Formula..

[superdupershopper]

I've just looked at baby formula instructions. You're supposed to boil the water, let it cool a bit, make up just one bottle, cool it in cold water and give to baby- it says each bottle just be made up as needed and to do this each time.

Does anyone actually do this? How can this be practical at 3am?!? I remember with my older child making up the day's bottles of formula in advance as they could be made up and kept in fridge for 24 hrs.

AIBU to consider not following the guidelines- is there a safety reason for the change?

Perhaps thinking I could make up two at a time, so they would only be in the fridge 3-4 hours max before being used...

I made four up at a time. Made with +70° water, flash cooled and refridgerated. Dd fed to a schedule so I would take a bottle out of the fridge 30mins before her feed and she drank it at room temp. For night feeds I run it under the hot tap to take the edge off the cold.

She never had a warm bottle.

We made ours up with powder in bottle, then boiling water on top, then cold water (from the tap) on top of that to get it to right temperature. Mind you we only formula fed after six months and we never bothered sterilising bottles for formula either, just sterilised for EBM in the early days.

Had friends with babies who needed some kind of funny 'comfort' milk which was thicker and helped with their reflux. Making up a feed seemed to take about an hour I swear, with this poor baby crying constantly the whole time. Thank god I never had a baby with reflux.

Totally agree with perfect prep machine. Best £70 I ever spent. Milk is ready at right temperature in 2 mins and you know it's sterile. It has made more difference to my stress levels than anything else I've bought.

We made up the 'next' one after each bottle. Made up as per guidelines but flash cooled and kept at the back of the fridge.

We used liquid formula overnight as it is heat treated to kill the bacteria present in powdered formula.

diege - I think it's a cost/benefit thing. The risk of the bacteria is worth taking if that's the only way a baby can be fed enough.

I combination feed but my twins get liquid formula on prescription which is brilliant.

Our ped told me I needn't sterilize water at all. I washed bottles in dishwasher on sanitary cycle, filled with room temperature water, and mixed up powder no problem. Made bottles on demand that way no problem, took two minutes.

Once in awhile I'd make up batches for the day and keep in the fridge and then warm them in microwave (which is now frowned upon...yet I stirred it very thoroughly and tested it on wrist every time). Once dc was frantic and I gave straight from the fridge and every time after that he just wanted it cold! I had a devil of a time convincing my grandmother I wasn't 'mean' that he wanted them that way!

Any way, that's the way I did it over 10 years ago...dc are still around :)

I had my first baby in 1995 and my youngest in 2002.

I formula fed each of them. I made up 7 or 8 bottles every evening and that was normally enough for 24 hours. I made them with very hot, just recently boiled water, cooled them quickly in cold water and stored in the fridge. I never encountered any problems, though I understand that this method is not always recommended these days.

If we were out or away on holiday I would often used cartons of ready made formula.

I also used to warm them in the microwave and give them a jolly good shake before feeding (testing on my own wrist first). That is also now frowned upon, I hear. I think it was then, but many of us did it with no ill effects.

You find a routine and method that works for you and stick to it.

I stick some freshly boiled water in the bottle with the powder then top up with pre boiled water I keep in the fridge.

I fill a flask at the start of the day and make up DD's feeds about half an hour before she'll need one, but I know she wants feeding every 3 hours during the day. I haven't tried it but for night feeds someone said to make up the feed with half the required amount of boiling water just before bed and then keep a flask of hot water to hand overnight and top up the rest of the required amount when the baby wakes up.

Twenty squillion descriptions of how other people so things won't change the science of it.

Perfect Prep is great, I would definitely recommend it. It is usually in the Asda baby event and the price fluctuates on amazon so if you can wait you can probably pick one up in the next few months for £50-£60.

How do you know you're adding the right amount of water if you're topping up after the powder has been added? Or do you measure out the topping-up water and add it to what you know is already in the bottle?

If you get the powder:water ratio wrong you can make your baby ill too.

A 3oz feed has (from memory) 3 scoops of powder in 3oz of water but looking on the side of the bottle the level will be above 3oz once the powder has been added if you see what I mean.
I only used powder formula once and usually used pre-made apart from that. I found the powder a bit scary

I used cartons. They are hugely expensive but the peace of mind of knowing the milk was sterile was worth it, for me.

Make them up according to the guidelines, cool down as fast as possible under cold water and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. That's the guidelines for childcare providers.

I started off with the small cartons but th moved onto the larger 1ltr bottles. Much cheaper than the small cartons and good for 24hrs in fridg once opened. Tesco/boots/sainsbury online stocked them. I was cup feeding at the start (to eventually get DS on breast) so making up bottles from powder was too much extra hassle.

Make up 4 to 6 sterilized bottles with slightly cooled boiled water (discard any unused after 24 hours). Shake well and put straight in body of fridge. Microwave to warm to baby's favoured temperature (shake well and test).

That was from a friend that worked on a special care baby unit - she couldn't believe I was faffing around with jugs of hot water to warm up bottles.

Not sure why anyone is confused about the powder / water ratio as the instructions are pretty clear.

Don't waste money on a perfect prep machine. Ditch any bottles that get quite scratched. I had a microwave steam sterilizer but plenty of people used the top rack if a dishwasher on a very hot wash.

We also used ready made, the large bottles could keep for 48hrs in the fridge IIRC.
I believe that using for example 2ozs hot water to dissolve 7ozs worth of powder carries a risk that it is not enough water to kill all potential bugs. That's why you need be quite specific about powder to hot water ratio. Of course there are millions of children who were brought up on the 'old' methods who thrived just fine. But there is a minority who really suffered, and knowing what we know now in terms of science etc. would you really take the risk.
They don't change the guidelines just to piss people off, or make parenting harder, they do it based on scientific fact.
Making up a feed with the correct proportions of powder and hot water then flash cooling and storing in the back of a fridge is the least risky of the pre-preparing options.

Thanks everyone!

I was aware that the formula powder is not strike which is why guidelines are now to use 70 degree water not cooled water. I was just unsure as to why each bottle needs to be made up one at a time.

Baby is not newborn, 7 months old and moving to formula from being EBF so might not even take a bottle I don't know yet! I will be sterilising and think I will make one in advance when she has her nap and flash cool then keep in fridge for no more than 3 hours before next feed. Seems that is safe

Oh how I wish the perfect prep had been around in 2004 when I went back to work feeding 2 hourly through the night. I would have taken it up to bed with me.

If I had to formula feed tomorrow I'd probably break a lot of the rules. So sue me.

Lljkk no one is going to sue you, but most people want their babies to be safe from harm, and you can hardly blame them for being keen to do it safely when it doesn't take much effort and that specific harmful bacteria has been known to kill babies.

Like squirreled away, I do the same. My baby was in NiCU and they said the same too.