When did you stop using boiled water to make formula milk?

[zephyrcat]

Or do you always use it until they are on cows milk?

I'm on my 4th baby so you'd think I'd know what I was doing by now! I haven't sterilised since about 3 months. She's 7 months now....

I think I stopped at about 6 months? Or maybe later for dd1.

I think I stopped about 4 months when I started weaning... I still sterilised but didn't used cooled water. I took her off formula completely at 6 months iirc

What would you use instead of boiled water?

I carried on until they were on cow's milk.

I was in a routine and it worked for me, so I never changed it. Not sure when you are supposed to stop.

you should always use hot water (>70ºC) to make up formula because the powder isn't sterile - not the same issue as sterilising bottles etc.

I stopped at 11 months and went straight onto cow's milk - no probs experienced at all!

I thought it had to be a certain temp for the powder to disolve? {thicko emoticon}

surely you can't use anything but boiled water for formula

I don't know if you are supposed to stop - I just couldn't remember what I did before.... am sick to death of going to make a bottle and dp has left the kettle empty so am stuck with a screaming dd while I boil the kettle then cool it again!

Ooh yes. That's a good point everyone, you are always supposed to use boiling water if you're sticking with formula. It's the sterilising you can be a bit "flexible" with....

A mother I know used bottle water to make up her babies bottles from birth really - sterilised the bottle etc but used bottled water which helped when making up feeds when away from home - also meant that she didn't have to cool / heat it up as the baby was used to having it at room temp.

Dynamicnanny that is way off from the current guidelines, as well you know

I used to feed at room temperature (except evening feed) would mix there and then.

Bottled water is not recommended for babies as too high mineral content IIRC.

I carried on sterilising bottles and using cooled boiled water til DS1 went to cow's milk. Teats should still be sterilised if using bottles as tiny particles of milk can get stuck apparently.

Buy two kettles (get a cheap second one) and use that for babies water. We have two kettles and two sterilisers (and two babies...).

Some bottled water contains high levels of nitrates that make it unsuitable for babies.

No no, would never use bottled water. It contains too much sodium.

It was purely that there was no water left in the kettle and I thought for a split second do I actually need to boil and cool the kettle.

Yes Mrs Badger I know that - my face did go a little when she told me but her girls are perfectly healthy and well adjusted lol and her third is bottle fed with boiled water

I have a jug of water in the fridge of pre boiled water which i re heat in the micro to make the formula

OK, still can't remember who suggested it, but someone has posted about mixing the powder with a small amount of very hot water, and then making up to a full bottle with pre-boiled + cooled water they keep in the fridge.

Could you boil kettle - add 4oz of bolied water, add 7 scoops of formula, shake, then add 3oz of pre-boiled, pre-cooled water to make up the equal parts water/formula?

CombustibleLemon again I know a mother as all good nursery nurses/nannies do - who fills the bottles with freshly boiled water each evening to 1 oz less than the feed and will then add 1 oz of freshly boiled water at the feed alongside the powder - it works out to be the right temp for the baby without microwaving (which I hate) or the worst alternative leaing it in cold water to cool.

That's right - you can just "top" the cooled boiled water up with boiling to make it the right temp. Failing that pour the boiling water into the bottle then place the bottle of just boiled water into a just of cold and it will cool in a few mins.

I make all my bottles up in mornin for the day and always with boiled water saves time and also i weaned dd of baby milk at 10 months

sorry are u all saying we shouldnt use freshly boiled water for making bottles i did for dd shes now 2 and i am doing the same for ds who is 11 weeks

I have to admit, once she got past the 3 month stage I gave up doing all the bottles in advance and now just do them on demand. I would never part-make a bottle though and then add to it later because you can't be sure that you are getting the exact equal amounts of water to formula and that's quite important.