Pre making formula

[EggsMichelle]

Hello, I have been trying to introduce a formula feed to DS night time rutien so I can expresses and store some milk, however having a couple of issues and need some advice:

1. Can any part of the formula be pre prepared? I have been trying to make the bottle for 8pm, however if DS wakes before its ready I normally give in and feed him boob!

1. No matter how much bottle he has (have done upto 7oz and he is 6wks old) he is still wide awake and needs boob to put him to sleep.

Don't worry about needing a bottle of formula to 'free up' some of your supply so you can express. If you start expressing (I used to find the morning was best) then your supply will catch up very quickly. Your best bet is just to feed him in the evening (as you are finding, bm is the best thing for putting them to sleep!) and then express a bottle's worth in the morning.

My DH would also like to give a bottle, and the night time bottle gives me a head start on the sleep while DH can bond with DS.

You can pre make formula by using water that has been just boiled (must be 70 degrees or more) and then flash cooling the bottles in a sink of cold water and then putting in the middle of the fridge when they are cold. They will keep for up to 12 hours like this.

It is not recommended by the manufacturers or HV to premake the bottles, although every bottle feeder I know does it.

You could buy occasional cartons of premade formula ? Very expensive option if you buy loads but for the odd one, may be ok ?

Prepare the bottle with boiled water cooled for no longer than 30 minutes. Then flash cool by running it under the cold tap. Then refridgerate.

When he wakes up, set the bottle in a bowl of boiled water to heat up to the right temperature.

Much quicker way to do it:

Get 3 bottles and put 50 % of the water that you need into it. Put this in the fridge.

When you need a feed - grab a bottle, add boiled water to the cooled water and it is the exact temp you need to make up the formula! Hoorah!

It's better to pre-make than to do what most people do which is to make up with cool boiled water. I wish HVs would just give comprehensive advice!

I looked into this quite a bit when my dd was done. Conclusion seemed to be that it is fine to pre make bottles with boiling water (allow to cool for 20mins after kettle boils before making so as not to scald the nutrients in the formula).

It is the formula powder that needs to be sterilised rather than the water. So making the feed up with lukewarm water isn't going to kill the bacteria in the powder, but using boiling water will.

I think if you have good hygiene, sterilise your bottles properly etc then the risks of preparing it incorrectly will be really small.

I used to make all my bottle up for that day and night in the morning with boiling water, cool and then put in the fridge. Fine for 24 hours.

I then microwaved them as and when needed but gave them a really thorough swirl to avoid hotspots in the milk.

When out and about I brought a flask of boiling water with me. I then mixed the formula with a small amount of the hot water first and then topped it up to volume with some cold water. That way it was the right temp but still sterilised the powder.

A good friend of mine did exactly the same as me and checked it all with the Aptamil helpline who said that was fine.

Could DH get his bonding some other way? Maybe doing he bath and having lo in the morning so you get a lie in?

It's normal for them to want to feed to sleep at that age. The milk will help but the very act of bfing is comforting to them. At 6 weeks old your baby doesn't even know that they're separate from you so will want to sleep close to you.

The 'bonding' thing is a bit of a red herring. I have never expressed/given formula and didn't even cross my mind that dh wouldn't bond with the dc. He plays with, changes, baths, cuddles, walks, slings etc our dc.

If you can follow the advice about how to make up milk safely, then the actual settling the baby to sleep is something that your partner will have to persevere with if necessary. With dd the only way she'd sleep without feeding at that age was with motion. DH used to walk with her, put her in the sling or go out for a drive to give me a break. DS isn't remotely interested in any sort of motion trickery however.

How very rude of your DS show.

if its just for one feed i would suggest the premade cartons - about 80p for 9 oz . can be used at room temp or luke warm and can be stored for24 in fridge if not used . Depends if you feel this is too expensive but if you BF rest of the time not too bad .

Yeah I'd say if it's just one feed use the pre-mades - the big tubs of formula can generally only be used a month after opening and you might not get through a whole tub in a month?