Definitive bottle feeding guide required before I get in a pickle 'googling' it!

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Just about to move from breast to bottle and can't be bothered to trawl the internet looking for the latest guidance on how to make up bottles as figured MNers would tell me!

Think it's changed since I did it last time. So a step by step guide would help and advice on the easiest way of doing it and how to prepare feeds for trips out.

Thanks one and all x

Assuming your LO is under 6 months...

1. Wash and sterilise the bottles, screw on bottle necks, teats and bottle caps.

1. Boil the kettle and let it cool for no longer than 30 minutes.

1. take the bottles out of the steriliser and pour the hot water into them to the required level (see the side of the formula box) then spoon in the required amount of milk powder.

1. take the teats out of the steriliser and place them on top of the bottles. Drop the screw on bottle necks over the teats and pull the teats through. screw the bottle neck onto the bottle. Cap the bottle.

You can now put the bottles in the fridge (preferably at the back where the fridge is coldest) to use throughout the day.

Generally speaking you can make bottles up for use over the next 12 hour period. The key is to make them up with water over 70 degrees Celsius and to them cool them quickly once they are made up and keep them that way until they are needed.

To heat them up for use you can put them in a jug of warm water or you can zap them in the microwave. If you microwave be sure to give them a good shake/swirl to make sure there are no hot spots.

For trips out where i am going to be out for longer than about 2 hours i tend to use the ready to serve packs. just less of a faff and they are only 50p at the supermarket. i keep a store of them in the cupboard for that purpose. If it a short trip i will take a bottle with me.

If you LO is over 6 months then you dont need to worry so much about sterilising.

HTH!

I know it's a bit more expensive but I have always used the ready-to-feed cartons. So much easier than all the faff with boiling kettles, cooling down, measuring powder malarkey.

We use the 1 litre cartons and just keep it in the fridge once opened. We also (shock horror) microwave it to take the chill off. Long as you don't overheat it and really shake it well then test it first it's fine.

With PFB DS1 I spent a couple of months with screaming baby waiting for bottle to warm in a jug of boiling water. Soon stopped that sharpish in favour of the microwaveand less trauma all round, and DS2 has been microwave all the way.

I would also highly recommend these steriliser bottles, you can sterilise an individual bottle with just a bit of water and a microwave in 90secs. Most handy with a screaming child and much more portable than a steriliser as well. I'm almost evangelical about them.

flowerybeanbag, we nuke as well. it is fine so long as you shake to distribute the heat. i think the official guidelines are written for the lowest common idiot.

I thought that current advice was to make each feed up fresh, and the only reason to make them up in advance is if there is no way you can make it up fresh, not to be done as a matter of course.

NHS gives this leaflet out (on request only) www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_084165.pdf

www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_084165.pdf