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?

Bollocks!

I made up 24hrs worth of feeds and kept them in the fridge. Then warmed them in the microwave as required.

And while I know anecdote does not = data, my DC never had any problems with this

PLEASE WORK!!

aw cmon

Yay! I got there eventually, WHO Guidelines are ^^

Up there

Wow, thank you for all your replies. I have read through this very quickly and will read properly tomorrow. I think you can see why I posted. It is amazing how much conflict there is on something that should be straight forward.

I must admit, i am seriously considering just ready made, at least to start off - although expensive, it appears to reduce the stress of certain temperatures and timings etc. I will go through this again and put together a plan of what I could do based on your advice for making the formula feeds, and see what you think.

Errr, i dont think formula is sterile when it comes out of the ready made cartons. So if the bottle is sterile, and the water used to make up the formula has been boiled, and is therefore sterile, I cannot see why adding powder to water that is the right temp, as in fairieswearpoppies post, is a problem. Both my children were fine with that method for every feed of their lives. And once they are weaned, no need to sterilise at all. Yay

super as it's stated up post powder is not sterile, therefore by adding it to water at room temp is does not kill all bacteria in it. But adding it to 70 degree plus water does.

It's guidelines it does not mean what you did is wrong but it isn't what guidelines state to do. My way isn't correct either but it's worked for me.

The formula in the ready made cartons is sterile, it is heat treated.

Powder formula is NOT sterile and contains bacteria which are killed by adding water at temp of at least 70 degrees c.

It is the hot water meeting the formula that kills the bacteria.

Guidelines are there to provide information to enable you to make an informed choice. What you do with that information and the choices you make are entirely up to you. We just supply the information, not dictate how you use it. Guidelines are guides, not laws.

Ready made carton formula is heat treated so the bugs that formula powder contains aren't an issue. I've always used cartons, never powder as it was much more convenient. I accept it is more expensive.
Now we use cartons out and about and bin whatever isn't drunk. We use litre bottles at home - they can be kept for up to 48 hours once opened in the fridge. DD has her milk either at room temp or cold from the fridge.

With ds years ago it was cooled boiled water we added the powder to. He was prem and that's the way we were told to do it.

It's all change now with dd. I add the powder to boiled hot water and cool in a jug of cold water. I would stick in the fridge if she decides to nap another half hour, I wouldn't leave it sitting at room temp. Discard and make up another if it's been over an hour or so. If it's night I make up one bottle before I go to bed as before and put in the fridge. Know you're not meant to but I'm not having dd screaming the place down for 20 minutes in the early hours of the morning and it's only there for a few hours max. Have a very grumpy upstairs neighbour and thin walls.

Out and about I use ready made cartons.

I'll be nicking the idea of boiling the water, adding formula and then cooled boiled water at night.

When newborn we used cartons and litre bottles only. DS was early so wanted to use the sterile milk for as long as possible.. We use cartons out and about.
At home what I do is keep boiled hot water in a tommy Tippee bottle warmer thermos thing. I have 3 formula carriers so always have the right number of scoops measured out. When DS wants a feed- hot water from thermos into bottle. Powder from formula carrier into bottle, mix, cool bottle to drinking temp by plunging bottle into cold water.
Follows the guidelines and really isn't that difficult or time consuming as long as you remember to be organised and keep your thermos and powder carriers full.