making up formula without prep

Lanzy · 2023-01-15T15:39:04+00:00

Hi, I had bought prep machine but was told it was a waste of money, is it? I did therefore wonder what alternatives there is, I’m clueless as first time mum and want least hassle and quickest way. We did get nuby rapid cool as a gift can that be used regularly to make feeds? would love easiest, also can formula once made up be stored in fridge or nope? Just now we’re wasting a lot of money on ready made formula

XioJoe · 15/01/2023 15:40

Whoever told you it's a waste of money is delusional 🤣 it's often been referred to as the third parent in our house! Worth every penny.

I didn't have a nuby rapid cool but have seen them in action and they look pretty good/helpful for out and about. I'd definitely stick to the prep machine at home.

bloodywhitecat · 15/01/2023 15:41

I always used the prefect prep, why were you told it is useless?

Fleur405 · 15/01/2023 15:42

we use a Nuby rapid cool (we have two) and it’s great. Yes you can store pre made formula in the fridge for up to 24 hours as long as you follow good food hygiene. So it needs to be cooled down quickly and put in the fridge asap. Nuby is good for that.

Namechanger355 · 15/01/2023 15:54

Perfect prep is the best thing we ever bought for our baby - we are used it for our now 3 year old dd and are now using it for our second DD born a month ago.

Whoever told you it was rubbish clearly didn’t understand how it works

it saves you 30 mins per bottle - as you can make up a bottle in less than 2 mins rather than waiting for a bottle to cool to the perfect temperature

being a first time mum is hard enough - use the prep machine!

Namechanger355 · 15/01/2023 15:54

Also I wouldn’t leave milk bottles in the fridge for a young baby - bacteria builds up

its Always safer to make a bottle when you need it - which is why the prep machine is so brill

SunshineAndFizz · 15/01/2023 15:55

I've never once made a bottle manually with either baby - Perfect Prep all the way, it's a god send.

You can also buy 200ml pre-made bottles of formula, which are handy when you're out and about. Don't need to refrigerate them before opening and can use room temperature too if you like.

wishuponastar1988 · 15/01/2023 15:57

You can just do the same as a perfect prep does but with 2 flasks - one with boiling water and one with cool boiled to make a bottle at the perfect temp. Boiling water in there first with the powder to kill bacteria then topped up with cooled water.

Cookerhood · 15/01/2023 16:05

Goodness, it's all changed from 25 years ago 😂

fairgame84 · 15/01/2023 16:07

I was making up bottles the old fashioned way for a few weeks. When we knew for definite that DD wouldn't exclusive breastfeed DH bought me the prep. It's made my life so much easier. Definitely the best thing he has ever bought me!

UsernamePain · 15/01/2023 16:11

I used the prep for my first- I loved it, but my second needs a much thicker milk due to reflux and I found the prep didn’t give enough hot water to dissolve the formula, it was so thick and lumpy. I’ve gone back to a kettle, making up 4 bottles at a time and then popping in hot water for a few mins to heat before feeding. Just as easy as a prep for me.

TurquoiseDress · 15/01/2023 18:38

We had a perfect prep machine- it was amazing and the best money we spent on baby items

Who told you it was a waste of money?!

They clearly haven't used one at 2am with a screaming baby!

TurquoiseDress · 15/01/2023 18:41

OP hope you've still got the machine?!

Personally I wouldn't store bottles of made up formula in the fridge, we always made one fresh

outbacker · 15/01/2023 19:06

If your baby is happy to drink the formula cold, then there's not too much issue in pre making and keeping it in the fridge, but ensure you allow it to cool before storing. However, the prep makes it at perfect temp so if your baby prefers warm milk, it's really more work to try warm up a pre made bottle from the fridge.

amylou8 · 15/01/2023 19:13

Cookerhood · 15/01/2023 16:05

Goodness, it's all changed from 25 years ago 😂

Hasn't it! I used to dump formula in a bottle of luke warm boiled water, and take it to bed ready to feed at room temperature in the early hours. As long as the bottle was sterilised, and the water had been boiled at some point we were good. Gonna have a learning curve when the grandkids appear 😂

Cookerhood · 15/01/2023 19:19

I used to carry bottles of boiled water around with me & a pot full of formula to tip in at feedtime. You could also get ready measured sachets of formula. I used to fill all the bottles for the day & add powder as needed.

BananaFrangipani · 15/01/2023 19:22

I was a bit cautious about using our prep machine, but our midwife and health visitor both said it was absolutely fine as long as we really kept on top of the cleaning/filter changes and used cooled boiled water. Has saved me SO much time compared to when I was making up bottles the traditional way or using the fridge method, and has saved a fortune on ready made formula! I know some health visitors are against them, but LO was on a prescription formula that didn’t come in ready made bottles, and making bottles from scratch each time she needed feeding just wasn’t practical (and we had leaky mam bottles, so couldn’t cool the feeds down easily in water). Reading online, people seem to do all sorts of weird and wonderful (and frankly unsafe!) methods to make feeds, and the prep machine seemed on balance to me to be the safest and most hygienic option.
Out and about we replicate it by taking a flask of boiling water and some cooled boiled water, and doing 2-3 oz boiling water with formula, shake, then add the cooled boiled water.

fairgame84 · 15/01/2023 20:11

amylou8 · 15/01/2023 19:13

Hasn't it! I used to dump formula in a bottle of luke warm boiled water, and take it to bed ready to feed at room temperature in the early hours. As long as the bottle was sterilised, and the water had been boiled at some point we were good. Gonna have a learning curve when the grandkids appear 😂

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That's what I used to do with DC1. The 18 year age gap has been a learning curve!

LemonSwan · 15/01/2023 20:13

Nuby is legendary! Give it a go. By the time you have gaffer about assembling the bottle from the sanitiser it is ready. Unbelievable technology.

fairgame84 · 15/01/2023 20:14

BananaFrangipani · 15/01/2023 19:22

I was a bit cautious about using our prep machine, but our midwife and health visitor both said it was absolutely fine as long as we really kept on top of the cleaning/filter changes and used cooled boiled water. Has saved me SO much time compared to when I was making up bottles the traditional way or using the fridge method, and has saved a fortune on ready made formula! I know some health visitors are against them, but LO was on a prescription formula that didn’t come in ready made bottles, and making bottles from scratch each time she needed feeding just wasn’t practical (and we had leaky mam bottles, so couldn’t cool the feeds down easily in water). Reading online, people seem to do all sorts of weird and wonderful (and frankly unsafe!) methods to make feeds, and the prep machine seemed on balance to me to be the safest and most hygienic option.
Out and about we replicate it by taking a flask of boiling water and some cooled boiled water, and doing 2-3 oz boiling water with formula, shake, then add the cooled boiled water.

You don't need to use cool boiled water with it, you just use cold tap water.
I read the instructions over and over and looked it up online because I thought I had misunderstood at first.

BananaFrangipani · 15/01/2023 21:03

fairgame84 · 15/01/2023 20:14

You don't need to use cool boiled water with it, you just use cold tap water.
I read the instructions over and over and looked it up online because I thought I had misunderstood at first.

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I know the instructions say tap water is fine, but the health visitor and midwife both said to use cooled boiled water. Made sense to me, as you’re not meant to give (unboiled) tap water to babies under 6 months, but the perfect prep only heats the hot shot, so most of the bottle would end up being tap water!

outbacker · 15/01/2023 21:47

@BananaFrangipani you're right that it is tap water, but it is actually filtered, not just bog standard tap water. So it's fine.

Simonjt · 15/01/2023 21:49

We have a perfect prep and a baby breza, we have never made a bottle up without one, they’re far from a waste of money, especially at 3am.

Namechanger355 · 16/01/2023 00:45

BananaFrangipani · 15/01/2023 21:03

I know the instructions say tap water is fine, but the health visitor and midwife both said to use cooled boiled water. Made sense to me, as you’re not meant to give (unboiled) tap water to babies under 6 months, but the perfect prep only heats the hot shot, so most of the bottle would end up being tap water!

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The cool water in the prep is itself filtered hence why tap water into the machine should be fine

although probably even safer with the cooled boiled water going in so definitely no harm if that’s what health visitor said - at least for the newborn stage anyway!

we actually use filtered tap water anyway so it’s filtered twice I guess!

Bizzyone · 16/01/2023 00:50

Perfect prep machine is hands down best thing we got for baby!! Was £30 on facebook marketplace we just bought new filters.. its a GODSEND at 2am Ive no idea why someone would say its a waste of money 😅🙈