Making up formula for use ivernight, do any of you ladies do this?

[newpositiveme]

I have a six week old DS who is FF. Obviously the current guidelines say not to make up and store formula, but it is working ouit very expensive to use the cartons for nighttime. Equally impractical to expect him to wait 20/30 mins for me to make up a fresh bottle from scratch when he wakes in the night!

With DS1 I always made and stored a few bottles in the fridge, DS was always perfectly healthy, no upset tummy etc.

Do any of you ladies do this, if so do you wait for the bottle to cool a bit before putting it in fridge or straight in? Have you encountered any problems?

Thanks

I don't make up the feeds in advance, but I do fill the bottles with cooled boiled water and put in the fridge, then when he is ready to feed all you would have to do is add the formula and heat in a jug of hot water.

TBH if you did it before with no probs I'd go back to it.

Most people I talk to who FF their babies even a few years ago were not told to be anywhere near as stringent as we are now.

Foxy, no the advice has changed that is not a safe way to make up bottles - the powder MUST mix with water at 70c.

Most people will not encounter any problems but that doesn't mean its safe.

If you want to make up in advance make the milk, cool quickly but sitting in jug of cold water (generally change water once) and then store in the fridge ready made.

put boiling water in a flask. put cool boiled water in another flask.

mix formula in half the required amount of hot water. measure out the other half of water with a measuring cup and add to formula and water. If it is still too hot to drink then cool under tap.

I didn't ff but this is how I think I would get around waiting 20 / 30 mins.

The safest way to make up in advance is to make it up with hot water and keep it in a fridge. It should be fine to go into the fridge straight away. Modern fridges can cope with hot items just fine.

Probably the best combination of safe and convenient though is the flask of hot water as foxytocin mentions.

MumNWLondon is right.
See here for formal guidance from DH and FSA.

p.s. DH in the above means Department of Health not my other half who is not an expert on these matters :)

MumNWLOndon and Bertiebotts have it. Remember to put the bottle at the back of the fridge where it is coolest. [hsmile]

So how does making it up in advance with hot water get round the rule that says don't keep a feed for over two hours?

Plus my formula tin says not to use water that has been artificially cooled - does a fridge mean it has been artificially cooled?

Guidance on page 4 of the link that ayjayjay posted covers making & storing feeds not to be used straight away.

The keeping a feed for over 2 hours is if its at room temperature, if you've cooled it quickly and put in fridge I think that's ok..

FoxyRevenger...I think the artificially cooled bit might refer to before it mixes with the powder but am not sure. Also think 2h is if at room temp and being used rather than quickley cooled for use (slightly) later? WHy formula companies can't be explicit about this I don't know [hconfused] [handry]

foxy i think its ok because you cool it very quickly. 2 hours would apply to milk left out.

i actually have these:

www.amazon.co.uk/Vacuvin-Rapid-Ice-Mini-Cooler/dp/B0001MEKAS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288342077&sr=8-1

and i can cool a bottle to fridge temp in around 5 mins.

Sorry no experience just interested! If you had the cooler thingy that MumNWLondon posted you could make it fresh and then cool to required temp straight away without waiting 20/30mins if it can cool to fridge temp in 5mins.

I got a leaflet about making up bottles from midwife after I had ds2, does that not answer all these questions? Or are they not given to everyone?

Made up bottles. Left in fridge. Daughter still alive. Never any problems.

If 'most people will not encounter any problems' just how unsafe is it?

Make up bottles with v hot water, cool them quickly in cold water and store at the back of the fridge. I did this for my 3 yo and my 6 mo, no problems at all.

"If 'most people will not encounter any problems' just how unsafe is it?"

well some babies in Europe (Belgium and France) have died from one outbreak in the recent past hence the change of guidelines.

Bloody hell, it's a wonder my DD has so far lived to the ripe old age of nine.
We lived in the middle east and I FF her. I'd sterilise her bottles in milton then boil the kettle and make up as many as I could then put them straight into the fridge.
She is currently robust and out trick or ttreating.

What babies died? From what outbreak?? I knew there was something dodgy with powdered milk from China but that was because it was adulterated, not because gasp it was made up a few hours before feeding and put in the fridge.

I haven't bothered to google, but I can't believe for one second that if a number of babies died in Europe because parents were sloppy about preparing formula milk that this would not have been a Daily Mail headline for weeks.

I will be embarrassed now if you prove me wrong, but I find that incredible.

You know what else I did? Left a cold bottle of cows milk by my daugther's bed at night for about four years. She is still alive! She wouldn't actually drink off milk, so on rare occasion it went a but funny she didn't drink it.

I would really love to know more about the correlation between increased asthma/allergy rates and the ever increasingly strict hygiene standards to which we are now all supposed to meet.

when we went camping I'd put DS1s milk carton in my sleeping bag with me. when he woke I opened it poured it into bottle and hey presto! body temp milk and I didn't have to get out of my sleeping bag

He is also still alive (although somewhat irritating at times )

foxy
Ok, at a loose end and have googled 'babies die formula milk'. As I expected, the top result was the 2004 story about the babies in China. There does not seem to be anything else of concern.

Please can you provide link for what you are saying about babies in Europe dying, as I think it is a little irresponsible posting stuff like that without giving a source.

I would imagine that the ever-increasingly stringent guidelines are the companies' response to a more litigious society.

I know that I am happy with what I do, whether that corresponds to current guidelines or not. Whether that makes me a bad mother or not I don't know!

Google enterobacter sakazakii, cronobacter sakazakii and salmonella, or read the HPA guidelines which mention the French outbreaks.

Extremely rare but extremely serious, even if not fatal. Preventable by making formula with water at 70C.

I would rather risk making ahead and putting straight into the fridge with water of the correct temp than making with cooled boiled water.

I make bottles in advance and store in the fridge (midwife said it was fine to do this), but I don't rapidly cool them in a basin of cold water first (I put them straight in) - is that really bad? What's the reason for them needing to be rapidly cooled before going in the fridge?

this is what I used to do :
boil kettle
fill enough bottles with water only for a day fill up 2 of those little formula holders
leave bottles on counter
tip formula into room temp bottles on counter and feed to baby
have managed to keep 2 alive this way!

Out of interest though, those of you who have made up feeds the old fashioned way with no harm done, would you still do so if making up feeds now - given that the guidance is new and relates to recent events? After all, there are heaps of things people used to do that are now deemed unsafe (car seats, honey on dummy, baby rice in bottle, sleeping babies put on fronts) and tend to be avoided iyswim.