Making up formula- half hot/half cold?

[raininginbaltimore]

You will see from my other post (bottle nursing) that I will be FF pretty much from birth for medication reasons, so please don't make this thread about how BF is easier! I know and I wish I could!

Anyway, I am thinking ahead to FF and I know that you need to make it with hot water so that it kills the bacteria in the powder. But what about when out and about or at night feeds? I can't imagine waiting for a hot bottle to cool with a screaming newborn. I know I could use ready made, but it is so expensive. In fact formula is bloody expensive as it is!

I am sure I saw somewhere that some people make up half the feed with hot water then add cool boiled water, so it is the right temp. Does that work? has anyone tried it? i am concerned it won't be the right concentration.

Hazeyjane, yes i know that is also a good idea but the water in the flask would gradually go below that of 70c so surely made up milk in a cool bag is better?

not if you get a good insulated flask, they will keep it properly hot, or yes make a bottle, up cool quickly and take it in a cool bag, both of those are ok according to guildines but adding powder to cool water ie below 70 deg is not ok and its easy to make a bottle in advance and cool and store it correctly or to do the half and half method.

if you dont have a good flask then you can always nip into a cafe and ask for some hot water, m&s and waitrose cafe will both provide you with a flask of hot water just for this or order a pot of tea and before putting tea bag into the pot use some of that hot water :)

I make my baby's milk up with a small amount (3oz for a 7oz feed) of hot water. Shake to dissolve all milk lumps, then top up with 4oz of cold water.

I can't understand why you would not make a feed up freshly if you can. If you are going to take a flask with you to heat the pre-made bottle why not use the hot water and the powder and take a separate small container of water. You would be carrying one small measuring container (i find one of the 5oz bottles sufficient at the moment), some milk powder and possibly some cooled boiled water if your baby is not old enough to have water directly from the tap.

The advice to make a feed up using hot water has been the same on the formula packets for at least 4.5 years (since DD1 was born) and if anything has become stronger recently (noticed since DD2 was born), spelling out that failure to do so could make your baby ill.

Car seats are a faff. They are an expense. They are a pita if you're going by foot but getting a lift back. There are exemptions to the car seat rule/law but you take a risk.

The flask I had kept the contents hot for up to 8 hrs. I would put boiling water in and it stayed hot for a good while. I got a small one which was easy to carry around.

Pumpkin, the bacteria is still there and will start to breed as soon as the bottle is made up. The longer you keep it, the greater the risk.

There are risks with most things but people need to have the accurate information in order to decide the balance of risk/convenience. An older baby may be more likely than a newborn to recover from any poisoning so what is acceptable may well change as your baby grows.

But yes. Formula is alarmingly expensive and shouldn't be.

Can anyone tell me how hot 70 degree water feels? Not got a thermometer.....

Boil a litre of water in a kettle and let it cool for 30 mins - that is how hot it feels.

roughly tho as it does depend on the kettle, just to make it more difficult!

It depends on your kettle and how much water you boil. A stainless steel one would keep water hotter longer than a plastic one. The water doesn't have to be 70deg exactly - it should be no cooler than 70deg so over is fine. I understand that some of the nutrients in the formula are affected if you use boiling water but waiting 5 mins or so should be ok.

modifiedmum - I know you said your DS is now 3y but in case you have any more children and are still on Keppra then - you can bf on Keppra.

I was put on it recently as an adjunct to Lamictal as I am pg and had a bad patch of seizures, the cons. neuro knew I was bfing DD2 & DD3 and was planning on bfing the baby too so he made sure I could bf on Keppra even though I was taking with Lamictal and Sertraline (I have OCD too!). It didn't suit me at all unfortunately so I have been weaned off it but it is compatible with bfing even a newborn as long as they are monitored (standard really for any med with the possibility of a sedating effect).

Forgot to add to OP, I did the 50/50 method with DD2 (17m). It meant that the feed was ready almost immediately at home. When out and about I either used ready-made cartons or ocassionally took a flask of hot water/asked for some in a cafe and topped up with cooled water after mixing.

Right hazey - shall do. Stainless steel kettle which gets v hot on the outside so maybe a bit less time. I used to make ds1's milk with boiling not realising about the nutrient thing :-( Luckily he had breastmilk too...

Thanks for the link tiktok - v useful reading.

I used just boiled water too Gill - didn't realise about the nutrient thing until later but it is a negligible deterioration from as far as I can tell. DD2 was mix-fed until 7m so was getting that as well.

I really didn't want to start an argument. I am not willing to make it up with cold water, the guidelines are there for a reason. If other people want to that is fine.

I might have a play around with the hot/cold combos. I will use ready made, especially to start with. I like the cool bag idea.

When I go out I will need a couple of feeds as we walk/bus everywhere, so often out for whole morning/afternoon.

This leaflet gives you all the information you need to know. You will be given this, or similar on leaving the hospital after having your baby. I think this makes things perfectly clear.

Unicef Bottlefeeding Guidelines

I'm having a home birth, but assume they will give me same leaflet!

Yes, you should be given the same leaflets before the midwife leaves your home after the birth!

The leaflet say that you can make bottles up like you normally would with 70c water, refridgerate and store for up to 24hrs until needed.
It says you can keep them in a cool bag for 4 hours if you are going out

I didn't get any leaflets.

Raining - might be worth bearing in mind that some babies don't seem to care if formula is warm or cold. Especially if they get used to cool formula from early on.

If you are lucky enough to have one of those babies, making it up according to the guidelines for pre-making (ie. with hot enough water, cool rapidly, refrigerate) may be all you need to do.

I have gotten a leaflet with each of my girls, the youngest is now 16 months. The community midwife who came out for the first ten days also went through how I was making up bottles etc, made sure I was aware advice had changed etc. I know that visits from midwives/HVs etc can vary hugely regionally but I've always had great advice/support (realise I can sometimes be in the minority on MN re this )

raininginbaltimore I know I've seen some of your previous threads, can't remember if this is your first or second child (have always felt searching previous posts a bit stalkery ) but just checking that you have some advice etc re when your milk comes in.

This is my second, but I bf ds exclusively for 6 weeks, then mix fed for quite a while.

The drop was gradual. Milk coming in is going to hurt isn't it?

My HV was happy to leave me a leaflet on safe co-sleeping, but really didn't want to give me the leaflet on making up formula! I think she didn't want to give me anything to discourage me from continuing to BF!

I thought it was your second You'll be grand - just use a good bra, some breast pads and yes it will hurt for a few days (around 3). Just check what the strongest painkiller you can take is. And don't touch your breasts at all, stand with your back to the shower head etc. Sorry if this is a bit like teaching your granny to suck eggs but I know that you want and need to have everything organised, straight in your head.