making up formula bottles when out and about

[newbiebaby]

Hi
I am new to the bottles as until recently DD has been EBF. Am at a loss to know how to make up bottles on the move. I understand I have to mix the powder with hot water just before feed, but how do people then cool the milk before their babies drink it when out in the countryside, not near cold taps etc?
grateful for any advice
xxx

Sterilize your bottles and boil your water first, put the correct quantity of water in the bottle and then cap it. Keep in in your bag when you're out and about - it will go tepid by the time you need to use it, which I found was more acceptable to my DS than cold water. You measure out the correct quantity of formula ( I used one of those special plastic containers designed for individual serves of formula) and just mix it in with the water when you need to feed. This is safer than making it up at home and then carrying it about with you all day - it is, after all, a milk product. Easy!

Alternately if your formula comes in ready made cartons and you can afford it - take a ready made carton out and just empty it into the bottle and drink! Or - if your DC is fussed about temperature like my DD, stand bottle in some hot water (flask if countryside) until it reaches the optimum temperature then drink.

Hi

My DD2 is FF and my first DD was too.

This time round I use the little cartons of pre-prepared formula when out and about. Soooo much easier. I sterilize a bottle and stick it in a plastic freezer bag which I seal well. Alternatively, you can buy disposable sterilized bottles in packs of 5 from Boots.

With my first DD I used to do what FiveBells suggests and take water and a pot of milk powder all measured out.

Fivebells, that is not the correct way to make formula, and goes against bothe manufacturers reommendations and those of the WHO.

Formula should not be added to water that is cooler than 70 deg, or has been boiled for longer than 30 mins. Water under this temp will not kill harmful bacteria, and could cause illness.

options - premade cartons, either served at room temp or warmed up in a flask of water

or

take a flask of hot water, and a flask of cold, add hot water to formula and allow to cool in a "jug" of cold water or add, for example, 7 scoops of formula to 4oz of hot water, mix, then add a remainging 3oz of cold water, meaning that it would be at a reasonable temp to drink.

FiveBells - it's important that the powder goes into water that has been boiled and left to cool for no more than 30 minutes. This is because there can be bacteria in the powder, and it needs to be mixed with water that is at least 70 degrees in order to kill it.

Mixing powder with tepid water is not considered safe.

I think it does say on the tubs to make feeds fresh with water that has cooled for no more than 30 minutes. Probably doesn't mention the bacteria risk though!

If you need to make up feeds in advance, you can make them up with hot water, cool the bottle quickly (under the cold tap for example) and store in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Then you can reheat each botte as needed.

I think it does (or should) say on the tubs of formula, that it should be mixed with water that it no less than 70 degrees.

I used to carry an empty sterilised bottle - which I would fill to 4 oz with water from a flask of hot (not boiling) water, add 7 oz formula, then add a pre measured amount of cooled boiled water (3oz) which I had bought with me in another bottle, it would be the perfect temp.

If I wasn't willing to carry round a small suitcase with flask, 2 bottles and premeasured formula container, I would just take out a carton and sterilised bottle.

Fair enough for newborns - ie mixing formula with water at 70c.

But what about at 9-10 months when they are eating off the floor anyway - with DD and DS (both EBF for 6 months), once I was FFing I just carried around bottles of water and added the milk powder.

It does say on the boxes about the water. I thought that it is always important to follow instructions due to the particular and nasty bacteria that can grow on milk whatever the age. I may be wrong!

I use the ready to feed cartons when out and about with a bottle I sterilise before leaving the house.

If I couldn't do this I guess I'd go for carrying powder and bottle and getting hold of boiling water where I was.

Its not about dirt/sterilising though, its about an e-coli type bug that is present int formula, and if is not destoyed in 70deg+ water can cause severe stomach upset, and has actually killed some babies albeit very youg/not IIRC in this country.

There is a right way. There is a wrong way. Its that simple.

I mostly use those cartons, but otherwise I take a flask of hot water with the pre-measured amount of milk powder in those little containers that fit inside the bottle, then I just mix it up about 10 minutes before the feed is due, then it gives it time to cool.

The bacteria is called e.sakazaaki, has been found in formula and can be fatal (I think I read it on the side of the Hipp Organic carton, so at least one of them says something about the bacteria!). It is a very different thing to everyday dirt and bacteria, which we have to roll around in, eat and smear over our faces (which is what my dds do!).

Using >70 degree water can be a bit faffy at the beginning, but it just becomes second nature after a while.

nothing riven.

Water has to have boiled less than 30 minutes ago/be above 70 deg.

I think any advice against "boiling" water is a user safety type thing as in macdonalds coffee "may be hot" kinda way.

Although boiling water can blow the safety valve on some bottles iirc?

I didn't used to use freshly boiled water, because it would foozle out of the bottle when I tried to shake it (ouch), and I found that the formula would be much more bubbly if it was too hot, and I was obsessed with minimising wind with dd1.

yes... I have a few burns to prove it too

Wow, interesting... My DS was FF and so is my DD. We always boil water and keep it cooled on the stove, use that to mix our formula. We do this at home and out and about. We boil our water for 2 min (an electric kettle doesn't accomplish this) to kill bacteria in the water. Never had a problem with bacteria in the powder. Huh. Guess we're lucky we've not killed one of them!

Just more thoughts: How on Earth would you accomplish the freshly boiled water thing on a plane? (And we can't use the pre-made formula because our kids are on hypoallergenic formula that only comes in powder.) And as someone else mentioned, once they start eating solids and/or eating stuff off the floor, licking random stuff in the supermarket, etc., well we pretty much stop fussing over the sterilizing, etc. No point. We do make sure that the mixed formula doesn't stand at room temp more than an hour, that's about it.

The risk from the bacteria in the milk is very small, but the consequences if you're unlucky can be very serious. It's kind of like the risk of infant botulism from honey or pregnant women getting listeria from pate - very unlikely to happen, but awful potential consequences.

helenwombat - what brand of milk is it?

Here's a link to the Food Standards Agency guidance.

I got my baby used to drinking room temp water very quickly. Or used the cartons of premixed formula.

Stroppy shopper - I travelled to and around Aus with dd1 when she was 8 months old. On the plane - used bottled water - evian - has the lowest salt content of any bottled water. I took steri bottles so I could ditch them when finished. Measured out each required lot of powder and put them in the containers

like this

then just poured the water in, put formula in and shook. Ready to go. When on the ground it was easier but in transit that is what I did.

Dd1 was used to formula at room temp and so it was fine. It also meant not bothering cabin crew for warming although I noticed they did it for other folk.

I seem to remember that the Food Standards Agency had to do some lobbying here to get formula manufacturers to change their preparation advice given the bacteria risk.

Oh dear. Read the FSA info on the link. This has disturbed the Natural Order of Things in our house. So much will have to change.... BTW, our canned formula just says "mix with cooled boiled water."