Is fridge-cold formula acceptable?

[asouthwoldmummy]

Sorry I wasn't brave enough to post this in AIBU!

I was round my sisters earlier, her DD is 6wo and was 4.5 weeks prem. Her first feed whilst I was there she opened a carton of formula for her and put the other half a carton in the fridge. For her next feed 3 hours later she poured the rest of the carton in a bottle for her. She then swirled the milk around in the bottle in her hand to warm it literally a couple of times before feeding to her DD. I was

Is this acceptable to give a 6wo fridge-cold milk? I didn't think so and certainly didn't with DS. My sister is great but has a very fiery temper and I daresay would not have appreciated being told how to feed her DD!
The only trouble is I feel like a letdown because I should have said something.

If the baby will take it then nothing wrong with it really.

Ds was fine with fridge cold milk but other babies prefer it warm.

I'm sure your neice would have let her mother know quick smart if it wasn't acceptable

i don't think it really matters tbh! i always warmed ds1, but that's onlky because i felt like if i were a baby i'd prefer it warm!

Glad I didn't post in AIBU then, phew!

Yes fridge cold is fine.
Much more sensible to teach your baby to accept cold or room temperature milk then to always heat it only to find yourself in a situation where it can't be heated and baby won't drink it.

I personally wouldn't give mine fridge cold as it just doesn't seem 'right' to me, whatever right is.

But I did give them all room temp right from the start so as to minimise faff at night and when out and about.

It's really good that your sister is using liquid formula since your niece was prem and is still very young.

(Formula powder is not sterile and needs to be made with water which is 70 degrees C - the risks of infection from formula powder are much higher for prem babies and newborns).

Personally I preferred to pop bottle into a jug of hot water for a few minutes.

If the baby drinks it then there is no harm, won't make them sick!

My dd would only drink fridge cold formula. She was fussy even then.

My ds happily took cold formula. Both dds happily take fridge cold ebm. No problem with it at all.

I've read a few places that (made in advance or ready-made) formula doesn't need to be warmed (as long as it was prepared correctly, of course).

We 'take the edge off' my baby girl's formula (she's 14 weeks) by putting it in the warmer for a few minutes, but it's not really warm. She'll take it cold/warm - any way, really, as long as it's wet :)

I know someone whose baby would only take FF really warm, which made it a real pain if they were out and about as she wouldn't take it any other way

Totally fine is baby is prepared to drink it.

If DS had expressed milk it was usually straight from the fridge - I must confess I never really thought about it

I never put formula in the fridge. I used to sterilise the bottles, boil water, fill them and seal them then leave them on the worktop. I only added milk when "serving". I had one of those milk boxes from Mothercare to carry powder in when out. That also meant that if a bottle leaked in my bag it was only ever water. My way of doing things was purely down to convenience, not any great philosophy of childcare. If the kid drinks it cold then what's the problem? When BF I never took the temp of my tits! Then again, I never tried to sterilise them in a microwave either!

Oh god, I remember getting judgey looks for telling my NCT group DD1 would drink ebm cold from the fridge if desperate.

I don't think any of them could articulate why it was so shocking.

Also got called a "bad mother" for feeding her a room temerature carton of formula in a joking way but with pleny of factor.

There really are worse things to worry about!

Incidentally, DD2 will not accept milk if it is anything warmer than room termperature.

My refuses warm milk. It likes it room temp or less.

I don't see why it's shocking to serve cold/chilled ebm or formula - after all, we quite like chilled drinks don't we? Like I said, as long as it's wet, she's not fussy

What about the other way? Someone I know was giving her 10week old DD a very warm bottle the other day - the little thermometer thing in the bottle stayed red until the bottle was finished and from the outside the bottle felt like a cup of tea. Her DD seemed to like it that way but I was a little bit