Pre making bottles

[grove10]

Hi, for various reasons I intend to be bottle-feeding formula although do hope to give my baby the initial colostrum just after he/ she is born very soon.

However have been a bit confused about how to make up a bottle using formula and whether in fact a few can be pre-made and stored in the fridge for night time feeds? I'm having a C-Section so guessing I won't be up to a great deal the week or so after and although my partner will do all he can to help with the feeding gets incredibly tired and can't see him getting up through the night to do all the feeds on his own.

If anybody could very clearly explain step by step how a bottle is made up I'd be very grateful and if there is anyway at night to avoid waiting around a long time for bottles to cool to room temp if that's in fact what they need to be.

Finally, is it true that newborns need to be fed approx every 3hrs round the clock and if they're asleep you need to wake them for a feed?

Many thanks

Yes to your last query...possibly more frequently than that even!

The generalrule on making up a bottle is to boil a litre of water, allow to cool for no longer than 30 mins (so temp is between 70-80 degrees, hot enough to kill bacteria in the powdered formula but not too hot as to destroy nutrients in the formula). Generally use one scoop of powder for every ounce of water (instructions will be on the pack). Then cool in cold water.

It is generally not advised to make bottles in advance, but many people do. We are on specialist formula so we can according to our instructions, but it is generally a no-no. If you do though, you need to make up the bottles and flash chill them (i.e. Cool them very quickly), then put them in the frridge until they are used (for no longer than 12 hours). Then heat straight away when required.

We bought a Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep machine, which is so easy to use and makes each bottle in less than two mins to perfect temp. They are expensive though, but totally worth it for us! It beeps loudly though so not great to use in a baby's bedroom.

We also have a system where we take two bottles of previously made up formula (made just before we go to bed) up to bed for night feeds (LO is 6mo so only wakes a few times) in cool bags with ice blocks, we then grab a bottle when LO wakes up, and put it in the bottle warmer to heat. This saves lots of time and faff...but not quite as easy as boob feeding, which I miss dearly! Then it was baby wakes, lift top, feed, put back to sleep...now it's all bottle grabbing, heating, making up etc. before the babber has even been picked up!

I used to make up 24 hours worth of bottles (6-7 bottles) in one go. If you are very strict about hygiene this will be fine. Basically leaving bottles allows bacteria to grow, so your aim is to prevent any from getting into the milk in the first place.

1. clean your fridge, store bottles on the top shelf so nothing can drip on them, but at the back of the fridge as it's cooler there
2. boil the kettle then leave to cool for 20-30 mins
3. wash your hands
4. clean your work surface with anti-bac spray. Wipe down with kitchen towel, not your dishcloth
5. sterilise bottles using the method of your choice
6. make up bottles according to formula instructions using cooled boiled water from the kettle
7. store in fridge
8. heat when needed using the method of your choice. I used the microwave and just remembered to shake the bottles really well to dissipate hot spots
9. discard after 24 hours, once your baby has fed from a bottle, throw it away after 1 hour as bacteria from their saliva will be growing in it

good luck!

I second the Tommee Tipee machine, it's been brilliant. They are expensive but often on offer, there was a very good deal at the Baby Show recently and I'm sure they offer the same deal at all the shows.

Congratulations on the impending arrival! Making bottles will soon become a routine you will be able to do with your eyes shut! The method I follow is:

Boil a kettle of fresh water and leave to stand for 20 mins (do not use reboiled water). During that time the temp will have dropped to around 70°C which will kill any bugs in the formula without compromising the nutritional value of it.

While waiting sterilise bottles (have

micowave one, very quick and easy).

Pour water into bottles and add scoops of formula (not heaped, use a knife to scrape across scoop to ensure it's level) as per the measurements advised on packet.

Close up bottles and give them a shake for around 10-15 seconds.

Stand in cold water and place in fridge within an hour (after they have cooled down a fair bit).

The bottles will be good for up to 24 hours in the fridge. They will be ok out of the fridge for up to 1 hour.

I reheat by standing bottle in jug of boiled water for around 2-3 mins.

Give bottle a good shake and give to screaming baby whose nappy will have been changed while bottle was heating up.

Feed, wind and everyone goes back to sleep, hopefully....

Best of luck and I hope this helps!

Everybody - thank you so much for such speedy and clear instructions. I'm going to read all your replies properly soon and if I have any further questions will come back to you. We're using a Tommee Tippee microwave steriliser.
Am really pleased to know that it's ok to make up bottles in advance if you're very careful re. hygiene. Xx

Tommee tippee machine is brilliant! We bought ours half price on amazon. The price fluctuates alot so worth keeping an eye on for a couple of weeks if you're interested in getting one. We even measure the powder out in advance into powder dispensers to make it even easier - otherwise 4 year old ds has a habit of needing to tell me something really important when I'm halfway through counting scoops!!

The dangerous bacteria is in the powdered formula. Not the water, not the bottles. You need to kill that bacteria with water approx 70 degrees Celsius.

The liquid formula is heat treated so doesn't contain the bacteria when sealed. It may be easier to use liquid formula in the early days.

If you are making up a bottle in advance just make up the next bottle. Prepare it as the instructions on the tin indicate and then flash cool it under the tap. Pop it into the fridge but not in the door.

It's safer to make bottles in advance and store them, than it is to make them up with cool boiled water which is what lots of people do.

Of course the safest thing to do is make each bottle up as you need it, but it's not really practical to do this all the time.

You could look at the crates of ready made bottles you can buy of SMA? I think Mothercare do them. Not long term but for the first couple of weeks when you're getting the hang of things.

This might be handy...it's a UK Amazon price tracker...

uk.camelcamelcamel.com

:-)

Thanks again everyone, have read all your replies and they make perfect sense. Just to pick brains again, am trying to decide between First Infant Milk Cow & Gate and SMA First Infant Milk (gold advanced system). SMA is a tiny bit more expensive which I don't want to be our only deciding factor as will gladly pay the difference if it's better but otherwise don't want to spend unnecessarily if they're both much the same. Would anyone have any recommendations? Many thanks