How do you make, store and give formula at home and out & about?

[onedaybaby]

Hi,

How do you make, store and give your baby formula feeds at home and out and about? I am considering exclusively ff and am interested in how others are doing this?

The nhs and who guidelines are very very clear on this ... why shoulder the guilt of feeling you didn't follow them by mixing with boiling water if anything did go wrong ?

Nhs also say don't store bottles in fridge as this doesn't stop bacteria growth just slows it down and not to microwave etc but you do this fairylea judgement starts in the mirror.....

The advice is a minimum temperature of 70 degrees so boiling water is fine. It's just cold water that's a problem. The only reason you are advised not to make them up with boiling water is in case you scald yourself.

I make mine fresh if I'm at home or use the ready made cartons if we are out. Although I will make up bottles and leave them in the fridge for others to use if I am going out and DS is staying at home.

Yes but at least I am making them with boiling water in the first place so there will be significantly less bacteria than making them with cold or Luke warm water. I did say it was a compromise. But I cant understand people not making them with boiling water at all.

The water is boiled it is just cool at time of drinking it. Until a professional tells me otherwise I will stick to what I'm doing.

Its not the water you need to worrt about its the powder that can have bacteria in it. Using 70deg water should kill off the bacteria, cooled water will not.

5madthings how many bottles do you bring with you if your going out for the day? I'm just curious as for every one bottle you make up when out you need two separate bottles, so assuming your child went 4 hours between each if you were out for 8 hours you need 4 separate bottles to make 2 feeds.

Like I said I'm happy to follow the professional advice I was given.

I would take three bottles, one with cooled boiled water in and two empty for the feeds, the bottle that has the cooled boiled water in becomes empty once you tip it into the bottle with hot water and formula to cool.it down.

You can the put boiling water in thar bottle (i tended to stop at a cafe and ask for pot of boiling water ie john lewis etc) then that water will cool down ready to.be the cooled boiled water tipped into the hot water/formula at the next feed.

Hv etc often give out bad advice, that doesnt make it right. the ofgicial guidlines are to mix the formula powder with hot 70 deg water.

You can choose to.ignore them but people should be aware it is a risk and the op is asking for advice, its best to let her know the guidlines and she can then make her own choice.

I agree with you, we can only say the ways we do it.

I was just curious I might consider switching to your method 5madthings It's not that different from mine but its just made up slightly different.

Okay, here's how I make up feeds at home,

• boil the kettle with fresh tap water
• once the kettle has boiled, wait for 30 minutes
• after 30 minutes, pour in the required amount of water into sterilised bottles and add the correct number of level scoops of milk powder
• shake well and then store at the back of the fridge for a maximum of 24 hours (I did my bottles every 12 hours)
• once you need to feed the baby, warm the milk to room temperature by standing it in a bowl of boiled water, this takes approx 5 minutes
• throw away the milk after 1 hour if it being warmed

If I'm out and about I will sometimes buy the ready made cartons if I'm feeling rich and pour them into sterilised bottles, otherwise here's how I do it out and about,

• take a flask of boiled water, a bottle of cold water, a jug, sterilised bottles and milk powder in a milk powder dispenser.
• about 30 minutes before a feed is due, pour the hot water from the flask into the sterilised bottle, add the milk powder and shake well
• stand the bottle in the jug and fill to just beneath the bottle lid (you don't want the unsoiled tap water getting into the bottle lid and teat) to cool it down
• the feed is ready in approx 10 minutes
• the feed can be kept for 2 hours as it has been made up fresh

I hope this helps. You will get into the swing of it in no time although it is stressful at first when you don't know when the baby needs a feed and then they're crying because the milk isn't ready, but you will get into a routine fast. Most newborns need a feed every 2-3 hours and as they get older it's about every 3-4 hours so you learn when they might be hungry.

I think the thing thats confusing the issue here are out of date HCP's advice...

Now Im gonna probably make you all scream but i had my 1st baby in 1989...4 more dc since.

We were told very clearly to make all the days feeds up in1 go. Never to use hot water,cooled water. If going out,heat the feed&keep it warm(i used to have this polysterine bottle holder).

Never feed a baby twice in under 3 hours&never leave them more then 6 hours in the day!

Ds is 23,big strong healthy 6'4. Didn't have antibiotics til he was 9 (v.unusual at that time). Ds was ff fed from birth as the majority of babies were in the 80's.

HCP's advice is always changing!

I agree with what 5madthings has said.

You need to add powder to hot water to kill of the nasties. That is really the key bit to remember - the powder is the main risk factor, not the water.

So you can add the powder to, say, half a feed's worth of hot water and dissolve it. This significantly kills off the possible nasties in the powder. Then top up with pre-measured cold for an immediate drinking temperature.

Or you make up the feed as normal at home, cool fast, and keep chilled until you gently warm it for drinking.

Some special formulas have to be made up with cold water. That is about balancing risk. They do it that way because it can't be made with hot and the benefits of that particular formula for the baby outweigh the risks.

Well, the advice isn't always changing Shelley. It changes when scientific knowledge advances.

Very sadly, babies have died as a result of contaminated powder. Babies who might have been fine if hot water had been used to make their feeds. There is a story www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-28/bacteria-tied-to-baby-s-death-has-been-linked-to-formula-since-1980s.html from a quick Google about a fairly recent death in Missouri possibly linked to formula.

Of course, the vast vast majority of babies will be fine. It is great that yours were. But anecdotes aren't scientific evidence. And the evidence is clear about what is safest.

I boil the kettle and put the Tommee Tippee steriliser on. After the kettle has cooled a little I pour the required amount of water into 3 Tommee Tippee bottles then add the correct number of scoops of powder. I then flash cool these in cold tap water and store in the fridge. When needed I heat up a bottle in the Tommee Tippee bottle warmer. This is not current guidelines.

When out and about I use one of 3 methods. I carry an empty sterilised bottle and carton of formula. Once decanted into the bottle I heat it up with water from the Tommee Tippee flask. Or I pop water from the kettle into a bottle then pop in a Tommee Tippee formula holding cup with the powder which then goes into a Tommee Tippee insulating cover. When I need it I mix the powder into the water in the bottle. When I went away for the weekend I took the 1 litre bottles of pre-made formula and then filled each bottle as I needed it (again heated with the bottle warmer).

Although it isn't current guidance on the NHS sits Stargirl, they are clear that your way (make with hot water, cool fast, keep cool until needed) is the optimum way to make up feeds in advance and the best 'out and about' way if you can't make fresh when out (i.e. you don't have access to hot water). If you are only making three bottles, presumably you aren't storing them for very long.

I think the UK guidelines should be seen in context- the risk of babies being burned by an inadequately or improperly cooled bottle is higher than the risk of them being infected by bacteria from the powder; indeed, Australian, NZ and French guidelines advise mixing powder with cooled boiled water for this very reason. The UK has decided that the risk of infection to babies is more alarming, and set its guidelines accordingly.

UK guidelines do advise making up bottles in advance where it is not practical to make from scratch- however, they advise storing them at the back of the fridge. I would not take out pre-made bottles. Pre made cartons are safest all round.

As DD2 is on a formula not available ready-made, I flout the guidelines and take out bottles half-full with cooled boiled water, top up with hot and add pre measured powder. I do this having weighed up the risks.

The practical and completely safe method we use is:

At home during the day: Boil at least a litre of fresh water (water must be fresh/not previously boiled and must be at least a litre). Take a steralised bottle and add the right amount of water - see formula instructions . Take a thermometer (we keep one just for this) and watch until the water is between 70 and 80 degrees. Add your powder, shake. Cool rapidly in cold water. Make as needed, not in advance - this method only takes 10 mins from start to finish and it completely safe. The formula can be kept for upto two hour before being thrown. See extra info at end of post.

At home at night and when out: Use cartons of ready-made formula and pre-steralised bottles. The formula is good to use for an hour after opening, or if put into the fridge can be kept for 24 hours. At night we have a mini-fridge in our room to take the opened carton and keep a thermos of hot water handy for heating. To avoid having to throw away the extra formula in the carton when out you can keep the (sealed) carton in the fridge before going out and then either: pour some into a bottle, keep the bottle in a insulated pouch before using or keep the carton in an insulated pouch, when needed decant into two bottles, one for feeding and one goes back into the insulated pouch - this method requires you to bring a thermos of hot water to heat the bottle with you (or ask at a nearby cafe etc).

once you have steralised your bottles, put the cap (or teat and cap) on and it stays sterile for 24 hrs
*Powder must be added to water at least 70 degrees because the powder is not sterile once the box is open, it is possible to get single portions of sterile power - they do this in hospital and it confuses people - but the power you buy from the shop is not sterile and the hot water kills (or at least reduces) the bacteria, the worst of which is the possibility of salmonella. The water must not be hotter than about 80 degrees because you will kill the GOOD nurtients in the powder as well.
*Once you've boiled your fresh litre of water if you pour the extra into a thermos you can use it for the next two feeds depending on temperature - check with thermometer.

Whoa!

My point was advice changes! HCP's are generally first point of information for parents. If hcp's aren't keeping up to date,its up to parents to use their judgement/knowledge.

I had my last baby in 2008,so i would hardly have been using 19 year old advice! !!

Interestingly, the method we use was the one taught to us to by the hospital before we left with the baby. It would appear different Health Authorities are interpreting the guidance is different ways.

Ok, I am a midwife and the official advice that we give to all mums is -

*make up each feed individually
*use water with a temp of no less than 70 deg C or water that has been left to cool 30 minutes or less.
*do not add formula to cold water as this will not kill any bacteria present.

• if out and about take a flask of freshly boiled water, add water, then formula to bottle and cool as rapidly as possible. Feed within one hour of making up the bottle.
• alternatively take carton of ready to feed formula and sterilised bottle and use when ready to feed. Discard any unused formula from carton.

5madthings is absolutely correct in what she is saying.

The reason behind these guidelines is to reduce the amount of cases of gastroenteritis. Formula milk is not sterile and does contain bacteria, this is killed by adding water with a temp of 70 deg or higher.

I hope this helps.

www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/micro/PIF_Bottle_en.pdf WHO guidelines here]]

Aw crap, I'll try again.

I hope it works this time