Question about FF- how hot does the water need to be to mix in the formula/

[munteria]

Hi there

Just started to FF. Experimenting with different (hopefully safe!) ways to make up the feeds to save time. A couple of questions:

• how hot does (cooled) boiled water need to be to mix in the forumla? thinking about mixing in hot water from the kettle into a bottle of previously cooled boiled water.

• if I put cooled boiled water into bottles can i heat them up again in a bottle warmer to mix in the formula?

thanks!

70 degrees

you can mix the powder with less hot water than you need straight from the kettle, then top up with cold to bring it down to 'drinking' temp, but make sure you use the right total amount (ie if you started with 4oz hot, don't just top up to the 6oz line on the bottle, measure the cold seperately to make sure it's really 2oz)

If you really need to do it in advance it's actually better to make up the formula with hot water, cool it, then store it made up in the fridge. Use the bottle warmer to get it to drinking temp when you need it.

I used to make formula with previously boiled water and just heated it up in microwave or bottle warmer to tepid. in really hot days i would not heat it up at all as it was already at room temp. i have been dowing this for some time and never had any problems. With FIL who is a GP said that it was fine to do this and leave out for a couple of hours. you have to do the smell and taste test to see if all ok, though formula does taste yucky.

we never had any tummy troubles accept from when dd caught a bug off me and when she went to a birthday party. Just follow the manufacturers guildlines for the formula/water ratio. i think that it is 1 scoop to 1 floz of boiled water.

Well we are fine, and others who have done this way are too. Yes he has studied chemistry as part of his profession and knows what he is talking about. Its like the not putting baby rice in bottles thing.

I am taking about using cooled boiled water, not water straight from the tap.

and also sterilising bottles too, i did until dd was 1 year old.

I use cooled boiled water and store bottle in the fridge. I add the powder when I need it.

Sometimes I warm the water up by adding a bit of boiling water from the kettle, shaking it up and empting the bottle back to the volume required. Sometimes I give DS the bottle at room temperature, and sometimes I give it to him straight from the fridge, especially on hot days.

By using sterile water, in sterile bottles and adding the powder only when needed, surely I am minimiing the likelyhood of bacteria?

Yes i did the same, sterilised bottles, using cooled boiled water(what the manufacturer recommeneded i.e. Aptimil in my case). DD never got a tummy bugs, problems start when you dont do these things. When we went on the plane i carried sterilised bottles and used carton formula. you have to do what you can when you are out and about. When i was at the shops and she drank all the milk,i rinsed the bottle out with water that i had bought for myself and emptied a carton of formula into it she was fine.

The guidance for safer bottle feeding changed a couple of years ago, but it still causes confusion because the rationale for it has not been spelled out.

The water has to be hot (no cooler than 70 deg C) at the time of mixing because the powder is not sterile. This has nothing to do with the cleanliness of the water, or whether it has been boiled first and then cooled. It has to be hot in order to reduce the bugs in the powder.

Most babies will be fine if this is not done. A small number of babies will become ill. A very small number of babies will become seriously ill and there have been fatalities.

Carton milk does not pose the same risks obviously.

Sterile water and sterile bottles make no difference because the bugs are already there in the powder (salmonella and enterobacter sakerzakii). No manufacturer recommends cool boiled water piglet - maybe you read the tin wrong? A taste test is unhelpful, as you cannot taste these bacteria. It's possible your GP father in law is not aware of the change in guidance.

thanks for all your help. I was wondering whether ok to mix formula up with warm water - obviously not.

is it ok to do what Mrs Badger suggests and make the formula up first with hot water then cool it in the fridge and heat it up if you want to use?

thanks

munteria - if you do this, you are not following the guidance. It's up to you if you follow it or not. But the guidance is clear - it's safer to make it up and offer it fresh. This is because storing it - even after it has been made up with water at 70 deg plus - allows bugs time to develop. However, recognising that people do store, as it is convenient, the guidance does suggest compromises - you can read what HCPs read at this link:

www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_100887

Older babies are likely to be more robust at resisting infection than younger ones, so you might feel ok about cutting these sorts of corners if your baby is beyond newborn

This is new.
When DS was little I used to make up bottles of cooled previously boiled water and then add the powder when he needed to be fed. I would then heat the mix up in a jug of hot water.

I was told under no circumstances should I make up the bottles all at once and then store them.

So it has changed... AGAIN? bloody hell.

thanks Tik Tok!

the guidence from the dept of health is very clear. i've saved the file so i can print it out later.

Baisey, it has changed once - about three years ago. I don't think it changed before that, or at least not within living memory

Thanks Tiktok, i just had the freshly boiled water in a lidded jug as the water seemed to hot to give lo at the time and it had to cool so that i could give it to her.

It has to cool, you're right, piglet....70 deg C is way too hot to give to a baby. But you mix it first, and then you cool it.

Maybe you could share the guidance with your FIL. Mothers get so confused when one HCP tells them one thing, and another says something else

they certainly do. well my dd is not on formula now as she is 2.4 years. hopefully will have more sucess with the bf next time round so wont have to bother with all the formula

So I was doing it wrong last time. Is it common knowledge because you dont hear of many people asking for cold water to cool down their babies milk.
I remember the change 3 years ago, it was just before DS was born and I remember my sister saying "oh but I used to just make up 6 bottles in the morning and shove them in the fridge" and she was a bit when I didnt do that.
Ive just googled it, I swear people never said anything about the actual powder not being sterile. Maybe my babyfogged brain just missed that part!
I now know for this time round, maybe this one wont be on Gaviscon for reflux!
Thanks tiktok!