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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Not up for a debate about this but...

23 replies

KommandantColditz · 12/06/2006 23:07

Aha, thought that would make you look!

Boring one really.

I have been making formula by putting boiled water in a sterile bottle, fridging it, then nuking the water to temp then adding the powder.

However, I have been informed by someone that I don't need to refridgerate the water until I have added the formula, as long as I use it withing 24 hours.

Is this true?

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Original poster

KommandantColditz · 12/06/2006 23:10

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Original poster

KommandantColditz · 12/06/2006 23:11

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Original poster

KommandantColditz · 12/06/2006 23:11

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hunkermunker · 12/06/2006 23:11

They've changed the guidelines for making up formula recently. But the "never did us any harm" brigade have scoffed at them.

I'm certainly none the wiser.

Am I helping? No. But bumping, yes.

Original poster

KommandantColditz · 12/06/2006 23:13

Thankyou.

Everone will read this, then click off, muttering "god, how inane!" without leaving me any wiser

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Original poster

KommandantColditz · 12/06/2006 23:15

proddy prod prod

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Heathcliffscathy · 12/06/2006 23:20

oh god. fuck knows. water in sealed bottle is sterile though right?

how's it going colditz?

julienetmum · 12/06/2006 23:28

Well I did this with dd. However the new guidelines say that the water should be above a certain temperature when mixed with the formula as the powder is not sterile. It can sometimes contain enterosomethingnastysounding and the water needs to be boiling to kill it off.

Similarly you are not now supposed to make up feeds in advance and store them in the fridge as bacteria levels double each hour.

Original poster

KommandantColditz · 12/06/2006 23:28

It's going ok, thanks Soph, I have my moments, but not doing too bad.

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anchovies · 12/06/2006 23:29

I always thought it was ok to leave the water in the bottle not in fridge for upto 24 hours. There's all that new b*llocks about making fresh feeds everytime though so I'm not certain they still say it's ok. No help really from me either!

Original poster

KommandantColditz · 12/06/2006 23:30

Oh, gosh. well the water has never been above tepid when I make the feed, so I am buggered on that account. I put the powder in straight before a feed, so the nasties wouldn't get a chance to breed, I hope!

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Original poster

KommandantColditz · 12/06/2006 23:47

Oh, GAWD, apparently the water should be 70C when I add the powder! That'll take AGES to cool down at 4 am, being as you have to use freshly boiled water! So, every time your baby needs feeding, you have to boil the kettle, wait for it to cool for 1/2 hour, then make the feed, then cool it down to feeding temp.... My son would be going ballistic if I made him wait that long!

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Original poster

KommandantColditz · 13/06/2006 10:04

Any ideas from the day shift?

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SaintGeorge · 13/06/2006 10:18

I always left bottles of water out for up to 24hrs and mixed the powder in without re-warming. I had a little 3 compartment box that had measured amounts of powder in so I just tipped it in and shook the bottle like crazy to mix it. Bugger getting up in the night.

Never had any problems.

Kathy1972 · 13/06/2006 10:23

Oh, there's always going to be someone telling you you should be doing it in a way that is marginally more safe and massively less convenient.

We have used formula since dd was 6 months and have never refrigerated the boiled water. Quite honestly the chances of anything growing in boiled water in a sterile bottle in a normal environment seem pretty remote to me. The water has never been above room temperature when we add the water and luckily our dd has never insisted on her feeds being warm so we've never warmed it either.
In all that time she has had diarrhoea twice but on both occasions it was going around nursery - it seems pretty unlikely it had anything to do with her feeds.

Suppose I might think about refrigerating the water in the hot weather, but it all seems like overkill to me tbh.

Original poster

KommandantColditz · 13/06/2006 10:39

Overkill - yes, that was the impression I get.

I am sure there are more germs on my shoulder, ds2's bur rag and ds1's fingers than in a sterile bottle of boiled water, and all these things end up in ds2's mouth at some point every day!

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SaintGeorge · 13/06/2006 10:45

That's why I stopped sterilising very early - just didn't see the point when so much other stuff was going in their mouths anyway.

PrettyCandles · 13/06/2006 10:48

We usd to sterlilise the following day's bottles in the evening, fill them with boiling water, close them loosely and leave them on the counter till the following day. Then tighten up the lids and add the powder as and wehn neeeded. Never bothered reheating them. Never had any problems. So IMO no, you don't need to refrigerate the water. However, crazy new guidelines say that you have to make each bottle up fresh and then cool it down. Life's too short and babies are mostly too tough to need this, IMO!

MerlinsBeard · 13/06/2006 10:49

sorry colditz, i thought i had replied yesterday.

We used to pour the water into the sterilised bottles and leave the bottles by the kettle (out of the sun) and then i would put the powder in and heat up as needed. We filled all the bottles that we could and just used them up. I think we had enough to cover 24 hours and an emergancy one.

Its easier to heat up than cool down anyway.

glassofwine · 13/06/2006 10:54

I used to make up 24hours bottles and refridgerate them and with DD2 and DS1 never sterilised, not at all after a friend living in the US told me that they don't. The theory being that as we are so sterilising mad here we are creating more allergy/intollerance problems. I did stick them in the dishwasher and check teats carefully.

However, now mine are all older I look back and wonder why I bothered with all that fuss at all. I wish I'd just bought the premixed stuff, I know it's a bit more expensive, but the formula stage in life is also the hardest and why not go for the easy option. Sterilise bottles if you feel you have to, open a premixed carton, chuck it in and nuke, give yourself a break.

CountessDracula · 13/06/2006 10:58

I think you can make up the bottles with just water in advance. When you are ready to use them just tip a bit of boiling in on top to warm then mix the powder in. Or just nuke for a bit

I always did either this or made them up in advance then nuked and shook.

Original poster

KommandantColditz · 13/06/2006 11:23

Thankyou everyone. I don't mind risking it if the risk is miniscule. I did it last night and by gosh it was so much easier than traipsing downstairs, leaving a disgruntled baby upstairs!

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hellywobs · 21/06/2006 22:35

Never had any problems.

I did that too - never had a single problem. I did tend to put the water in the fridge if possible but often went out with hot water and by the time needed to feed ds water was tepid and therefore perfect for ds. I also made up all the days' feeds for one day at one time and kept them in the fridge - ds never had a stomach problem.

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