Stupid Question for Bottlefeeding Mums

[Expectantmum]

Just wanted to ask bottlefeeding mums how they prepare the feeds. Baby not due for another couple of months but just want to get it sorted in my head (if thats possible !). I know you have to use cooled boiled water for the feeds, but do you (and this is the daft bit!) boil the kettle up and then pour the required amounts straight into the bottles and then leave the bottles of water out to cool and then just mix the formula in as and when necessary? Or do I measure the water into the bottles and put the water straight in the fridge? Also, was thinking it would be a good idea that I know you can use the ready made cartons of formula, does anyone take a bottle and carton to bed and just pour the mixture straight into a bottle when required?

I doubt it's possible for all HVs to be giving new mums the same advice! Certainly has never happened with anything else I've ever heard about!

i used to boiil the kettle with fresh water init. leave until a bit cooler. bottles were sterilised in the microwave steriliser. then id pour the water into the bottles and add thepowder. mix it all up, and put in the fridge. id do six bottles a go, so had a days supply. you cant add boiling hot water to the bottles as by the time it has cooled down enough to add the powder, the water level has gone down a bit as some of the water has evaporated off.
to feed, id stick the bottle minus the teat in the microwave just enough to remove the chill of the fridge. give it a good shake, and ready to feed baby.
i found this easier, as otherwise id lose count when adding the scoops, especially when it was seven or eight scoops. didnt have one of those little containers. i think they would have been useful
hth

Lol, Hunkermunker - very true! They don't exactly all sing from the same songsheet, do they??

Hope you all had a good weekend, mine was lovely, just shopping for things for baby and relaxing! I have to enjoy these days whilst I can!

So basically, it might be better to use the individual ready-made cartons for the first couple of weeks and then switch to powdered after that. Sad I know, but I was doing a price check over the weekend, went to Asda and the individual cartons of SMA Gold were 41p, which I thought was pretty reasonable, then went to Babies R Us and they were 60p, and then I went to Mothercare (for something completely different) and found they were 79p in there for an individual carton!! What a wrip off! Me thinks I'll stick to Asda. brought a tub of powder for £5.90 (ish) which I thought was pretty good, but how long does a tub last? Gonna stock up over the next few months because I can imagine my DP being a complete nightmare doing the shopping on his own! Also invested in one of those section tubs to measure the formula out, which also converts later on to a food pot, bargain at a fiver!! Listen to me, don't I sound sad!!

I am so excited, can't wait for D day now, but can't believe I still have three months to wait!

Suedonim - that isn't general advice in the UK - we do not advise it. We are perhaps needing to look at that. I will ask at work.

Must admit Mears, I have not read anything about only giving baby ready made formula in the first few weeks, just as long as everything is sterilised properly then I would have thought it would have been OK.

I used to make the feeds up at night.

To start with I put the kettle to boil then I washed and sterilised the bottles. The steriliser we had took 10 mins but I think it was recommended that the boiled water should be left for 40 mins to cool to mix with formula.
When it was cool I made all 6 up, let them cool and put them in the fridge.

I felt much more organised doing it that way and as for heating them back up I did use a bottle warmer for a few weeks then realised what a pain it was and started to put them a jug of hot water. Later they went straight in to the microwave. I just shake them really well.

I would definatly keep a few cartons of ready done formula in the house just in case. I found that a large carton would make up 6 bottles when dd was younger.

Mears, there some info on the link I put further down this thread. I've seen it a couple of times now, wrt to a baby death, so it will be interesting to see what your hospital say or if they're even aware of it.

The problem is, I gather, with the bacterium getting into the powder at manufacturing stage, so sterilising the bottles won't make any difference.

This particular bug can be fatal, and I think it was some cases where babies had died in Belgium that prompted this European review.

But then surely if its a manufacturing problem, it won't be just restricted to powdered formula, but also to pre-mixed cartons too?

According to the info from the European Food Safety people - read it here the bacterium is more likely to be a problem in powder, though it is present at low levels in both forms of milk (powdered and ready to feed). But because ready to feed packaged, sealed and then poured into a bottle and used in total straight away, the bacterium doesn't multiply....unlike powdered formula which they stress in this paper is not a sterile product at any stage, so the bugs can multiply within the powder, especially (one imagines) when the pack is opened, used a bit, and then closed, and then opened, used a bit, then closed.....and so on.

Anyway, prob best to read it and see what you think

Thanks, did read it earlier but also wanted to read other opinions. I guess it would be best then to stock up on the ready made cartons for the first few weeks then and switch. Thanks for the info - what would I do without MN!!