How to prepare formula

[Pizzaandsushi]

I’ve absolutely no doubt this has been asked a million times on this thread but hoping people can provide all the answers to the questions an extremely sleep deprived mum has.

I had planned to breastfeed but after a traumatic birth, still waiting on referral for tongue tie and then an attempt at breastfeeding with nipple shields that resulted in straight up blood and a chunk of my nipple coming off (Bambis lady was horrified when she saw it) I’ve moved on to formula feeding to make sure my baby is fed.

However I feel a little clueless and have some questions.

1. How long after boiling kettle do you wait to add water? I add it almost immediately but maybe better to wait?
2. Do you add powder first or water first? I’ve heard adding powder second creates condensation on the scoop which is not good and makes the powder stick to the scoop more. But don’t the two different methods result in different volumes?
3. How do you weigh your water? Using scales or bars on bottle and do you do this in mls or oz?
4. How long do you cool under the tap/in a bowl of cold water before it’s an acceptable temp to store in the fridge (NHS says you can do this for up to 24 hours) and I don’t see how in the dead of night I could make a bottle fresh without him waking up the whole street!

I know I might be overthinking about it but any advice on this and anything else would be extremely welcome.

Congrats op! I am no help re formula as none of mine ever had any but just to say that make sure that your public health nurse checks you out properly, if you lost a chunk of your nipple you could get an infection .Make sure to take care of you too. Best of luck

Top tip - if a baby has had enough to eat their hands will open out flat when they sleep. If they're still hungry their fingers will be curled over. I'm not sure if this works for newborns as I didn't learn it until mine was older, but it did seem to be true!

What I did was:

Boil kettle
Leave water in kettle for 30 mins to cool (to approx 70 degrees)
Fill bottle to the 4 ounce mark (for example) with the cooled, boiled water
Put in 4 scoops of formula
Shake very well
Leave bottles to cool and then put in fridge.

Every morning and evening, I'd make up my bottles for the day/night using that method.

@Lemonysherbet @confuseddotcom1234 exactly this. I did this with both of mine and saved so much time wishing to cool. A lot of my friends disagreed with not 100% booking but it’s what perfect prep does?!

@Pizzaandsushi I felt the same, you become quite thick skinned to it eventually, you need to do what's best for you and baby.

Oh I also meant to say I used the metal bottles so you can use that method out and about, keeps the hot water hot and the cold cold. I had a perfect prep at home :)

@TulipsGarden I think we would keep it in the bedroom but you’re right with all the baby noises and blind panic I don’t think the extra noise would be an issue 😂

Yes I think I do need to accept the waste. In the grand scheme of things it’s really not an issue.

I’ve just watched him absolutely shock himself at the massive noises he made passing wind and I have to say it’s the first time I’ve laughed all week.

I reccomend the perfect prep. I had once which I used for first DC and got it out to use again for second DC but it stopped working when DC was 10 months. So from then I would keep 6oz cooled boiled water in a bottle. When making a bottle add 3 Oz boiling water and 9 scoops (for 9oz bottle) . Shake well then add 6oz cold boiled water. Perfect. I preferred this to pre making them and leaving in fridge as NHS reccomends they be made fresh each time

@TulipsGarden ahh ok I will look out for this! I hope it’s true as although I can clearly tell feeding cues at the beginning, I find it harder to tell when he’s making his way through a bottle.

@Owieeee thank you and will do. It does seem to be on the mend and I’ve been gently cleaning it and keeping a nipple pad on top to make sure but my god when I took him off and saw all the blood it was honestly more terrifying to look at then when I finally plucked up the courage to check all the stitching from the tear!

I just did ready mixed. So much easier, you can keep it in the bedroom for night feeds, great for going out.

@Pizzaandsushi

Good morning,

First of all I just want to send you gentle hugs and reassurance. It sounds like a really tough time and it’s great that you are asking for help and support. The advice in the NHS website is excellent www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/breastfeeding-and-bottle-feeding/bottle-feeding/advice/ but to answer your questions

1. The water has to be at least 70 degrees when you make the formula so you need to make up the bottle within half an hour of boiling the kettle. We normally wait until about 25 minutes.
2. Water first, then powder. Always follow the instructions on the tin for quantities as each formula is different.
3. Use the guide on the side of the bottle for quantity.
4. It is better to make up each bottle at a time. With time you get into a routine and used to planning ahead but we found it useful to have a few ready made bottles for back up and reassurance for the unplanned moments. To answer your question you would bring it down to room temperature first before putting in the fridge. It wouldn’t take long.

We find the cold water steriliser works well and is inexpensive. Soothers and bottles go in as and when they are washed up and the water only needs changing once a day and a new sterilising tablet added.

If you have any specific questions it is best to contact your midwife or health visitor. Take care x

@MumoftwoGranofone thank you. The NHS link is really helpful. I don’t know why I didn’t think to check there before to be honest. Especially as I’m always questioning why people don’t just google/follow advice from reputable sources. Tiredness I guess 😂.

I’m going to try and stop making bottles in advance and storing them. Hopefully with a Perfect Prep machine and these tips, it will become much easier to make them fresh as well as having some ready made formula as back up and trips out.

@thebigpurpleone

Omg I meant to write absolutely not using BOTTLED water!

We all have those moments 😂

Perfect prep. It's a godsend, you won't regret buying one!

Another who loved the perfect prep! No faffing with warming or cooling bottles with a screaming baby...it works a treat!

I ended up using anti reflux formula which couldn't be made with boiling water (according to the instructions) so I just used to do the hot shot and the cold water at the same time and then add the powder. Never had a single issue.

I'll be getting it out again for DC2 due in a few months!

The perfect prep machines are great, I loved it when we were combi feeding and they also make it dead easy for babysitters when the time comes, too. They make a really loud beep that you can't turn off though, which I hated at first, but you do get used to it. I didn't use it at night so can't attest to how loud it seems then.

Before we had the machine, I messed up my first few bottles of formula as I was scalding the powder by mixing it with freshly boiling water. Ended up with lumpy bits and I thought that's just how it was supposed to be So yeah let it cool a bit, it says for no longer than half an hour on the boxes I seem to remember.

Also, the anti reflux formula (if you ever delve into that...) can't be used with the perfect prep. It goes lumpy and too thick the warmer it gets, so the 'hot shot' at the start ruins it. I think we used half a tub of that in 4 months and wasted most of what we did use trying to get the consistency right.

This is no longer the case according to official advice in France - it’s the potential bacteria in tap water which can pose the risk. The recommendation here is bottled water- only certain types they have a specific mineral content. They have logos on here so you can see! X

Sorry the quote didn’t publish with my post but this was in response to a pp saying no bottled water! A second vote from me too for the Milton cold water steriliser- really simple! X

[quote Pizzaandsushi]@MumoftwoGranofone thank you. The NHS link is really helpful. I don’t know why I didn’t think to check there before to be honest. Especially as I’m always questioning why people don’t just google/follow advice from reputable sources. Tiredness I guess 😂.

I’m going to try and stop making bottles in advance and storing them. Hopefully with a Perfect Prep machine and these tips, it will become much easier to make them fresh as well as having some ready made formula as back up and trips out.[/quote]
Just make sure you're regularly cleaning the filters etc.

Another probably dumb and overthinking question. The NHS and formula instructions all say boil at least a litre of water. Does anyone know why? Again seems such a waste to make a few ounces.

Don’t do a mix of French and Uk advice OP. The French advice is to use bottled water - room temp or fridge temp and then warm in a bottle warmer if you like. BUT they also advise mixing in the formula and immediately giving the bottle to the baby, then disposing of any left over formula immediately after the feed. You absolutely cannot make formula up in advance and keep it in the fridge for example - because that would give any bacteria present time to grow. In France they will also be balancing the risk of bacteria contamination against the risk of burns caused by kettles or heating water on the stovetop. France is not a nation of tea drinkers and not everyone has a kettle in their house, so telling parents to get one is adding a risk that may not have been present before. In the UK everyone has kettles and uses them all the time so it isn’t an additional risk in the same way.

@HereBdragons thanks for clarifying this. So because in France they don’t use boiling water they can’t store in fridge - makes sense. However because we do have regular access to boiling water here, we can store in fridge straight after making if needed?

I have just invested in a Perfect Prep so hopefully will eliminate any of these issues but in the meantime trying to figure out the safest solution.

Do not follow the French instructions (or from any country other than U.K. if you're in the U.K. as will be specific to that country, its water supply, water boiling facilities and formula brands!).

Follow the NHS advice linked above. The reason for at least a litre is that it still needs to be above 70 degrees after half an hour to be safe and a smaller quantity would lose heat faster. It's also important to fill kettle with fresh water each time as reboiled water isn't great.

We found (combi-fed baby as I had myriad problems BFing) was to boil kettle, immediately make yourself cup of tea (priorities), then make up bottle 10-15 mins later once you've drunk the tea as water still definitely hot enough. Babies get more predictable as they get bigger so you get more of an idea when you'll need one. We were doing formula top ups initially so about 8 bottles a day and kept some ready to feed in for those moments when DD took us by surprise!

You'll eventually find, with a freshly made bottle that's not been drunk from good for two hours at room temp, that you get a feel for when you'll need it. We never bothered with a Perfect Prep, just made bottles as we needed them, alongside some BFing and the occasional ready to feed bottle.

The NHS recommends not making in advance and storing in fridge if at all possible. So, it's less risky to make each bottle fresh. It's more risky to store in fridge but remember the risk is relative - the vast majority of people won't experience problems doing this but the recommendations are designed to prevent those very very few instance when a baby does become ill (also, not all fridges are cold enough, the bottles should be at the back in the coldest part etc).

We never needed to do it but had a combi-fed baby who slept through from six weeks so we barely did any night feeds that were bottles and just used ready to feed for the few we did.

I literally just dump the powder in, fill to the line with boiling water then stick the bottle in ice water for a few minutes to cool it.