AIBU To ask does anyone actually do this? (baby feeding when out)

[Champagnevanity]

I've Just had a baby, 15 days old now, and had my first visit from the HV today. ATM, im too nervous to go out anywhere on my own. + none of my regular clothes fit yet. However, the time will come when i have too, this is what health visitor suggested when taking baby out:

Take a sterilised empty bottle (obvz)
Take a flask of hot water
&... Take the container of baby formula and make up when out and about...

Really?

Does anyone actually do this? AIBU to think, wtf? That's an awful lot of stuff to cart round, am i the only one thinking its very unrealistic?

I know your not ment to make up bottles nowadays, but am just wondering what everyone else does/did?....

with dd1 I made them up before hand and kept them in the fridge then when she wanted them when we were out, the chill would have gone out of them. Probably breaks all sorts of rules.

If we were going to be out for a long tine, I'd do what your HV said, though I'd measure out the powder into a separate tub first.

Why ever did I not buy cartons!

What Loony said.

Formula should be made up with hot water: 70C or higher. The formula power is not sterile and is an ideal breeding ground for some very nasty bugs (Cronobacter) that have lead to meningitis and death in newborns.

Once again, it's not the water that is a danger - it's the formula. Making up with cooled boiled water is completely missing the point!

MummyOfHnS

I'd be really interested (and I'm sure others would find it informative) if you could post a link of recent guideline changes. I wasn't aware of the constant changes you mention.

wrt causing "physical harm" as I said earlier, it is up to individual parents what risks they take. However for me, I felt that there was a risk of physical harm if I didn't follow the most up to date advice. (i.e. I didn't make bottles in advance, nor did I make them with cool water)

Cartons are a bloody godsend if you're out and about. There are other, cheaper ways to give a baby safe formula milk but it's always going to be more of a faff in that respect if you FF.

My DD had formula after three months and DS had BM for four years and the two methods both have their advantages and disadvantages in terms of practicality.

When DD was FF eleven years ago I made up bottle in advance but I wouldn't do it now.

you can make up bottles in advance as long as you cool it quickly and then store it in a fridge or an insulated bag and use with in 2hrs, but i have never done it.

it really isnt that much of a hastle to take out a flask with boiling water, an empty sterilised bottle and the little tub of powder!

i actually found bfeeding when out much more of a pain due to my faffy babies.

and whoever said that using the hot water, means leaving it to cool and then bacteria can grow, well you cool it quickly in cold water, at home i stand it in a bowl and then turn the cold tap on and leave the tap running over the bottle for a min or two, or if you wanted you could put ice in a bowl and stand the bottle in that even.

I always carried a small flask of hot boiled water & a flask of cold boiled water rather than pre made up cartons because I am a tightarse DD didn't like the cartons. Put powder in bottle, add half a bottle of boiled water (above 70 deg C) shake, add cold water to top up the bottle. I wasn't happy to carry around a warm bottle (or a cold bottle to be warmed up for that matter) for 3 hours breeding whatever nasties cause the problems.

This was only 6 months ago - other mums looked at me like I was a loon as I got my flasks out, but I couldn't give a fig, sometimes I was organised enough to have a tea bag so I could make myself a brew as well...

When you consider the rest of the kit you need to take out for a baby anyway, 2 small flasks was hardly an issue. Whether you bf or ff you still need nappies/wipes/spare change of clothes etc so you've normally got a changing bag with you anyway and if you don't you're a braver woman than I am!

Congrats by the way

I uses to take a flask of just boiled water and bottles that had an oz or so of previously boiled water in. The formula was premeasured into a formular tub with compartments. When ds wanted a bottle I added the hot water to previously boiled water in bottle to required level and added the formula. Bottle was then lovely and warm. However, my ds only liked very warm milk and wouldn't drink the room temperature cartons. Would have been a lot less gaff if he did!

Sorry, gaff= faff. Blooming phone!

Onepieceofcremeegg

What I actually said was 'the rules change on this constantly', not that there has been a recent guideline change since that you have mentioned?

And I think the evidence of that can lie here on this thread. Each parent throughout the years have practised different ways of doing essentially the same thing, each time doing what our health professional have advised at the time.

try a ready made carton at home first; like UHT milk they do taste slightly different and my DD would not take them, I made bottles up when moved to FF if make with really hot water will be warm enough in insualtor bag for a couple of hours at least, if longer may need to re heat, advice changes people do what is advised at time ( or not as case maybe) mostly however, we are not lucky our child survived as the risk was tiny anyway,

my DD was fine with this, you need to make your own mind up ;if made in sterilised bottle etc, unless your child is not well high unlikely to be any side effects

The powder containers are definitely the best!

If you are taking a carton don't forget some form of scissors to open them with as the milk tastes vile and I've always struggled to open them even with my teeth (plus it's not hygienic!)

But as someone else said- sorry can't remember who- go for a short walk first and build it up!

the advice changed tho becasue some babies actually died after having formula made up with water that wasnt hot enough.

the insturctions on the box are to leave boiled water to cool for half an hour (which depending on the amount of water in the kettle and the kettle itself, would be about 70 deg) so the advice has always been to make it up with hot water, but there is now specific temp advice.

my first three were all bfed, with no4 and no5 i switched to formula at 3-4mths and the advice for both of them was to make it with water at 70deg, ds4 is 3 and a half, so its not that recent.

Yes I used the ready made formula cartons when out
there about the size of a small carton of apple juice and some much handier.

I breast fed but also took out bottles with 8oz of boiled water in (usually hot and let them cool down in the bag if i thought that i had enough time) i then had a little plastic tupperware tub with lid that had just the right amount of powder in for one bottle. when they got older/i could afford it i bought some of the ready made cartons which are a lot less of a faff and much more portable. first trip out is alway difficult so try going somewhere near home to start with - dont be too ambitious if you are nervous it is ok to be - we all were!

mummyofHnS I see what you mean now. :)

4madboys, my dd2 is a bit older than your ds4 (she's just turned 4), and I remember this advice (i.e. 70 degrees) being in place when she was tiny.

In fact I remember seeing a lot of information about it at the time.

use the cartons. Really is the best option.

I bought a thermos flask - one of those polished steel jobbies. Did a trial run to see how long it kept the water hot. 5 hours later the water was still so hot I had to then cool down the bottle. So yes, excellent for keeping the water at the right temperature to safely make up a bottle but then you have to find a way of cooling it down to a temperature where the baby can drink it. Far too much faff.

What Loony said:
I CAN'T STATE THIS CLEARLY ENOUGH, IF YOU MAKE UP FORMULA WITH WATER THAT IS LESS THAN 70 DEGREES YOU ARE RISKING YOUR BABY'S HEALTH.

www.nhs.uk/Planners/birthtofive/Pages/making-up-formula.aspx

YANBU to think wtf, you end up carting tons around when you have a new baby, get a snazzy change bag you like for all the tat you will carry for the next few years :)

yabu not to do it.

If you find it too much of a faff take a serilised bottle and cartons out with you

Made up bottles in advance, put them in the fridge, warmed in the microwave when needed.

Two astonishingly healthy babies, now aged 14 and 16 years, FWIW.

Get one of those 3 compartment poder containers, fill bottle to required level with boiled cooled water, and mix as needed. Babies don't need all milk to be warmed - I guess if you get them used to it, they won't kick off!

Poder?? Powder, obv...!

YOu can buy a sort of portioner pot in Tesco which I used to use - was much better space-wise! In really cold weather I would either take that out with a bottle of just boiled water (which would then cool down enough by the time I needed it) or I would just make up the bottles. Realistically, especially at the age the baby is at you are not likely to be out for too long. You can also get insulated bags which are handy if your baby isn't yet used to cooler bottles.

Congratulations btw!

I just read back, about babies dying after being fed formula that was made up with cool water. WTF?!

Is that actually true? I can't see ANY logical reason for that being the case.

That's what I did, and everyone who had babies around the same time as me that I knew. No ill effects, but hey, I'm not the GMC you know...