Confusion with formula? Please help

[imverynosey]

Hello! I have always breast fed my children, but I'd like to try formula at some point
Basically on the back of the aptamil box it says I have to wait 30 mins??? But when baby cries she wants her feed right there and then. No way we can wait 30 minutes?

Are there any quicker ways to do this? I've heard about prep machines but researched that they don't get hot enough so not a risk I'm willing to take

I also heard about rapid cool flasks? This could be an investment if quick and safe?

Please help! Thanks :)

Admittedly advice might have changed, my youngest is 13 now. I used to make up all the bottles for the day with boiled water. Let it cool and then stick in the fridge. I reheat it in the microwave for a minute and would shake thoroughly to make sure there were no hotspots. No issues at all. There may well be a machine that does it all for you now!

Make them up before hand, keep it in the fridge and then warm it up when the baby needs feeding.

I haven't bottle fed a tiny baby but fairly sure it just has to be made with certain temperature water to kill bacteria in the powder but as long as it isn't straight out the fridge (so minimum room temperature) it's OK. I could be wrong so check with other people but I think I'm right.

I think the wait for 30 minutes is for the boiling water to cool down so it is safe temperature for feeding. I use the prep machine and haven't had any issues with 2 of my children. You could boil water and let it cool and keep in flask for the day. When you are ready to make a bottle boil the kettle and add around 2 to 3 ounce of boiling water, add the formula and shake the bottle so formula is dissolved this way it kills any bacteria then add the cool boil water so it is not too hot for baby.. or you could add just boiled water and let the bottle sit in cold water in jug etc until milk has cooled down. I've done this and had no issues with my babies

I used to boil water and put it in a flask rather than boil the kettle every time.

Then you can either:

1)make the feed by putting powder into water from flask and topping with cooled, boiled water

Or

2)add the powder to freshly boiled water and use the flask water to make up the feed then cool the bottle in water / under the tap

Always add powder to water and make sure you're measuring the right amount of water, otherwise incorrect water:powder ratio can lead to a poorly tummy.

But no you don't need to wait 30mins. Make your feed and cool it down with cold water in a pot and stand the bottle in it. Use ice or hold it under a running tap to cool it faster if necessary. Shouldn't take more than 5mins.

I believe you can also pre-make bottles of formula, cool them down and put them in the fridge for up to 24hrs, ready to heat up for a feed, but you'd need to double-check this

Use a prep machine. NHS don't recommend them but millions of mothers/fathers do.

They also say you shouldn't pre-prepare bottles.

I do wonder if whoever made these guidelines to begin with even had children.

And yes- no sane parent waits 30 minutes with a screaming child.

I used to make them fresh with boiling water and then put them in a bowl of cold water to cool down quickly.

Thanks so much all for your suggestions x c

This seems a good quick option!!!

I make up the bottles for the day all together. The 30 minute wait is so the water is at the correct temperature. After 30 minutes the water is hot enough to kill bacteria in the formula, but not so hot as to ruin all the nutrients in it. This is quite important for newborns and younger babies, but as baby gets older (over approx 6 months) the formula can just be added to cooled boiled water.
Hope this makes sense!

You can replicate the perfect prep by adding half the amount of boiling water to a bottle, adding the formula powder and shaking well, then measuring out the other half amount of cooled, boiled water (you can keep a jug in the fridge) and adding to the bottle. The bottle should be drinking temp or might need a minute or two under a cold running tap.

The rapid cool are fab. I make ours up as needed. Boil some water, make the bottle up with the boiling water and tip into the rapid cool to cool down. Is drinkable in 2ish mins

I only used formula to combi feed from 6 months so I don't know if this would be acceptable for a newborn, but I made a couple of bottles in the morning and just stored them in the fridge until they were needed.

Maybe with a newborn you'd have to be a bit more careful though