Wysoy- preparing in advance- urgent help needed!

[MadameG]

Could anyone please help me with this- our 8 week old son has been prescribed wysoy milk, but it takes bloody ages to prepare while he's starving for a feed.

How do I go about preparing in advance and how long can I store it in the fridge when made?

My son was prescribed soya milk for dairy allergy, and developed a soy allergy. Just wanted to give you a heads up if that's the reason he's on it. It only took a matter of weeks before he had bowel problems and was losing weight again. Do question your GP. It's only now advised for vegan mothers who choose to use it and should no longer be prescribed for babies under 6 months, I learnt the hard way.

disclaimer
You are NOT meant to do it this way, but I did to save my sanity.

Like any other milk I made up 3-4 bottles at a time, cooled them quickly and kept them on a clean shelf at the BACK of the fridge.

Just wanted to confirm what strawberrycake said - my nephew had diary allergy, they had private medical insurance so say top consultant who gave neocate as he said soy formula should NEVER be given under 6 months as most babies who can't tolerate cows milk end up developing soya allergies which a pain as soya in so many things.

Was this GP or consultant who prescribed - if GP then insist on seeing specialist.

My dd had dairy allergy and the paediatrician and dietitian both told me that soy formula should not be given to infants (though ok over 12 months). I really would check back on this.

Thanks for your help. It was the GP who prescribed it, yes. I'm seeing her with ds tomorrow again so will query this. He has also been vomiting up quite a bit of this soya stuff, although he does seem less windy and annoyed.

I was told the reason why babies shouldn't have soya as their main nutrient is because it has an effect on hormone production - encourages over-production of oestrogen, or something.

Nutramigen and its equivalents are very expensive, which may be why your GP tried soya as the first option. And yes, they taste vile. But they do make a vanilla-banana flavoured version, which my dd took to very well.

It's far better to make up bottles with hot (70C) water and then chill them than to make them up with cooled water afaik.

Plus don't you get 2 hours to use a bottle once it's made up anyway?

hester - thats the reason why babies shouldn't have soya formula (eg for vegetarian/vegan lifestyle choices) but babies with diary allergies should have also because they are likely to develop soya allergy too.

MadameG - here is a link to a very useful leaflet about formula.

It is produced by UNICEF. Have a look at the leaflet for HCPs.

Please have a look at the info about soya formula:

The Chief Medical Officer has advised(since 2004) that soya?based infant formulas should not be used as the first choice for the management of infants with proven cow?s milk sensitivity, lactose intolerance, galactokinase deficiency and galactosaemia (BNF 2009).

Whilst your baby may not have a proven intolerance etc you should ask group GP why he/she has not prescribed an alternative.

With regards to formula preparation you need to know that formula powder is not sterile.

The NHS and World Health Organisation advice is to make it with water which is 70 degrees C. (This is 1 litre of water boiled and left for 30 minutes).

DISCLAIMER - I am aware that there are some special formulas which have on pack instructions which state that a lower temp of water should be used. I am not advocating ignoring on pack info for special formulas - just making people aware - (of course there are circumstances where it is important for babies to have alternative formulas than to follow WHO guidelines).

There are ways of making formula in advance - please see leaflets linked below.

First step is that all formula normally says it can be made up to 2 hours in advance - so you can anticipate slightly.

Another alternative is a flask of water at 70 degrees.

Making in advance involves cooling ASAP and storing in a fridge at less than 4 degrees and limiting the storage time.

NHS formula preparation guidance for HCPs

WHO guidelines

Very Good Irish guidance - need to click on Guidance Note 22