How do you prepare formula? Straw poll!

[AmIGoingMad]

Hi!
I'm just wondering how many people do what the midwives say and prepare each feed of formula as you need it. There seem to be so many ways that people go about it and I'm curious. Do you:

1. Prep each feed as you need it?

1. Boil water, add formula, put bottles in the fridge until you need them? ( if so do you cool them before putting them in fridge?)

1. Boil water, put water in bottles in the fridge, take out and add formula as you need them?

1. Use the ready made cartons/ bottles of formula?

With DS we spent a fortune on the ready made stuff and used very little powder formula as we couldn't get organised. This time around I'd rather not use all ready made and have been doing ok with prepping while its still early days and I'm at home with DH still on paternity leave. But I am thinking about making up in advance as dd gets very irate waiting for the bottle to be ready and feeding obviously hasn't a settled into a pattern yet as she's so little.

Sorry for essay and thanks in advance!

I always did the Half filled bottle with boiled water, topped up with boiled water stored in a flask and Pre-measured milk powder dispenser added.

Was so much easier!!!

2 and no, we don't cool it before the fridge.

In contrast, the official advice in NZ is to mix formula with your cooled, boiled water.

Just goes to show it really doesn't matter much imo.

2 - and immerse in a sink of cold water before refrigerating. I make up bottles twice daily.

When out & about I use ready-made. Or if I'll use within 2 hours I just take one from the fridge.

Poppyamex and trishstar thanks to your links I have just,treated myself to one of these, bottlefeeding can be such a hassle and this looks like it'll help :-D

I've just started formula feeding as a top up and am quite confused about it all! I've been making the bottles as and when with boiled water and then cooling (which isn't ideal). However, people on here are saying they keep bottles in the fridge for 6-8 hours but I was under the impression (as per the instructions) that milk had to be thrown away if unused after 2 hours? Is this not the case?

I usually do 2, cooling the formula/water first.

Sometimes I do 4 though, especially if we are away/visiting.

I used to make up the day's feeds, then put them in a bowl and leave a trap running on them until they were cool and then put then in the fridge until needed and I would microwave them.

I used half hot / cold method with a little flask. It was pretty easy once I got the hang of it.

So a little fresh tap water in the kettle and boil, measure the 6 scoops of levelled powder into a clean bottle, in a clean bottle measure out 2ozs of tap water and heat in micro for 20secs, add it to the powder, screw teat unit on and shake but being careful of steam when undone, now in the same water bottle measure out 4ozs of tap water, add to the mixture, screw on the teat unit, shake and feed baby.

Baby is now 9 months old but above was done with freshly boiled water for the hot part and jugged previously boiled water for the cool water part.

Tho it sounds a faff it takes less than a minute or two to have a ready to feed bottle.