Formula milk

[Hirani123]

Hi I am using nutriprem 2 powder for my son, who was born premature at 29 weeks. He has only been on it for one week. I was using boiled water which was cooled down to room temperature which was then put into a thermos. When preparing the feed I was adding that water first then the powder. As per what I was told by the hospital which said it’s fine to do what I was doing. I am worried he may have caught a bacterial infection as for the past two days he does feed well during the day but not at night. Has anyone else ever done this? Now I’m using hot water to make am I too late.

You need to put the powder in some hot water to kill off any germs in it. Then you can add cooled boiled water to make it up to the right ratio. If you only use room temperature water then you haven't killed the germs in it.

Don't panic about what's passed but do it that way from now on

If he'd got an infection he'd probably be quite ill with a high temperature and vomiting. If he doesn't have symptoms like that then he's probably OK but ask your midwife if you're worried

You're not killing the bacteria in the milk unless the water is hot. He's likely fine but you could make a gp appointment in the morning to make sure

I'm sorry but what do you think the GP is actually going to do with a baby that has no symptoms and isnt unwell? GPs don't even have any compulsory training/CPD in infant feeding so it's not like they can advise in any meaningful way unless you see one who just happens to have taken an interest in the subject and kept up to date with guidelines/research out of choice.

@Hirani123 your baby would be seriously unwell if he had been affected by bacterial contamination. Don't worry about it. Just make the feeds according to instructions going forward and enjoy your baby ❤️

Some special preparation milks don’t actually like boiling water so you have to follow exactly what it says on the tin. I believe nutriprem asks you to boil water and then cool for 30 mins and then mix with the powder. But check on the tin first. I’m sure baby is fine if there are no symptoms.

Every formula I used powder had to be added to boiled water then cooled.
But if hospital told you to do it and says on the tin the same that's fine.

For those saying you need to use a "hot shot" you don't. These are the preparation instructions from the manufacturer.

What they don't mention is that using a "hot shot" can be detrimental to the nutrients in the formula.

The UK guidelines are that Hot Shots should be used with mist formulas but some formulas should not have them and this is one of them. You should follow the advice of the Hospital OP

In the USA there is no advice to use a Hot Shot and statistically infections from powder formula are rare.

*most formulas

Yes please ignore the posters further up who say water must be hot.

It is just NOT true for all milk - inc cmpa milk
In fact it damages nutritional value for those milks.

Side note you also shouldnt reboil the water if possible. It changes mineral content in the water.

My baby has cmpa and the milk sounds similar.

I try and make the water "fresh" each time where possible (thermos is only if we are out) and thermos or rapid cool (look at buying one these they are great! For getting water cooled to make a quick bottle vs waiting 30 mins) Get cleaned with milton.

Is the thermos being regularly cleaned?

If you suspect bacterial infection id see GP first thing today.