Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Can you use bottled mineral water to make up formula?

70 replies

monkey32 · 16/04/2011 11:18

I am currently pregnant with DC3, due at the end of May. When bubba is 3 months old we are going to France on holiday. We have a plot of land where we 'glamp' (glamorous camp) - we generate our own electricity and pump water from our well. It's all wonderfully low-key and eco friendly.

I plan to be bottle feeding by then and wonder if it is possible to use bottled mineral water straight from the bottle to make up formula feeds? Or if I need to boil the water first? I wouldn't trust the water from the well - even after boiling.

Any advice gratefully received! Many thanks.

OP posts:

ivykaty44 · 16/04/2011 11:19

savoycabbage · 16/04/2011 11:19

No, it's too 'minerally'.

Bideyin · 16/04/2011 11:20

Don't think so? too many minerals in it?

ivykaty44 · 16/04/2011 11:21

you can buy ready made formula - check out which types of formula you can buy ready made in france and then use that formula when you have the baby, then when you go to france you can buy formula ready made for the duration of your stay.

albusmycat · 16/04/2011 11:21

It would be MUCH easier to be still breastfeeding!

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 16/04/2011 11:24

you need to use v hot water to sterilise the formula powder don't you?

FessaEst · 16/04/2011 11:25

As others have said, bottled water has too many other "things" in too be safe for babies, particularly over a sustained period. It has a higher salt content too. Ready mixed cartons are probably the answer - we had to take a bag full when we went to Spain with friends and their DD!

OTOH - just a suggestion and feel free to ignore, but if you are planning to start off bfing and move onto formula - could you wait til after the hol? (I mostly bfed through laziness you see.....

RitaMorgan · 16/04/2011 11:32

No, can't use mineral water, and in any case the water has to be at least 70c when you mix it with the powder so that it kills any bacteria in the powder (powder isn't sterile).

frakyouveryverymuch · 16/04/2011 11:42

Atually you can use mineral water - in France the ones suitable for babies have a mark on them to show it's safe. This is cos we still have crappy lead pipes in some places so minerals in mineral water are the lesser of 2 evils and some people still use groundwater wells, which you're quite right aren't recommended, although running spring water in most regions is fine. Evian is safe and what I would/will use. I've also alternated it with Volvic and Hepar (although the latter is renowned for easing constipation so you may get explosive nappies).

1st stage ready made isn't widely available here - what you'll find in ready made form is fortified 'Lait de croissance' which is for older babies with added vitamins and iron etc.

You still need to boil the mineral water to sterilise the powder though.

frakyouveryverymuch · 16/04/2011 11:45

The phrase you need to look for on the bottle is: 'l'eau (Evian) est recommandé pour l'alimentation du bébé'

nickelbaalamb · 16/04/2011 11:45

You're advised to Bf exclusively till 6 months, if you're BFing at all, so I would think it a lot easier to carry on until at least you get back from your holiday.

You won't have to carry all the crap aroundwith you, or worry about sterlizing or anything! Just feed and go.

heidipi · 16/04/2011 14:44

Jeez nickelbaalamb and albusmycat, the OP wasn't asking whether random strangers had an opinion about how she feeds her new baby!!

Not that it's any of your business, but BFing definitely isn't always the easy option.

I was interested in the thread because I'll have stopped BF by the time we go on hol in May (after never mind how many months) and was wondering about boiling mineral water instead of tap for bottles. Guess I'll stick to tap tho. It definitely WON'T be "so much easier" to carry on BFing because frankly I can't wait for my boobs to stop hurting and for feeds to take less than an hour.

candleshoe · 16/04/2011 14:46

No you can't! Unless it says on the bottle - some do!

nickelbaalamb · 16/04/2011 14:46

It wasn't a judgement on how she should feed, merely a comment that if she's been breastfeeding successfully fora few months, then it would make sense to carry on for the holiday.

Not everyone has a painful experience for the whole time.

and why are your boobs hurting, anyway? have you been to see a breastfeeding counsellor?
(no, i'm not being facetious or patronizing, I'm just trying to help)

Tomatefarcie · 16/04/2011 14:47

Evian is perfectly safe.

Tomatefarcie · 16/04/2011 14:48

(don't boil it though).

heidipi · 16/04/2011 14:55

Yes i've been to a BF counsellor, regularly go to a BF group, have spoken to lots of other mums, read a lot and finally realised that it just isn't a comfortable or easy experience for some of us!! The 'if it hurts you're doing it wrong' line that gets trotted out is bollocks by the way!

Off you pop now to other threads asking about FF to tell everyone they should be breastfeeding.

frakyouveryverymuch · 16/04/2011 14:55

It needs heating to 70C to kill the bugs in the powder.

RitaMorgan · 16/04/2011 14:58

Why don't boil it?

nickelbaalamb · 16/04/2011 15:06

I didn't say you were doing it wrongly, so please don't assume I'm judging you or anyone else that is having problems.

And just because you had problems doesn't mean the OP will - she has indicated she'll have stopped by choice, so we're just helping her to think about trying to carry on. if it's not a problem for her.

And please don't be bitchy to me.

bran · 16/04/2011 15:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SolarPanel · 16/04/2011 15:17

heidipi, couldn't agree more.

frakyouveryverymuch · 16/04/2011 15:22

Except that the OP may be buying formula in France which has a bit of a history of issues with powdered formula....

I would definitely boil.

Greythorne · 16/04/2011 15:23

In France, the recommendations are for unhooked Evian. I have never heard if anyone in France using cooled boiled tap OR bottled water. It's Evian straight from the bottle.

One more strange thing about France.

frakyouveryverymuch · 16/04/2011 15:29

Not from my MW it isn't! The ateliers at the hospital have all said use hot water and bottled if you're unsure about your water source.

Many people ignore said advice but that's not the point. It's because they don't explain why it needs to be hot - to sterilise the powder not the tap water. People probably just selectively hear the concerns about tap water and think that water straight from the bottle is fine.

It's partly why France has fairly horrendous neonatal infection rates.

Flip

1 2 3