Formula feeding hacks

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Help, tips, advice greatly welcomed please!

Unfortunately due to medical issues I have had to stop breastfeeding my 2.5 week old and switch to formula. I have the Tommee Tippee perfect prep machine which works well for me when at home during the day, but currently for night feeds and going out I am using the ready made bottles. Moving forwards this is a very expensive option so I'm after any tips and hacks for using formula for night feeds which don't mean I'm running up and down the stairs throughout the night to use the prep machine, and also how to use formula when I'm out of the house?

Thank you in advance.

You’re going to need to go down and use your tommee tippee.

I took my perfect prep upstairs! In my room so much easier with 2nd baby, used the bottles when out , sorry cant help with that

Why can't you perfect prep through the night? Also bottles once made you can use within 2 hours so you could make one before you go out, if your at someone's home you can boil the kettle to make a bottle or take the ready made milk xx

This is how I’ve done it before:

You’ll need:

A bottle or two that you’ll use to feed the baby.

Boiled water in a separate sterilised bottle and allow to cool. Leave it in the fridge. You can take with you on your travels.

Tommee Tippee travel canister flask. Add hot water to this. Again this will go with you.

Formula powered container. Decant the right amount of ounces you need and take that with you.

So when you need to make a bottle add an ounce of boiling hot water from the flask into one of the empty bottles and then decant The milk into it. Give it a shake. This sterilises the formula. Once shaken then add the remaining cold water from the stuff you’d previously had in the fridge. Quick shake again and bottle will be at the right temperature for feeding ate right away.

Reading it it sounds Life a faff, but it’s only what happens in your prep machine and doesn’t always any longer.

Alternatively you can make up your bottle in advance and keep cold in the fridge before you leave. When you need to feed baby use the flask hot water to warm it up.

Definitely bring the Prep upstairs! Ours lived up there until both DC stopped having formula. It's more of a faff in the day having to trudge upstairs to make a bottle, but it's so much easier in the night and then if they have a morning bottle before going downstairs as well.

As for going out, we had a flask with a lid, filled with boiling water. Used the Prep to dispense the hot shot, then tipped that away. Then filled the bottle with the second shot of water, and filled a dispenser pot with X scoops of formula.

When needed, we poured the cold water into the lid of the flask, put the right amount of hot water in the bottle (noted when doing it with the Prep), added the powder, swirled, and poured the cold back in from the lid.

Writing it down makes it sound like such a faff but it wasn't at all and I always knew the milk was the right temp and safe to drink.

We just leave the machine upstairs all the time.

We used Cow and Gate ready made small bottles which are sterile til you open them. Expensive for what they are but convenient for going out. Other brands do similar I think.

Another who had prep machine upstairs - was fine in the day but a sleep saver at night!
Either took a bottle out with us (made just before leaving if due a feed within 2 hours) or used ready made - this probably cut ready made usage in half. Also got ready made for all holidays (it was worth the extra expense to make life easier).

As above, we took the prep machine to bed until he was night weaned. When out and about we used the two flask method. I used fake chilly bottles as they fit nicely in a change bag. One of boiling water and one of cold (previously boiled water). Powder in little pots. I marked our bottles with a sharpie where the hot and cold water should go up when I was making up a bottle with the PP so I could replicate with the flasks. Honestly you get used to it really quickly.

I'm still confused at going downstairs to use the perfect prep. I live in a town house, slept on the top floor, changed baby on the middle floor, use the perfect prep on the ground floor. Thought nothing of it!

We bought a second prep machine cheaply second hand for the bedroom, then it moved into nursery when baby did. Life saver - I never fancied the stairs with a crying baby, in the dark, whilst sleep deprived.

For out and about we took a prep made up bottle with us in an insulated sleeve, and discarded it if it hadn't been drank in time, with spare ready made cartons in the bag if required.

When baby got older and required less frequent feeds and we were less worried (and she started refusing ready made) we took a bottle of chilled boiled water, a thermos of boiling water, and the powder pre-measured out in small pots and just mixed it up as needed.

As still on maternity leave and husband back at work I do all night feeds now, take DD down stairs, nappy change and feed using prep machine then back to bed. Not difficult.

Take the prep machine upstairs! We used to measure out the powder into bottles and then just whack them on the machine during the night when needed. We would put the lid on and shake after the 'hotshot' before starting the cold top up. It was much less hassle to pop upstairs during the day to use it than to go downstairs at night. Plus we could use the kettle in the day if need be.

We leave the perfect prep upstairs all the time. When going out we use cow and gate ready made bottles and take a sterile bottle to put it in to