How do you do bottle feeding?

[Biscuitsandtea]

Hi, I'm currently 31 weeks pg with dc2. I am fully intending to bf this one (as I did with DS), but just wanted to be fully informed in case bf doesn't work out for some reason.

DS never took a bottle of even expressed breast milk, so I fed him from the boob every single time for the while time he was bf.

Anyway, my question here is about how you actually have to make up bottles and stuff (if I should find myself in that position)? I've heard various things about the 'guidelines' changing and I just wondered what they actually expect you to do now?

Apologies for any typos - I can't review the post as am on my phone.

Thanks

Guidelines changed a few years ago (five, I think) - your midwife/HV should have the relevant printed leaflet. But it's all on the web as well:

www.nhs.uk/Planners/birthtofive/Pages/bottle-feeding.aspx

That's a really helpful link, thank you.

Now my questions are: Firstly, how would you make up feeds in advance if you were going out somewhere? Oddly enough, I rarely take my kettle with me .

And secondly that advice tells you to make the feed up with water at least 70 degrees and then cool by running the bottle under cold water. How long would that actually take to cool it down to drinking temperature?

I keep a stash of the ready cartons to take out with me, I'm sure there is a more cost effective way of doing things like taking the powder with you etc, I just find it a lot easier with the cartons. Plus I found the made-up formula just smells terrible after an hr or so, and wouldn't like to have to drink that myself.
Re. cooling bottles; after adding the formula to the (very) hot water I put it in a small tupperware box filled with cold water and put it in the fridge. It takes about 5 mins to cool. Tends to take a bit longer if you run it under the tap (plus you have to stand there and swill it and stuff). HTH.

Thank you

I put the water I need to make up the bottles in flask as my baby could b unpredictable with feeds at first so couldn't time it perfect for the half hour cooled water. I have a mini flask to take out and I put the powder in a pot specially for the milk powder my baby will not have cold milk so if I go out the ready mixed milks r not good for me unless I can warm them but most places will not allow u 2 warm a bottle. My 2 sisters and my friend have used the flasks since I told them about this and they loved it
As for cooling I put the bottle in a cold water measuring jug and every now an then I spin the milk around takes few mins.

So effectively the little flask keeps the water warm enough to mix the formula powder? The NHS site said about keeping the water above 70 degrees or something to make up the formula?

Then do you have to cool it after that? It all seems really complicated when you try to think it out in advance . But I imagine that once you get used to it, it's all fine.

They say boil the kettle then after half an hour it's right temp to use for the milk so I put that in the flask/bottle then cool wen ready to feed. At night I take up the flask and use that it's a lot easier than waiting in the night for the bottle warmer to warm up. The flask keeps the water at the temp u put it in the flask depending on the size of flask for roughly 5 hours I have mini one for outings which holds 8oz and a big one that holds double that. The metal flasks with metal outside r best

Biscuit the water needs to be above 70degrees as the powder isn't sterile, therefore the heat kills off any potential germs. Mixing formula with cool (colder than 70) wouldn't destroy any germs in the milk. You can make up feeds for overnight and store them in the fridge. You could then pop them in a cup of hot kettle water to take the edge off of the coldness. Tbh, formula can be drunk fridge-cold. It doesn;t make it any less digestible/nutritious, but most warm it a little just to make it nicer for the baby in the middle of the night.

When out an about, I'd say take two sterilised bottles out (in a tpperware tub) and buy the cartons when out. Simply open and serve.

My LO (6 weeks old) drinks all milk at room temperature, as it's a habit I simply got into. It also makes it easier when out as I dont have to worry about finding somewhere to warm drinks up.