To think the recommended forumla prep is impractical?!

[sleepwhatsleep]

So it's 3am and DS who is newborn starts to stir, waking me up. I go downstairs and pick up the leaflet on bottle feeding so follow the instructions of the current recommended advice which say a bottle should only be made up when the baby asks for it. So, no second guessing. Wait until you see the signs. So.

First I have to pray to all that is holy that DS is only at the early stiring stage so that I have enough time to make this bottle.

Because it takes more than 45 minutes to prepare a bottle following the guidelines.

First you boil the kettle and then leave it for 30 minutes. In the meantime patiently explain to the baby that there isn't any evidence behind using the perfect prep machine and premaking bottles in the fridge is also only if "absolutely necessary".

Then make up the feed in the sterile bottle.

Obviously it is too hot still. So you have to hold the still pretty hot bottle under a cold water tap. That's what the leaflet says. My top record for cooling it down this way is 15 minutes, minor burns and 37 swear words on how long this is taking while DS becomes impatient.

Then feed the baby.

We did this for 24 hours. At the end of the night I had spent £70 for a tommee tippee perfect prep machine and I cackled with hysterical glee and tears of joy as the delivery man handed it to me.

I get that it's based on evidence but AIBU for not blaming myself and others for buying the perfect prep machine? Midwife was not impressed.

I was so anal about the 70 degree thing that I used to use a digital thermometer to watch the kettle water cooling down, and believe me, it used to take a LOT longer than 30 minutes for a kettle full of boiled water to get down to 70 degrees.

Some of you are forgetting that you're not allowed to use a microwave either by the way.

Unfortunately DS is on special formula that has to be thrown away after 1 hour and doesn't come in premade packs.

I used to boil kettle, leave for 10 minutes then pour it into a thermos flask. That kept it above 70 degrees. I then stood the bottle in cold water for 5 minutes and hey presto it's good to go.

The key thing to remember is its not the water that needs sterilising but the powder. Using cooled boiled water isn't safe.

It is safer and cheaper to keep pre booked water in the fridge and then make up a bottle when needed using 50% boiling hot water and then topping up with 50% of your cooled boiled water once you have added the boiling hot water to the powder and shook it up.

If you are going to do it this way, then you'll need to measure out the correct amount of cooled boiled water first you are going to add. Otherwise you will end up with too little water for the powder you have added.

Formula can be made and stored in fridge for 24 hours

feesh the water needs to be over 70 degrees so why would you wait for it to cool down to that?

Advice when I had my first baby was that you could make a days worth of bottles in advance but I understand it was changed partly after some babies became very ill from a batch of unsafe formula. Knowing why the advice changed why would anyone take the risking not following current guidelines, even if the risks are very tiny?

I have to say that when the last one ran out I made up the next 3 with boiling water, flash cooled and stored in fridge. I found it totally impossible to do it the recommended way with a hungry screaming baby. May well invest in perfect prep machine if I have another, especially if they also refuse point blank to breastfeed!

If you are going to do it this way, then you'll need to measure out the correct amount of cooled boiled water first you are going to add. Otherwise you will end up with too little water for the powder you have added.

Well obviously, but it isn't exactly difficult to do

How does the half cooled boiled water work then? It's been a while since I had babies. Don't you then have to measure out the previous boiled water as well. So say 8oz bottles. You'd add 4oz boiling water add 8 scoops of formula you then have to add 4oz water. You can't just top up to 8oz because that's not quite enough water then.

Advice when I had my first baby was that you could make a days worth of bottles in advance

It's still NHS advice

You can store made up formula in the back of the fridge for 24 hours

I'm sure when dd was little 13 years ago I put made up bottles into the fridge and then heated them up in the microwave.
When dd 2 was born 5 years ago it was all different. I used to have cartons of pre made stuff upstairs at room temperature and take a sterilised bottle up with me at bedtime for night feeds. I lived in a town house with 3 floors so it was a pain to go to the kitchen in the night !

It might be obvious to you summer, but I can guarantee that there will be someone somewhere who will put 4oz of boiling water in a bottle, add the appropriate number of scoops, then top the bottle up to the 8oz line.

You can make them up and store them but you must make them correctly.

Make up with water over 70 degrees.
Cool them down quickly in cold water
Refrigerate asap in the coldest part of the fridge
Use a thermo bag and ice park to take out and about

dreams you just use a clean sterile bottle to measure the cool boiled water and then tip it into the hot bottle.

I really can't understand how people think it is difficult. The shareholders at tommee tippee must be really laughing.

I believe the instructions say leave to cool for 'no more than 30 minutes' not that you have to leave it for that long.

We tend to make ours up in batches and store in the fridge - they are fine that way for 24hrs. Otherwise do what others have said - make up with half boiled water to sterelise the powder then top up with cold - that's all the perfect prep does! I think the issue with perfect prep machines is that there is some concern that bits of the side could start growing mould and you wouldn't know.

Not using the microwave is advice to prevent dim witted unbelievably tired parents giving their babies bottles that are two hot. Microwaving can create 'hot spots' in the milk.

Simply shake the bottle well and only heat to required! After a month or so of trying to do everything by the fucking ridiculous book' I started being sensible and efficient.

Pre made bottles and had the microwave timings for a full bottle down to an absolute T

Too** hot! Gah

Oh and I used the microwave too but not very hot and shook the bottle well.

I made up a days worth of bottles - baby was about 7-10 months then depending on which baby as I'd just breast fed until then - with water and added the formula when needed. They only had the bedtime bottle warmed. All were okay.

Got to love fate the voice of common sense!

I didn't go through all that hassle, I just made up the right amount of bottles for the day in the morning using half or 2/3 (can't quite remand this was only last year!) recommended amount of water, cooled them quickly, then put them in the fridge. When a bottle was needed I boiled the small amount of water required to bring it up to the right amount and put it in the pre-prepped bottle - quick, easy and perfect drinking temperature!

The perfect prep machine makes bottles in a way that is against NHS advice.

I think a lot if the advice we are given as parents is aimed at the "lowest common denominator", for want of a better phrase.

For example the advice us that babies/toddlers should not have bottles after the age of 1. I spoke to a dentist friend as DD was still surgically attached to her bedtime bottle at 1.5 and she said the reason for the advice is because there are parents who think it is ok to put a child to bed with a bottle unsupervised. There is then the risk of milk pooling inside the mouth if the child falls asleep with the teat in their mouth and causing tooth decay.

When DS (16yo) and DD (14yo) were babies the standard was to make 24 hours worth in one go. The rules changed by the time I had DS (5yo) but I still did 24 hours worth in one go. Midwife told me the guidelines changed due to one or 2 babies having been made ill.

This method of preparation was used as more evidence that we just 'had' to bf when I went to nct classes when pg with my 1st.
We also played a recoding of a crying baby when I was doing my bf peer supporter training whilst making a bottle by this method.
Made me glad I wanted to and was able to bf.

None of my ff friends ever made bottles like this though. And I have no idea what a perfect prep machine is, but it soundseems like I'd want one if ever have number 3 and decide to ff. :)