Making Anti-Reflux formula in night

[KM38]

Anyone using ARF...can I ask how you go about prepping feeds in the night or when out and about?
We’re using Aptamil AR and following their instructions it takes almost an hour to prep a bottle by the time you leave the kettle to cook etc. My DS is feeding twice during the night and when he wakes he wants fed right there and then! 😅

Anyone? 😊

We have a prep machine from when DS was on normal formula but the hot shot makes the anti reflux powder all clump together badly. Can get it smooth by shaking it loads but then DS ends up with really bad wind because of all the bubbles 😓

I would always swirl the bottle rather than shake it, it causes less bubbles and mixes formula well. Worth a try maybe?

that was with normal formula though but i’m sure it will work either way

Are you able to get the ready made bottles for when you’re out and about?

@Covetthee that’s what we did with normal formula too. swirling doesn’t work with the AR formula unfortunately. It’s got thickener in it and all just binds together in big lumps.
As far as I know, it doesn’t come in ready made bottles either.

The instructions are to boil and leave kettle for exactly 45 mins. Water in, powder in, shake vigorously vertically and horizontally, then leave to stand and thicken for 5 mins. Having to set an alarm for an hour before baby usually wakes in the night to make sure a bottle is ready 😅

My little one is mix fed and what we do for formula bottles is boil the water, leave it in a clean jug until at the warmest end of a drinkable temperature then we wack it in a chillis insulated bottle and then we can just pour it straight in when our boy kicks off and decides he wants feeding ☺️ Might be worth a shot?

I had a kettle that boiled water and kept it at 70 degrees. Then it was just ready to mix. We had infant gaviscon rather than AR formula though.

Trying to remember what we did now as it was a few years ago. We used C&G anti reflux and I do remember it was a faff to make.

We boiled the water and poured into bottles in the evening. When they had cooled we put them in the fridge. We also measured out the scoops of formula in little pots the night before.
When it was time to make the formula, we warmed the water back to the required temperate using a bottle warmer and a timer. We had practised first to figure out how long it took to warm the water to the right temperature. Then we added the formula following the instructions of rolling between our palms followed by shaking, and then leaving to stand for 7 minutes.
Every time DS's formula intake increased we would have to calculate a new time limit for the bottle warmer.
Seems messy, but it was a lot faster than waiting for the kettle to cool for 45mins.

@Piccalily19 I’ve got a few chillys bottles so I’ll have a go at that!

@Figmentofimagination I don’t know why I’ve never thought of the bottle warmer 🙄🙈 our MAM steriliser has a bottle warmer attachment so I’ll look at that!! The instructions say to boil and leave the kettle for 45 mins so I’m assuming the water doesn’t need to be above 70 degrees like other formulas 🤔 no idea why the AR formula is different though!

@Mylittlesandwich does your little one get on ok with the gaviscon? Ours was a nightmare!! Incompetent doctor prescribed it at completely the wrong dose and DS was constipated for 4 days after only 2 feeds with it 😓 even after the dose was sorted out he kept getting constipated on and off.

He was constipated for 6 months but not badly and the constipation was easier to deal with than the reflux. He outgrew his reflux at weaning. He's 16 months now and right as rain.

@Mylittlesandwich Glad to hear he outgrew it 😊 My DS is 5 months and will be starting weaning in a few weeks so I’m hoping we’ll see improvement then too!

I premade our AR formula and kept it in the fridge. But this was US not U.K. formula. European AR formula seems to have something in it and doesn't allow to pre make it.

My ds has very bad reflux. However they won't treat it because he's such a smiling baby. He'll go VOM
Because the arf is so thick I mix it with non arf at about 50%. I'm a renegade, I know, but I thought about it rationally and thr arf stuff is just normal stuff thickened with bean gum.
For sanity as I have fatigue, pnd and anxiety, I make bottles at bedtime to last the whole night. I shake them really hard to mix them and by the time he drinks them, the bubbles are gone. I give it a quick swish before feeding to check for lumps but there still tend to be a couple of small ones.

I know I'm in the minority but I have never understood the reason for leaving the boiled water to cool to 70. My box says to leave to cool but to make it whilst over 70 as 70 is required to kill any bugs. In my mind making it when it boils kills the bugs and then in the sterilised bottle they are safe to drink a bit later. Ds' reflux has seen improvement even with the 50% mix. He is also 5 months.
The only reason I can see for not making it with boiling is to prevent plastic leach but I use glass bottles for this reason.

It seems so difficult to get definitive advice. There's an official looking Australian parenting website that says to leave it to cool to luke warm before using the water to make formula. But the nhs website says to let it cool to no less than 70 so that it kills germs.