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.

[GoLightlyHollie]

Ok so call me a bad mom but I did what my mom did back in the day. Every morning I would wake up, make up all the bottles for a 24 hour period and keep them in the fridge. I know there's a reason people don't do this anymore but my kid survived to tell the tale.

[minifingerz]

"I know there's a reason people don't do this anymore but my kid survived to tell the tale."

I was put to sleep on my front and we didn't wear seat belts, and guess what? Me and all my siblings are here to tell the tale! As are 99.9% of children whose parents did the same. Would I be advising other people that it's fine for them to do so on the strength of this fact? Probably not.

[ZigZagIntoTheBlue]

I laughed in the face of that leaflet, who the fuck has the time to make every bottle as and when it's required. We make a days set of bottles each evening, cool and store in fridge. Ds1&2 both prefer it cold so no reheating required but both healthy and never has issues with the milk. Do what works for you!

[Notsure1234]

I work in a children's hospital feed unit making up feeds for patients who can't have pre made ones

We make the formula with water over 70 degrees to kill bacteria in the powder and below 90 as apparently higher than this kills off some of the nutrients. The bottles are then blast chilled and kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours and warmed using hot water.

I have the perfect prep at home though!

[FATEdestiny]

That's not what I was told when I had my 5yo DS or when my neice was born 8 years ago.

You were advised incorrectly then Watching

My children are 12, 11 (although 11yo never had formula), 7 and 2. That particular NHS advice (that formula pre-made can be kept in the fridge for 24 hours) has been consistent throughout.

Indeed it is still NHS advice on their website today.

[WankingMonkey]

I find it a bit...cruel to do it exactly as the guidelines say. Especially if you are feeding on demand rather than on a set schedule. Can't imagine hearing my baby cry for 40 minutes hungry while I faff about with boiling water and stuff

[FATEdestiny]

You don't have to faff around for 40 mins. You can whip a bottle out the fridge and just warm it up.

Super easy.
Super quick.
No faff
Within NHS recommendations

[LavenderRains]

I work in neonates and we make our formula up for 24 hours. Nobody has been poisoned! Can you imagine making individual bottles for 30+ babies every hour or so
we still have to recommend to parents the 'make it as you need it' method

[eggyface]

Use the perfect prep and as someone said put the powder in first so the hot shot is truly hot. And use common sense - don't leave water in there for days.

[eggyface]

And good luck making Neocate with carobel 24 hours in advance. It's wallpaper paste at the best of times and is only supposed to last 15 minutes before discarding.

[eggyface]

Oh and use boiled water in the perfect prep - that sorts the cold water bacteria issue

[teenmumandsowhat]

With both my two Dc, I just made up a days worth of bottles, cooled them
And put them in the fridge, and then took 1 out about 15minutes before each feed, to go back up to room temperature. ( both only liked room temperature milk, nothing hotter)

[umizoomi]

I think the advice about adding the formula to boiling / water over. 70 degrees is hilarious. As soon as the scoop of formula is hit with the steam from the bottle you then put it back in the box of formula for scoop 3 and so on. So nice damp scoop in box of formula = bacteria growth heaven.

[Rollonbedtime7pm]

I think the worst part of the whole thing is that you could possibly buy formula that isn't sterile and make your baby ill!

Why isn't the powder sterile to begin with?!

(Making bottles in advance, fridge storage and microwave here - currently doing for 3rd baby and no illness yet!)

[WankingMonkey]

You don't have to faff around for 40 mins. You can whip a bottle out the fridge and just warm it up.

I am well aware of this, however I refer to the ridiculous 40 minute long instructions that come WITH the formula.

[MyDressIsInferiorBlue]

I work in neonates and we make our formula up for 24 hours. Nobody has been poisoned! Can you imagine making individual bottles for 30+ babies every hour or soconfused
we still have to recommend to parents the 'make it as you need it' methodhmm

See that to me says that the rule for making up fresh is more about putting you off ff/encouraging bf. Especially since the NHS do still state that it's safe to make up with water over 70°C, cool as fast as possible and keep in fridge for 24hrs (and that you should do this, if not making bottles up fresh) - yet recommend the far more difficult and impractical method of making fresh.

[WankingMonkey]

we still have to recommend to parents the 'make it as you need it' method

I honestly think this is to make bottlefeeding as difficult and faffy as possible in the hope one will start breastfeeding instead.

But its not that easy. I tried to BF my daughter..she just would not take it. I tried expressing milk I didn't have, I was on ridiculous amounts of domperidone at one point given to me by my lactation consultant (who took me a MONTH to get an appointment with as she was so busy) and still no more than an ounce in a whole hour.

I would be extremely pissed to have if confirmed at any point in the future that my thoughts are true about it being a BF thing...

[AliTheMinx]

We used the cartons of Aptamil and our son liked them at room temperature! It was brilliant. We just kept a carton, a sterilised bottle and a little scissors on the bedside table and could feed him within seconds of him stirring. It was also very convenient when we were out and about and took away the hassle of warming bottles and making up the formula each time. We used to order in bulk from Boots and it worked really well for us as a family x

[BillSykesDog]

I have a Perfect Prep, it's okay, but it just replaces a kettle and a jug of preboiled water. It's not that labour saving. In fact, I bought it precisely because I had seen so many people raving about it on here. I'm actually starting to get really suspicious about the number of posts saying how great it is, and wondering if Tommy Tippee has some sort of marketing presence on the sly...

[Iizzyb]

I boiled & filled a day's bottles with water then tipped in milk powder when it was time for a feed & warmed in microwave. My friend's baby was in special care unit & that's what they showed her to do too. This needing to put 70 degree plus water on milk is something I never ever did. Totally impractical. Ds almost 4. Brilliant sleeper then & now & the best milk drinker at mums & tots. How would you know what 70 degrees is anyway?! Just do your best & chuck the milk away if they don't drink it - don't leave it hanging around for hours - we were told up to one hour was ok. One minute of screaming hungry baby is a lifetime 45 minutes would have you both demented. Just make sure you shake the bottles to clear any hot spots after the microwave. Good luck & congratulations op xx

[GinAndSonic]

Made mine up in advance and kept in the fridge. In the end I didn't even heat them up, cold milk was fine by DS.

[Sephipops]

My baby has one formula feed a day. Once I'd worked out (with the premixed stuff) what she liked we survived one feed following the guidelines. The second she had finished the feed I was on eBay getting a prep machine. I picked it up the next afternoon and it is my favourite purchase.

[SpookyPotato]

When we started out, we did it in a similarly ridiculous way! The tin said do not store, so every time he cried we went to the stove and boiled some bottled water (couldn't use kettle because of dirty tap water in Middle East) Mix it up in freshly sterilised bottle, then put in freezer to cool or stand like a lemon at the cold tap for ages. It took about 20 mins and had to settle him at the same time as doing all the fiddly pouring hot water from a pan.
Then my mum told me 'do not store' means ones that have already been drank from, and that you can store freshly made ones for 24 hours. I felt such an idiot (after 4 months of the faff...) also bought a bottle warmer so I could just pop a bottle out of fridge and warm up in 3 mins. Life changing!

[CheshireChat]

Only issue with half and half method is that the bottles were too warm (I think anyway, DS is off formula) so I just messed about with the proportions until I thought the temperature is right. Easy peasy!

[CheshireChat]

And FF was a lot easier with a baby that wanted 2 big feeds in quick succession and then to be left alone. Surprisingly my boobs never managed that!