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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

How do I make up formula?

86 replies

ratbagcatbag · 24/04/2013 17:39

So I've been using ready made formula for ease but now dd at six weeks has been prescribed aptimel pepti, which is powdered, how do I do it, according to the tin I need to boil a kettle leave it to cool thirty mins then make feed, yep dd will wait that long at night? Can I not make up two or three bottles at bed and put them in the fridge? I don't get it :( help please???

OP posts:
tiktok · 25/04/2013 11:59

Passmethecrisps, that sounds safe and the insulated jacket is a good idea.

Thank you and others for saying nice things about me :)

I have a research background and to me, knowing the evidence behind guidance is interesting and important.

tiktok · 25/04/2013 12:02

Answer to your second post crisps - I see you are keeping it warm for 2 hours? No, that would not be considered safe. I thought you were just keeping it warm for a very short time. I think I misunderstood.

It's safer to cool the prepared formula quickly.

This is because, as we all know from even basic biol. in school I think :), that it's warmth that allows bugs to breed. So cooling something gradually from 70 deg C allows a warm and cosy place for the bacteria not only to survive but to multiply.

Passmethecrisps · 25/04/2013 12:03

Glad it has been helpful hand. I had been avoiding FF threads because they become bun fights sadly. Thankfully there are some very wise MNetters who can help out.

Good tiktok! I am genuinely pleased you think so. It was a shock to the system not being able to use premade when out and I was always a bit scared to ask.

Passmethecrisps · 25/04/2013 12:05

Ah right! Smile ok. I will cool quickly then heat when needed. Not much difference time wise considering the water usually needs cooled before we can use it anyway.

tiktok · 25/04/2013 12:06

HandMini, putting the bottles straight in the fridge is considered to be an ok compromise. Put them in the coldest part, right at the back.

You need to boil all the water you use, even the cooled boiled water, because it is thought that even though our water is clean in the UK, there could be bacteria in the taps and the pipes where it has been standing.

That's off the top of my head, sorry, I have not checked this. If you go to the paper I linked to before about guidance for professionals, I think it is in there.

alienbanana · 25/04/2013 12:07

Passmethecrisps

Formula is safe to use up to 2 hours, but I'm not sure about if it's mixed then kept at a warm temp (whether over 70C or not). tiktok ?

A friend of mine used to make up all her days bottles, then stick them warm in an insulated bag for the day.. they'd all be sitting at 30-40C for hours... ideal breeding ground for bacteria. Was just making sure you weren't doing something like that :)

How about taking out the bottle in an insulated carrier, and then using one of these sort of things to add to the water?

HandMini · 25/04/2013 12:08

Ok, that answers my first question then. I am guessing a bottle of fresh boiled formula takes a while to cool even in fridge so just giving more time for bacteria to multiply, hence flash cooling.

alienbanana · 25/04/2013 12:08

ah.. slow at posting, it's already been answered :)

tiktok · 25/04/2013 12:08

Tip: lots of babies will take their formula really cold, so no need to heat it up again :)

HandMini · 25/04/2013 12:10

Cross posts. Thank you for answering me directly. I think I'll buy a large flask for my pre-boiled cool water and stick with the boiled water plus powder topped up with cool. Must dash, kettles just boiled!

alienbanana · 25/04/2013 12:13

Yes, these threads always turn into bunfights, don't they? (and I always get sucked in!)

Grin
Passmethecrisps · 25/04/2013 12:16

Yikes alien! Don't think I would fancy drinking those never mind giving them to a baby.

Yup. I have dispensers so I will just make up the bottle when required when out. The water will still be hot enough.

tiktok when DD was first born and was drinking expressed BM we used to give her it straight from the fridge - we didn't think anything of it. Then MIL suggested we should be warming it. I actually think she would take it any temp - I will experiment.

Sorry for the thread hijack!

Passmethecrisps · 25/04/2013 12:18

They do and it is awful. People get too scared to ask for help so just muddle along.
I've seen some terrible threads which I had to hide in the end because I found them too upsetting.

Choccywoccydodah · 25/04/2013 12:22

Handmini, babies can have tap water after 6 months, before that it's cooled boiled water :)

tiktok · 25/04/2013 12:23

Re bunfights: I think a straight question 'how do I.....' will almost always get dealt with in a straight way. They can get derailed a bit when someone takes something the wrong way or feels criticised.

HandMini · 25/04/2013 12:49

Ah yes, thanks, should have known that given that ones advised to use cooled boiled water just to wash their faces!

This is baby No 2! You'd think I'd know these things by now.

alienbanana · 25/04/2013 12:51

Passmethecrisps - the worst thing was that she worked in a nursery and this is how she advised people to send in their babies bottles for the day! Shock

I guess these threads do get a bit heated because inevitably someone will come along and find out that the way they've been feeding their baby for months isn't actually correct (and usually down to some dodgy MW or HV advice) and it's hardly surprising that they get defensive.

LittleBearPad · 25/04/2013 13:42

The topping up bottles with cold water thing is something I've been wondering about. (Ie make 8oz bottle with 3oz boling/70 degree water and 5oz CBW as suggested above)

Could you use tap water (or bottled where we are as adults don't drink tap water let alone babies) after your baby is six months old? DD drank tap water in the UK and drinks bottled water here without boiling and has done since 6 months.

Would make it easier to make them quickly - dd will NOT drink warm milk having had fridge cold/room temp ready to feed until we moved overseas.

SmileAndPeopleSmileWithYou · 25/04/2013 16:45

LittleBearPad - I think someone mentioned before that doing half boiling/half cold water would not kill the bacteria as there is too much powder for the 70 degree water to kill all the bacteria. I may be wrong about that but I would check it to make sure!

After 6 months old I think it becomes a little more complicated to be honest. Think about the bacteria they come into contact with at that age. Everything goes in the mouth!
I think with the immune system being more developed then bottled water wouldn't do any harm. However I think the official advice is still to use cooled boiled water even then!

I found it interesting that a few of you said FF threads can be a bunfight! I've never been on one before, its amazing how defensive people can be about their methods!

At the end of the day, the official advice is always best!

Lynz1987 · 25/04/2013 17:58

+Passmethecrisps* FYI I still believe the way I make my bottles is ok I trust my MW and her advice, I don't doubt that all the ways shown on here today are right also to say my way is wrong in itself is wrong. I am very careful and insure my bottles and feeding is up to a high standard to imply I'm feeding my daughter wrong is hurtful and upsetting. Call me defensive etc I don't mind. But I have not been feeding my DD incorrectly for months!!

alienbanana · 25/04/2013 18:05

Ok, but you aren't preparing bottles according to the instructions on the bottle, or the NHS and WHO guidelines.

The fact is that preparing with water over 70C IS safer than making with cold, whether you want to believe it or not.

alienbanana · 25/04/2013 18:21

Sorry, that should read *the instructions on the packet.

SmileAndPeopleSmileWithYou · 25/04/2013 18:39

Out of curiosity Lynz, did you ask the MW if your way was correct or did she tell you to do it that way?

Lynz1987 · 25/04/2013 19:08

I don't make them with cold water I make them with sterile water which then gets heated in a bottle warmer until hot then milk is added as a new mum I didn't know how to do bottles in the begining, so I did the way u described ie boil kettle wait 30 mins etc and asked my MW how to make it easier for night feeding she suggested this way as she noticed I had a bottle warmer or using a flask of hot water I chose the bottle warmer

tiktok · 25/04/2013 19:28

Lynz, if this is something you want to investigate further, then how about just asking your midwife about it? Give her a call! If she's a good person and supportive, then she won't mind a bit - if she's telling mothers something they then read is not current guidance, then she will want to know (surely) or explain why she does not agree with it.

Bottle warmers only warm the milk/water to about 37 deg C. To then add the milk powder to water of this temperature is not considered an effective way to ensure safety.