How do you prepare bottles at night?

[Bustard]

Trying to think of the best way to prepare bottles at night. You're supposed to boil water, make the bottle and then leave the bottle to cool, right? But doesn't that take forever at night time?

I make them in batches, cool them all quickly and keep in the fridge until needed. Then heat up in the bottle warmer. The water needs to be 63 degrees to make them up - you shouldn't use boiling water as that kills the nutrients, but it needs to be hot enough to kill bacteria in the formula.

When I had DD, the midwife wasn't allowed to mention anything about bottle feeding, so I googled and found a Department of Health guidance about how to safely make in batches. On having DS, the midwife can now offer advice on bottle feeding, but tells me I have to make each one up when it's needed: I would therefore need to boil the kettle, wait thirty minutes for it to cool sufficiently, make the bottle and then cool it down enough to drink...all while baby is screaming his head off. No thanks.

Yes it does. Consider buying pre mixed or a perfect prep machine

Safe ish options

• premixed?
• Very good (needs to maintain hot for 8-12h) flask of boiling water topped up with a good flask of cold boiled water (eg using 3 oz boiling water first to kill the powder bacteria, then topping up with 1 oz cold, to make a 4 oz bottle.
• Perfect prep
• nuby rapid cool flask

the only one I would not use, as a HCP working with newborns in a hospital setting, is the prrfect prep tbh.

my preferred options are premixed and the rapidcool cos it’s less faf.

We use the perfect prep machine

Perfect prep!
I didn't with eldest and i always look back and wish i did.
Used one with the others.
As long as its cared for properly they're fine

Well, we used to sterilise all bottles, make up with cooled boiled water, put in fridge and use within 24 hours - but apparently that’s not ‘allowed’ any more 🤷🏻‍♀️ I genuinely don’t know how we’ve all survived the past MANY decades 🙄 🤷🏻‍♀️

Perfect prep takes all the hassle out. The hot shot is more than hot enough, if I have my hand anywhere near the machine and a bit splashes out it's scalding!

@Isahlo why would you not use it?

We used to make it before going to bed and keep in fridge. I didn't make a whole 24h in one go but did always make one in advance so it was ready to go.

We used perfect prep, but I know there are some concerns with it. I’ve never really figured out exactly what they are though?!

It's because it's the powder that potentially carries bacteria, not the water. So hot water on the powder will kill any harmful stuff but cool boiled clearly won't.

My last job before bed used to be making 6 bottles and putting them in the fridge.
Against guidelines now but both my 2 were absolutely fine

Thinking way back now, but we would put the powder in a couple of ounces of boiling water, then once mixed use measured cooled boiled water from the fridge to cool it to drinking temperature. Powder serialised, and the right ratio of powder/water.

I had a perfect prep machine.

But most nights once they had dropped to one night feed only, I took up a sterilized bottle and a carton of pre-made.

That’s what I did with my first 20 years ago.

My next was 11 years later and I had a perfect prep for her.

For DD we made one up before going to bed and kept in fridge. Set into boiling water while changed nappy, then fed. All fine. Didn't prep them in advance at any other time though. With DS, 5 years later, we got the perfect prep and loved it. So easy.

DD was combi fed from 6 months so not sure if this would be ok for a newborn since I don't think you're meant to do it, but we make a bottle before bed, cool it, and put it in the fridge. She has it cold, we don't heat it up.

It’s parents cutting costs and not using the correct filters mainly. You can get them much cheaper but they don’t work properly with the machines.

And people don’t follow the instructions on changing the filters and using the cleaning cycle at the correct intervals.

All human error. If you follow the instructions, they are fine.

I normally uncork them around 4pm on a weekend. Then line them up on the side in the kitchen. This allows them to breathe a little.

Yes follow instructions to the letter.

I know this isn’t deemed safe anymore but we used to make up 6 at a time. Flash cool in cold water and then put in the fridge. Take one out as needed. She’s school age now and doesn’t suffer any ill effects (and never did) of this method.

We used a perfect prep machine until she was 5 months? She was sick constantly. So we changed to making batches up, boil the kettle, leave for 10 mins, make up your bottles with that and into the back of the fridge, microwaved when needed. She's 2 so she survived and was less sick.

I have a formula kettle. It boils the water then holds it at a temperature of your choosing (I use 70 degrees) ready for use. Then I make up a bottle fresh with this and then cool in a jug of cold water. It then takes 10 mins in total