FF - Can i make up the bottles this way?

[RGPargy]

I normally make up the bottles fresh every time, i.e. put the boiling water into the bottle and then add the powder accordingly. Sometimes i use half boiling and half pre-cooled boiled water so that the water is the right temperature to feed straight away. But what i was wondering is can i make up 5 bottles with the right amount of WATER, then when it's needed, either nuke the water in the micro or use a bottle warmer to heat it up to at least 70 degrees, and THEN add the powder?

All this powder faffiness is peeing me off a bit so i'm on the verge of moving to ready made cartons, unless i can make up the bottles like this!

TIA!

How would you check the water is 70 degrees, though?

That was v unhelpful, sorry! I make up batches of bottles in advance, sometimes milk, sometimes just water. I'm sure you can do it your way.

In America and France they're not told to sterilise bottles at all, so your approach seems positively operating-theatre-ready compared to that.

hi Beautiful

I have no idea what 70 degrees feels like anyway, even when the kettle has boiled! I know that it's 100 degrees when it's boiling but after that it's a guessing game lol.

I doubt the bottle warmer would heat it up enough and it would take a fair amount of trial and error to get the right temp in the microwave, then you'd still have to wait for it to cool down before you could feed.

AFAIK, the issue is the non-sterility of the milk powder, so presumably you could make up the day's bottles using the boiling water method, then put them in the fridge and heat up as and when she wants one. Unless there's some reason why keeping made up bottles is now a no-no. It's been a while since I ff mine.

I'd still use cartons when you go out, mind you. Keeping bottles cold is a pain!

Oh, and isn't 70 degrees about the temp it's at after half an hour at room temp? Don't take my word for it, but I think that's what I've read.

Ds1 is the only one of my kids to have had bottles - he mix-fed throughout - I just used to add the milk powder to cold water - obviously if at home then I would heat it, but if out, I'd just have the measured amount of water, measured amount of powder, bung it in and he'd drink it cold.

Never heard the thing about milk powder not being sterile!

We make up all the bottles with just boiled water the night before, and then I just add the powder to the water the next day when I need the bottle. It seems to dissolve OK in room temp water. Had a few problems when it was very cold in the winter but just stood the bottle in a tea cup of boiled water for a while.
Ours have always accepted room temp feeds which is good so have never warmed them. They are now a year old and have been doing this for up to 8 feeds a day each (have twins) and they've never been ill, so works OK for us!
My friend with twins makes up all her bottles the night before, powder and all, and keeps them in the fridge and heats them in the microwave before use. We don't have room in our fridge for all those bottles but seems to work for her!

Olihan - yeah i did think about that and if that is the case, i might just as well make them up from fresh! Oh and the rule of thumb these days is that you cant keep a made up bottle for longer than 2 hours now. DS was FF (he's almost 18 now!) and you just made up the bottles you needed for the next 24 hours and stuck them in the fridge!

I'm just thankful that DD was BF until 5 months as i think i'd be going insane doing all this new formula regime from newborn!

I might just go on to the cartons full time. So much easier to pour into the bottle and heat!

The issue is not the sterility of the bottles, not the cleanliness of the water, but the powder and the temp has to be no less than 70 deg - so water must be left no more than 30 mins before mixing, as a rule of thumb.

Power which is contaminated with enterbacter sakersakii or salmonella will be made safe with these precautions.

I think it is really bad that midwives and health visitors seem unable to communicate this to mothers - the same question comes up again and again on mumsnet, and people often respond as if they think it's the bottles and the water that are the issue here. No, it's the powder. Water should be boiled and bottles and teats should be as clean as possible, of course.

Just use ready made cartons!

I think the 70 degrees thing is what temperature the bacteria are killed at, but having said that, on another forum someone told me that 70 degrees wouldn't kill hardly any bacteria at all!

I know it's the powder tiktok which is why i'm asking if i can reheat the water. Suppose i've just answered my own question there actually lol.

You can't keep a made-up bottle longer than 2 hours in the fridge? Outside the fridge, maybe. But please tell me that doesn't mean inside the fridge too, cos that is insanely inconvenient!

Soon they'll tell us to drive directly to the Aptimil factory for each feed.

My sister always made up her bottles in advance with boiling water. DS is the first child I ff as DD was bf. Have to say, I make up the bottles the same way, boiling water, chill quickly and whack in the fridge. My friend is a microbiolgist and she has assured me that refrigerated milk should be fine for 24 hours.

rg, that's exactly what i did. minor faffage with working out how long it took to get the temp up to 70 in micro (did it with a therm to check). use slightly less, mix powder, shake and then add a splash of cold from one of the other bottles ikwim?lovely and circular... obv after 6 mos just add from the tap.

what I do is keep cooled boiled water in the fridge, mix about 70:30 fresh boiled to cold for half the volume of water - add all the powder to this and mix - then add the other half of the volume of cold water measured in another bottle. A bit complicated to explain but quick and deals with the whole killing the bacteria in the powder issue whilst then producing milk at the correct temp. Then you don't have the feed hanging around at all for any remaining bacteria to multiply.

tiktok - I agree the message not getting through despite a very clear NHS leaflet see here explaining how to minimise the risk.
I find I'm having the same conversation over and over again at the new birth visits (I'm a HV). I don't tell people they have to follow the guidelines but they need to know the risk so they can make an informed decision about what to do. It takes up so much time, parents always say they weren't told about the new guidelines and feel they should have been.
I asked the Infant Feeding co-ordinators if midwives could discuss antenatally and give out leaflets but was told not possible, as hospital going for Baby Friendly Status and discussion of bottle feeding antenatally is a no-no.

I do do the adding cold water thing, but i didn't realise i could just add cold tap water after six months! That makes life a little easier!

I have to say tho, going on what MFKAG said, i'm quite tempted to make them up for the day, just like i did when i FF DS back in 1990!