Struggling to keep up with night feeds

[Bakingmad001]

Hi MN
FTM here with 3 week old. I was exclusively breast feeding for 5 days then started introducing formula from due to me wanting a break sometimes. I’m now mostly formula feeding and I’m struggling to keep up with the night feeds. By the time he’s woken me up, I’ve boiled kettle and waited for it to cool for 30 mins, made the bottle and waited for bottle to cool to right temp - he’s screaming, red in face and eating his hands. I wait 30 mins for kettle to cool and for those 30 mins he’s screaming. Am I doing something wrong? I feel absolutely terrible and scared to ask HV. I feel a failure when it comes to feeding him, I hate feeding time because he just gets in such a state. He also has been diagnosed with reflux and I think he possibly has colic too. Any advice?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/breast_and_bottle_feeding/4343720-How-to-prepare-powdered-formula

I didn't realise you were leaving kettle to cool for 30 mins - of course it will take a long time! Just use the freshly boiled water to make the bottle and then cool it in cold water. It died t Dane that long but use a large amount of cold water otherwise the bottle just heats the water around it.

Or ready made - my baby will take it at room temp and takes breast milk from the fridge so that helps

Make up bottles and fridge them, at the back. Warm it up, make sure you swill it around (to avoid hotspots) and check on your wrist

This is what I did too.

At home, I'd reheat in the microwave. Officially thsts a big no-no, because horrifyingly some people have in the past put bottles in until boiling, didnt test them, and babies have died that way, which is incredibly sad.

But doing it for just a few seconds, swirling it to get rid of hot spots and checking it every time will safeguard against that.

I generally had a bottle in their mouth within a minute of waking (upstairs mini fridge and second hand microwave), and I didnt even need to leave the bedroom.

Breastfeed, offer first and then make up a bottle if needed for each feed - so much easier at night