ok talk me through the current bottle rules

[mustsleep]

right i am due in sept and am planning to bottle feed with formula

my dd is two nearly three now and my brain has gone to mush and can't remember how things work

right so i sterilise

now you dont make all bottles up in morning and keep in fridge anymore you have tomake them as you go?

so can i in theory sterilize all my bottles then pour my slightly cooled boiled water in and leave to stand on side and just add the formula as i go
or would the water need to go in the fridge if so could i then heat the water to desired temp and add the formula?

any input most appreciated

also how long can you keep it for once made up and heated is it still an hour?

What I do (I think this is in line with the new guidelines) is sterilise the bottles and put them empty and closed into the fridge. When I want to make up a bottle I pour a little bit of hot (more than 70oC) water in and add the formula and shake, which sterilises it. I then top up with boiled cooled water. This has the advantage that the water is already tepid.

Think this is right!

i have just started bottle feeding ds4, i sterlise all the bottles then put cooled boiled water in them, and then add the powder when a feed is needed

i have found that the powder doesnt always mix quite as well in room temp water, so what i do now is put 4oz of cooled boiled water in and then when he wants a feed i add another 2 oz of freshly boiled water and then the powder 6 scoops as he has 6oz feeds, this then makes it mix well and means his milk is slightly warm, tho he doesnd mind it at room temp

so you can put the full amount of cooled boiled water in and just add powder, or do as i do and put slightly less water than you need and then top it up with hot water at the time.

the HV told me both of these methods are fine

oh and i think they say to use the milk within an hour yes, but ds4 guzzles it in less than 20mins anyhow...

thanks

i think that is what i will do then and i won;t have to wait around for it to heat up then either ..... can still remember how long a couple of mins seems at 3am with a screaming newborn

lucy can i ask why you put the sterilised EMPTY bottles in the fridge? if they are sterilised and sealed why do they need to be in the fridge.

i put the cooled boiled water in enough bottles for the next 12hrs, and the other sterilised bottles i just put together and leave on the side, or in the steriliser, as you can only use the cooled boiled water for up to twelve hours, or at least that is what i was told......

oh yes at night time, i have the bottle next to the bed with the cooled boiled water in it and the powder already measured out in one of those little avent tubs that hold three lots of measured powder, then i tip it in and shake, voila

You can download the current advice from here

You need to add the powder to hot (over 70'C, which works out that once boiled, you need to add the formula within 30 minutes) water.

3Madboys - your HV should have told you to do this - it has been the advice since 2005.

i checked this with THREE HV today and they said yes they knew of the advice but that actually as long as the formula is going to be drunk straight away it is ok to mix it with room temp water, the problem with the bacteria, (theynamed one inparticular but i cant remember it) is when it is left sitting around, it is then that your baby is more at risk of infection. which is why they dont recomend making up feeds for 24hrs in advance.

also using 70 degree water wont actually kill the bacteria, only pasteurisation? can do that.

also in that leaflet/link, they recomend the cartons of ready to use formula which are sterile, but obviously this is only until you open them and then you run the same risks as with poweder formula, especially if you dont use it all straight away and keep it in the fridge etc.

what they did say was to be extra scrupulous with sterilising and hand washing etc, that is where MOST infections and bacteria come from, your hands that havent been washed properly and then touch the bottles, teats etc.

The advice is very clear - the safest thing for your baby when using powdered formula is to add the powder to water over 70' which will kill most of the bacteria, and then to use it straight away. As the document says, it can't kill all of them and if you store made up milk then the bacteria that are left can multiply.

You shouldn't store ready to feed formula in an open container - as soon as it is opened it should go into sterile, sealed containers - the point being that there aren't any bacteria in there to start with, so the amount that can grow in the time between opening the carton and feeding is much lower.

The HVs obviously aren't up to date with the very clear advice set out, which doesn't seem particularly onerous to follow.

In the end, its your choice how you make up feeds for your baby. However, you do need to be aware that this advice was introduced internationally as some babies died as a result of formula powder being made up with cold water, and it was determined that making up with hot water would probably have saved their lives.

lucy can i ask why you put the sterilised EMPTY bottles in the fridge?

Yes, good question, I suppose it keeps them in a place where they can't be knocked over etc! Glad I am following the advice as per cmot's post otherwise.