practical advice on neocate... help!

[littleweed10]

hi we're weaning DS onto neocate from breast feeding, after several months dairy and soya free on my part. I'm exhausted, like a stick and the eczema has not improved,,,,

ANYWAY! Neocate. The instructions on it are very strict, making up with warm water, use within one hour etc. I am a complete formula virgin, so any help advice on practical use - especially:

Can experienced neocate users tell me how they use it day to day

• out and about - do you 'dare' to make up milk with cooled boiled water and powder when out? (it says only use lukewarm water)
• do you cook with it? it says do not boil, so I presume you need to use an alternative milk eg rice, oat in cooking (once tried out on baby of course!)
• do you use it within hour as says - i think normal formula is within 2 hours.

Particularly thinking about nursery- starting in April. They want me to either prepare milk in advance or provide cooled bottle of boiled water with measured dose of powder. The instructions on the Neocate tub don't seem to allow either option... arghhh - HELP!

Poor you! It does get easier - promise!
So, I cooked with rice milk and then carried one of those powder milk measurement pots - you know the ones with three compartments, and then either took my own boiling water (which would be cool by the time I needed it, or would just need to be stuck into warm water / microwave for a bit) and when travelling I took evian (apparently the lowest mineral content water - was totally neurotic mum at that stage ) and just warmed that up a bit and mixed ... .
Good luck!

Just a word of warning - DD's peadiatrician said they don't recommend rice milk anymore. Oat milk is fine though.

hi sunshine mummy, thanks for the advice. Did you take a flask for the purpose, or were you a bit more devil may care about it?!
My main problem is the nursery - do I tell them they'll need to warm the water slightly to make it mix with the neocate? They have said they'll only take the cool boiled water in the bottle ready with dose of powder to put in at the time of feed or for the milk to be ready made up (which I don't think is an option). So anxious about going back to work anyway,and this is a big extra worry...

re rice milk, I wonder why they don't recommend it anymore - I noticed on the ingedients it contains salt, wonder if thats why?

I don't bother using warm water, just cooled bolied water - I think the cooled bolied water is more important tham having it warm. I give the nursery a bottle of cooled boiled and a forula pot with the correctly measured Neocate and they mix it and don;t reheat.
There is some association with Rice Milk and arsenic. I still pop it on cereal so only use the smallest amount really as my son can not have oat milk or soya and I am lost for any other alternative!

hi cokie, thanks for that advice, really appreciate it. how old is your little one? I am hoping that by the time my son goes in April, this might be a formality,as he seems to be ramping down to two feeds a day anyway

Rice milk and arsenic - blimey! I can't stand the stuff myself, another reason not to use it for me anyway

Just out of interest, how do you make sure he gets enough calcium, this is what I'm really concerned about at mo...

we have used neocate for both dcs now. i take warm bottles out with me in insulated bottle holdrs that come with nappy bag or if needed reheat cool water in microwave or bottle warmer before using. i have an advent formula cup with 3 compartments to take out measured doses. ds is 2.5 now and doing great and dd is 6 weeks and is fine.

as for rice milk they dont recommend it for the levels of arsenic that is in it, although we weaned ds on it and he is fine. he also outgrew his intolerance by 15 mnths

ps ask gp for calcium supplement which they should provide

DD outgrew her intolerance around 14m. I was a bit more devil may care and took it out ready made up in an insulator. I think your nursery are being a little unreasonable though - mine just took the tins and made it up themselves. My doctor gave me double prescription so I could have half tins at nursery and half at home.

littleweed my boy is now 14 mths and has been on Neocate since 6 mths old. We give him Calicum Sandoz as a supplement which the dietitian recommended and we get it from the doctors but we only give this when he does not drink the quota of milk throughout the day.