Responsive Bottle Feeding is BOLLuCKS

[PumpingPauper]

Seriously... Instructions : boil kettle with fresh water, leave to cool for 30 mins, mix in powder, leave to cool to drinking temperature...
Can someone explain how on earth you can feed on demand/responsive with powdered formula without making a batch for the day in advance first thing?

I'm making a batch of bottles up in the morning now and storing them in the fridge, if I don't use them in 24hrs they're chucked.... This is the only way surely?!

I'm combi feeding so it's not the only foods source but trying to responsive feed with instructions like the above is impossible. The NHS saying not to make up in advance is UNREALISTIC... The USAs CDC and FDO organisations say making up in advance for 24hrs is fine

Get a tommee tippee perfect prep machine. It costs a bit but makes fresh warm bottles in 2-3mins so perfect for feeding on demand. I've used it for both my DC and no complaints

Yes WHO and actually the nhs begrudgingly admit 24 hours in the back of the fridge is fine.

I don't get it either. Especially as formula needs to be added to hot water to kill any bugs.

I've always known people to make them up in the morning and store in the fridge, shake them under a hot tap and bobs your uncle.

I work on a nicu and when we have responsive feeders we tend to see a pattern of when they are likely to want a feed so we can boil the kettle in advance.
If we need to get a feed quickly we will make the feed straight away with the boiled water and cool it in a jug of cold water.
We can leave a made up feed out for up to an hour aswell.

I used to add 5oz of powder to an oz of boiling of water to do solve and sterilise the powder then top it up to 5oz with cool water. Takes a few minutes and it’s drinking temp. Basically same as a perfect prep but without spending the money.

The NHS advice does say making up in advance is fine, it's just buried under the make fresh with hot water advice. It's their second best solution. Which kind of makes sense... best practice isn't always realistic. Second best practice is likely to be good enough.

We used to make one up as we finished one, so there was always a bottle ready to go but they were never sitting in the fridge for ages.

@fairgame84 I can't see a pattern with my 6wk old as there is something whacky with my breastmilk supply... Sometimes I have it sometimes I don't so I never know when I'll need back up formula.

Thanks everyone, makes me feel a bit better about what I'm doing!

I'm due in November and I'll be formula feeding only and there isn't a hope in hell that I'll be boiling a kettle and waiting for it to cool at 3 am with a screaming infant 😅😅 I'll make a batch in the morning and a batch at night and I'm sure there will be no harm done.

@romdowa I know right?! 😂

[quote PumpingPauper]@romdowa I know right?! 😂[/quote]
Myself and my dp would be nervous wrecks by the end of the first week. With the midwives i just smile and nod and then I'll just do my own thing.

When I was mix feeding I just got in a job lot of little ready to drink cartons. Since we were only using one a day and my babies were happy to drink them at room temp thank god, they were worth every penny.

@MaloInAnAppleTree we're using them at the moment but looking to save money where we can.

I always made up a batch of bottles (enough for 24 hours) each evening and stored them in the fridge. I did that for all three of mine and never had any problems.

That way I always had bottles ready made up. I just had to warm one for 30 seconds in the microwave at whatever time of day or night and screaming baby was soon satisfied. I remember my midwife even recommending it. It was years ago now as my youngest is almost 19 and the older two are in their twenties. All seem to have survived unscathed.

Like fuck would I have ever done it any other way with a frantic crying baby to feed. That would have driven me absolutely round the bend.

I used to boil water, put say 3 oz in two bottles each then cool and put in fridge. When feed time came I'd do the powder with (for a 5oz feed for example) 2oz boiling water, add the formula, shake thoroughly then add the 3oz cooled water. Then I'd replace the cooled boiled water bottle with a new lot in a freshly sterilised bottle for next time.

Same with going out - I took a flask of boiling water, powdwr measured in one of those containers with different compartments for 3 feeds, and a bottle of cooled boiled water from the fridge.

Pretty much what the perfect prep does without the concerns around safety.

@romdowa Honestly don't mean to be goady but are you informed about what the risks are with formula feeding?

[quote JustineTimee]@romdowa Honestly don't mean to be goady but are you informed about what the risks are with formula feeding?[/quote]
What risks exactly do you mean?

@JustineTimee. Not the thread for this please. I can help but use formula and it breaks my heart so take your goadiness elsewhere NOW

The advice changes all the time.
When DS16 was a baby I used to boil the kettle, fill up the bottles and leave them on the side. I used to add the powder when he wanted a feed. I'd be shot for doing that now but it was acceptable at the time.
I wouldn't be making fresh bottles in the night, I'd do what others have suggested and make them up in advance.

This is exactly what I did when my DD moved to formula 23 years ago. I just made up however many bottles we needed for 24 hours and stuck them in the fridge. Did the same with DS now 10. All good 🤷🏻‍♀️

I used to make all the bottles in the morning, let them cool and put them in the fridge. For the middle of the night, I took a bottle up to bed with me and dd happily had it at room temperature. This was 17 years ago.

I'm making a batch of bottles up in the morning now and storing them in the fridge, if I don't use them in 24hrs they're chucked.... This is the only way surely?

Yep, it's what I did 😄

I used to make this me bottle ahead so they were only kept for a max of 3 hours rather than 24.
Or could usually guess when baby would want a feed within the next hour.

Perfect prep