Room Temperature Formula - can I give this to a newborn???

[Annabellemary]

In the maternity home they provide formula (for those not breastfeeding) at room temperature for newborn babies.

When I take my baby home can I give him room temperature formula. Obviously when making the bottles up they will be made up with boiled water which in theory kills the bacteria (I think) so this should be ok, should it not? Any ideas? Am just thinking that it may be possible to save myself the 7 minutes of screaming whilst the baby waits for the bottle warmer to warm the milk.

Any ideas/thoughts/suggestions?

They have done studies (don't ask me which ones though) that show it makes no difference if a bottle is heated or not (after being made with boilng water). The ones in the maternity home come in sealed, steralised containers though, if the milk has been left in contact with the air then I wouldn't leave it for too long before using.

I bf so got away with all this trouble.

without wishing to go into controversy here (strictly the current advice is to make each formula up each time but I'm not getting my hard hat out to discuss this again), you could do this -however how are you keeping your formula - if its in the fridge, imho its likely to be too cold for baby to drink it at that temperature.

It may be easier to use cartons or pre made bottles (I think sma do them) if you can afford them just for few weeks when you're in the mad could need it any time phase.

Current advise is to mi the formula (at at least 70 degrees) then cool & give to baby to reduce the chance of bacteria growing - you are advised not to store it 'made up' at all

It depends how long you leave them. The bottles in the hospitals are pre-made. I wouldn't use a bottle that had been made for more than half an hour on a baby, but that's just my opinion. Less chance for the bacteria to grow.

The cartons are useful. you shouldn't have to heat these up, it's down to choice. I did mean this but have ds talking non-stop across the room and sounds like he has a fog horn in his mouth.

personally I'd go for cartons (if you can afford it) as less hassle, it is slightlier easier to make things up when feeding settles down later.

and lol at chocolate cake

I strated giving ds formula at room temp, the thing I found and have been told is that it's easier for the wind to come up the warmer the milk and as ds was really bad with this, I had to start warming, but yeah, don't think there's anything wrong with room temp

oh but, because formula powder isn't sterile, you're supposed to add the powder to the water while it's still hot (30mins after kettle boiled) to ensure it is safe to drink so not sure how you'd go about that. I didn't follow government guidlines in bottle prep but thought I should bring it up anyway,

its more about making sure that they don't get into annoying habits about only wanting it REALLY warm

You can mix formula with half the amount of water at boiling, then when mixed, add the other half of coiled, boiled water to bring to room temp.
(Hoping advice is ok, came from SIL - I also bf'd so never had this issue)

Good idea Jack, will remember that for this next one. Come to think of it, a friend of mine prepared them one ounce short and added cooled boiled water to bring down temp.
Although I've also heard it's safer to warm up than warm down. It's all a bit confusing isn't it

i think that isn't right jackstini, something to do with the amount of water added to powder and how it reconstitutes. but i have no experience myself so...

what does it say on the side of the box annabellemary? they might not say why you have to follow the instructions but they should be correct.

I did it like this with dd2,

Put 4 oz hot water in sterilised bottle, mix with 7 scoops of formula then add 3 oz of cooled boiled water (I kept bottles in the fridge). I found this made it just the right temperature for dd, not too hot, not to cold!

I am not belittling anyone or any advice on this thread .. of course you should follow current guidelines cos you dont want to risk your dc's health

but just remember.. millions of mums (me included, made 6 feeds at a time with boiled water put them in the fridge to cool and heated them up in a jug of hot water when needed. My ds and I am sure millions of others thrived on this method..

I'm just trying to say dont get tooo stressed..dont take silly risks but dont tie yourself up in knots trying to make feeds as you go

good luck

but knowing that the powder isn't sterile and ignoring the advice of how to make up the baby's milk safely would be exactly that, taking a silly risk.

Guidelines change so often. Yes there have been 1 or 2 reported cases of serious illness from preparing the old way, but then hundreds and thousands of babies do just fine.
Regardless of what the current guidlines are people are always going to do what they're happy and comfortable with, the same as sleep positions. I know lots of people thsat lay new borns on their front so they don't choke if they are sick and so on....

Thank you all for your advice. I was advised with dd (1 yr) to make each bottle up as I went (how do you do this when it takes at least half an hour for water to cool in kettle when baby wants milk now) but due to severe colic and having to add colief to ready made bottles my HV said because of this I could make up bottles in advance and store in the fridge. I did this about four bottles at a time and heated each one in a bottle warmer for each feed.

the ready made cartons of aptamil state that they can be served at room temperature or warmed if desired, the powdered formula cartons explains how to make each bottle up letting kettle boiled water cool for 30 mins and then cool under a cold tap to required temp so I suppose this means it could be served at room temperature.

The thing that gets me is that newborn babies don't have a set routine so you can't prepare milks half an hour in advance if they are hungry now - I don't know what to do for the best and baby is due tomorrow!

You'll find something that suits you. I agree it doesn't really make much sense that we are advised to feed on demand but have to prepare bottles as needed. After a few weeks you'll know when it's coming up to hunger time anyway. Try not to stress too much about it

Actually last time, with dd, before and making bottles up I kept hot water in a flask at 30 mins cooled temp and then made up bottles with it and then cooled bottle in jug of iced water ready to serve but again a bit lengthy when baby is screaming.

Might buy cartons of ready made formula to make life easier but in these cost-cutting times they do seem an expensive way to go.

Thank you, I'll try not to stress, in each day of waiting for little one to arrive you find yourself another dilemma don't you. I think i'll get cartons for the first few weeks of madness, just until I get myself sorted.

With DS I used to do the same as frasersmummy and make them all up for 24 hours and then microwaved them. With DD I worked out the cost and only ever used cartons which were great. I also microwaved them - will do the same when DC3 arrives but might try to get him/her used to taking it at room temp.

loads of luck and don't stress... it'll be fine and cartons are a lifeline for first few weeks

Did the cost not work out much different then? I'll have to work it out because it would be so much easier to use ready made and as they are stored at room temp no heating is required, bliss.

Interesting though littleboyblue about wind being easier to come up with warmer milk because that could be a concern, winding (or not getting wind up) really stressed me out with dd.

I worked out that cartons were about £7 a week more - I do realise that for some people this is a major difference but I felt happy to pay the extra to make life easier. It became a standing joke how often DH would say 'Why didn't we buy these with DS?'!

for first couple of weeks I had the little made up SMA bottles -they are much more expensive but I was so spaced out it made all the difference