ready made is very convenient- I used that.

[mynameiscalypso]

It goes against official guidance @squaky which says that bottles should always be made up fresh although that is relatively recent in terms of the official line. There is a risk if you don't cool them fast enough that they milk will stay at the optimum bacteria growing temperature for too long.

[oldtownroad]

Tbh I'd feel it's safer doing it the old fashioned way. Make them up as instructed, flash cool them and keep in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Ready made formula is safe to keep in the fridge for 24 hours so I can't see what difference it makes as long as you're preparing them correctly. My HV said it's actually fine to do this but they can't recommend it anymore due to some people getting it wrong.

[Bol87]

Absoloute yay here, literally the best thing we bought! The hot shot is 70 degrees minimum, that’s the min temp they recommend. I actually stuck a thermometer in a couple trial hot shots & it was 78 & 79 degrees, so hotter than they said.

Weirdly, the instructions have you adding the hot shot to the bottle first & then the powder.. I can see that the water may cool during the time you are faffing adding the powder. Also the steam from the hot water makes the scoop damp and clogs it up with powder. We quickly realised the much better & easier way to use the machine is to pop your scoops of milk in the bottle first, then the hot shot, then quickly do some vigorous swirling to mix it all together. That way, the hottest water is hitting the milk immediately and doing its thing. And your scoop remains dry & clean!

I cleaned mine out once a week with boiling water. Never a hint of mould or dirt.. I do live in a soft water area, so no limescale issues here.

My midwife & GP recommended the machine to me 🤷🏼‍♀️ My midwife did say it was off the record but that she visits hundreds of woman a month using these machines & no reports of any poorly babies linked too it.. she used one herself 😄

[honesttogod]

Definitely recommend.

[BertieBotts]

Best practice is to make up with hot water and use immediately.

Second best practice is to make up with hot water, flash cool, store in back of refridgerator and use within 24 hours. This is generally what we did because making up as you go is incompatible with demand feeding, which is also best practice. So you have to decide which part of best practice you'll go with. We generally made one feed up as soon as we'd fed so there was always one ready to go and it never sat around for too long.

Perfect prep/making up with cool boiled water meets neither of these so is higher in risk than both approaches. The thing is the perfect prep method is a mimic of a technique which has been touted on baby forums for years! But it misses an important part - with the jug method where you make up the formula with say 3oz boiling water, 8 scoops powder and then add 5oz cooled water to dilute it down to the proper strength, you generally shake to mix and dissolve after adding the hot water - so all of the powder gets proper contact with the hot water in order to kill any potential bacteria present in it. The Perfect Prep machine doesn't do this, as far as I'm aware - the hot water just sits on the milk powder for a few seconds before the cold is added.

Powdered feeds are impossible to sterilise and may be contaminated at any stage, either by ordinary household germs such as viruses, poor hygiene germs such as e-coli or salmonella - in your own household or at the factory level, as happened in France in 2018, so it's a very good idea to mitigate this risk.

[BertieBotts]

Hmm OK I retract the not shaking statement - I have watched a video and see they do indeed recommend you do just that.

But still, the studies that show it doesn't kill bacteria are concerning.

[SuddenArborealStop]

You shake the hot water with the formula before touching the cold water button on the perfect prep, so that argument doesn't hold against it.
I love mine, couldn't be without it post breastfeeding

[BertieBotts]

Honestly I think it was the worst thing they ever did for formula safety general knowledge to promote the "Always make up fresh" line over and above anything else! And it's been about 15 years, I'm not sure exactly when it changed but I know make up fresh was pushed extremely heavily when DS1 was little and he is 11 now, to the point that people believed making up fresh was more important than making up with hot water. Friends who had slightly older children continued to do as they had done with their first which was to make up the day's bottles in a batch with hot water and store in fridge, discarding any unused after 24 hours. This is by far safer than making up with cold water, yet the make up fresh advice was so strongly promoted you used to get massive barneys on here and health visitors, midwives etc would really discourage the batch making idea.

[Shookethtothecore]

Without a doubt the best thing ever. I have used it for my 3 year old and my 5 month old and never had any issues, I have a friend who is a health visitor and says they can’t recommend them officially but she’s read up on them and she has one for her daughter. I do the hot shot, add the powder, shanks vigorously then do the next step. I think they are genius

[Snipples]

It's a big yes from me. So handy. Love ours and wouldn't be without it. Plan on using again for baby no. 2