Confused about making up formula

[ElmMum]

Probably due to tiredness but I just can't get my head round what's okay to do with formula.

They say boil water and let it cool for 30 mins and then mix in the powder. Is this because 30 mins after boiling the water is at a temperature that kills any bacteria in the powder? In which case, presumably you shouldn't mix in the powder when the water's just boiled or when it's completely cooled??

But I know people take a bottle of cooled boiled water out with them and just mix the powder in when they're ready to feed. Is this safe? Likewise, is it safe to boil water in advance, put it in the fridge and just take it out, mix in powder and warm up a bit when you need it?

My HV said something about having a flask of boiling water made up and filling bottles 2/3 full of cooled boiled water, then when you're ready to mix in the powder, just top up with the boiling water and mix. But I'm not clear if this is just because she assumes my DD will want warmed milk or because of killing bacteria.

Help! We can't go on using the ready made cartons for 2 feeds a day. It's way too expensive. But every time I get out the powdered stuff I bottle it, scuse the pun

Well I'm not sure what the actual facts are but when I ahd my DS in June 2006,

I used to sterilise all my bottles at nigt, fill them with boiled water put them in a basin of cold water for 30 minutes then put them in the fridge and add milk as needed. DS is 2.5 now and is fine. I think it's because when it'ss freshly boiled the water is sterile IYKWIM.

You can mix after boiling- it's no longer than 30 mins. But just boiled water does not always dissolve the powder well.

HV is wrong - powder must be mixed with the hot water, and boiled and cooled water can be added when the powder is dissolved.

Reason for mixing wth water cooled for no longer than 30 mins is because the powder is not sterile - nothing to do with the water, though that does need to be boiled too, to ensure it's as clean as poss.

Reason for mixing wth water cooled for no longer than 30 mins is because the powder is not sterile - nothing to do with the water, though that does need to be boiled too, to ensure it's as clean as poss.

tiktok, that's what I thought. It's the powder that's not sterile.

So if I boil water and mix in the powder no later than 30 mins after it's boiled, but not straight away, the heat of the water sterlises the powder. Then I just have to make sure it's cooled enough before feeding to DD.

How long after it's mixed must it be used? And does it make any difference if you put it in the fridge or keep it on the side?

So what do people do when they go out? Use the ready made cartons or take boiling water in a thermos or what?

(Not sure why I'm finding it sooo difficult to understand!)

Hi Elmum. Those are the new guidelines. I think that they now advise when you go out to use a carton or take the hot water flask and the cooled boiled water.

However, I do not know anyone who actually does that. Everyone I know (incl us when we do the 2 bottles a day dd has), boils the water, lets it cool and adds the powder when needed.

But the guidelines are there for a reason so don't listen to me if you want to be 100% safe.

I think that once the bottle is made with the formula, you need to use it within an hr. Not sure about the fridge.

Thanks everyone. I guess I'll follow the guidelines for FF at home and take cartons when I go out for now. Once I've been doing it for a while and I feel confident, maybe I'll relax a bit