Formula feeding - could I use a different temperature kettle?

[Lambzig]

I am pg at the moment with my 2nd baby and will be formula feeding. (I have to formula feed due to the medication I need to take every day, just wanted to say so that no-one tries to persuade me to try to bf as its a painful issue as it is).

From last time, I remember boiling the kettle and trying to remember to make up the bottle 30 mins later when it had cooled to 70 degrees - lots of times I forgot and had to start again as it had cooled too much and had a screaming baby. I know you can buy fancy kettles now that heat at different tempertatures including to 70 degrees. Could you just use one of these and make up the bottle when it has hit 70 degrees? would make life so much easier.

My DH thinks that the water had to be boiled first to get rid of bacteria, but if 70 degrees kills bacteria in the milk then isnt it going to be ok for the water too? Any ideas?

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Different bacteria in water and in powder :)

Honestly, I am not sure about this - it's a good question.

What you could do is to call any of the formula manufacturers and see what they say - they should be responsible for their product being used safely. You can also check things out with one of the midwives you are seeing for a/n care. If she does not know, she can get an opinion from infection control dept at the hospital.

OK so I have never understood why people don't make formula up in the following way:

• Heat water to boiling.
• Add four ounces of boiling water to bottle.
• Add seven scoops of powder.
• Measure three ounces of cold water out in separate container and add to bottle. (I guess if it matters this could be previously boiled and then chilled water but I just used it from the tap.)

Is there a reason not to do it like this? It serves the purpose of killing the bacteria in the powder whilst still producing a bottle which is ready to drink immediately. I did this and it worked fine. Would this solve your problem without need for a new kettle?

If your flush and I mean quite flush have you considered a Zip tap plumbed in boiling water. You would still need to wait for it to cool to 70 but would need the kettle to boil each time. I bring them up as I have always wanted one.

Blame I think that the reason you use boiled then slightly cooled water is that some of the nutrients in formulas will breakdown if mixed with boiling water.

Surely no harmful levels of bacteria in mains tap water in the UK? You can give tap water to a six month old, but still have to use boiling water to make upbtheir formula. I would have thought that the boiling water is primarily to sterilise the milk powder, and maybe to make it dissolve better. I am happy to be corrected by someone who knows more about drinking water quality than me.

I've done Blame's method sometimes too.

Now, don't all tell me off but... I don't know one mum who follows thd manufacturers instructions to the letter. I sterilise bottles. Boil water. After half an hour or more, fill bottles for the day. Add powder when needed. My LO is over the six month mark, has non-sterilised food, tsp water to drink, eats dirt/chews friends toys etc etc. I know they say make up each bottle as and when but this is so much easier. My LO and all his friends have never, ever been I'll this way. I actually got this idea from midwife (unofficially).

The water has to be no less than 70 degrees C when it hits the powder.

This is not the same as boiling the water, waiting half an hour, pouring into the bottles and then adding the powder when needed - surely a midwife has not been saying that's the way to do it???

I boil the kettle, watch the news, go back and make all four bottles. Refridgerate. done.

I do it similar to blameitontheboogie, bit different though.I make up 4 bottles at a time. I boil the kettle, leave for about 25 mins. I put 7 scoops in each bottle ( I hate the formula sticking to the scoop, not getting a full scoop worries me). I then use a separate, sterilised bottle, and add 4oz of water. Flash cool, put in fridge. Then when dd wants a feed I boil kettle, use sterilised bottle to measure 3 oz of water and add ti the bottle. Makes milk the perfect temp.

My DS1 was ff and I never made up the bottles as it's now recommended because at the time the guidelines weren't as strict. He became very il with constant diarrhoea, his stools were tested and the result came back that he had Salmonella. He could only have caught if from formula powder. Alright we were probably very unlucky but it can happen and it did happen to us.

I do exactly what Gnocchi does.
Except I go to bed at the end of the news and ask DH to do the bottles.

Oh and dd has her bottles at room temp or fridge cold. never warm.

It may only be a small risk but they changed the guidelines for a reason. A few babies in Germany died which was the push for the change. More recently a couple of babies died in the US again due to contaminated formula. Using hot water @70c kills these bugs simple risk removed. Its a bit like playing rushing rulet if you don't.

oh and i have a friend who works in water and there certainly can be bugs in our mains tap water that can make you ill. So would never give unboiled water to a small baby.

@Rushing rulet

Things got confused because for a while the advice was not to make them up in advance at all, so people think making them up in advance is a risky practice.

This is incorrect, making them up with cold (previously boiled or not) water is risky, certainly more risky than making them all up and refrigerating immediately until needed.

I wish this was either explained on formula boxes or the NHS would do a campaign on it or something. Of course it's best to make each bottle up fresh but to do that safely is impractical for most people, so people will compromise. Much better IMO to make it clear which is the safest way to compromise.

I don't know, but I think personally I would boil and cool for the first six months, but once the baby is old enough to drink tap water, maybe it is ok to just heat the water to 70 degrees?

Bertie - cross posted. Totally agree. So many people think using bottles of cold boiled water from the fridge is a 'compromise', when in fact it's basically not bothering with the guidelines. So much better to make a batch and cool fast.

You don't need to wait until the water is 70 degrees - it needs to be AT LEAST 70 degrees to kill bugs in the powder.

I boil kettle, add water to bottle, wait five minutes, add formula, cool under running water.

All the bloody advice drives me mad. It'll be something different next year. I'm guilty of pre-bottling boiled water and adding powder later with my three babies. I make sure I have no dog poo or similar on my hands when doing so.

Agreed bertie that it's worse to make them up with cold water rather than make up properly in advance but it's STILL dangerous as bacteria can proliferate in formula even if refrigerated so not a good idea either!

I used the method described by Blameitonthebogey too and had no problems. The milk was ready to drink immediately. I only made the nighttime bottle in advance and kept it in the fridge but once DD2 was sleeping through this wasn't an issue. I'm still a bit about the 'wait 30 minutes until water is 70 deg' often quoted here. I've always understood the guidelines to be no cooler than 70 but anything over 70 is fine hence my only waiting a few moments after boiling the kettle to make up the bottle.

I was told by several midwives/health visitor that using the water boiling kills the nutrients, so you need to wait until it has cooled to between 70 and 80 degrees (30 mins for 1 litre of boiled water).

Admit to being a bit of a science nerd so not following the experiment instructions correctly feels very wrong.

Use cartons.

Mega expensive but only for six months. Once they are weaning, what's the point in sterilizing anything anyway? Carrots aren't sterile.

verity that's not the case. Salmonella doesn't thrive in carrots but apparently does in powdered formula.
I admit that if it hadn't happened to me (baby catching Salmonella from powdered formula) I would have thought the recommendations were all bull too. But it's not, not at all!