Cronobacter & formula

[Bella0831]

Hello,

Feeling like the worst mum in the world and sick with worry.

my four week old has been ebf up until this point but in the last 24/48 hours has become extremely fussy, pulling away and screeching when I tried to feed him. Spoke to HV who put it down to fast let down but feeding became impossible despite him getting so worked up from hunger so we gave 2 x 4oz bottles of formula yesterday when he point blank refused.

the same refusal happened this morning so my partner went to make a bottle from our Prep machine (used for our first child) and noticed it wasn’t producing the hot shot / steam and simply cool water was coming out. We use silicone Nanobebe bottles which are heat resistant and in the heat of the moment with baby frantically screaming we didn’t test on our wrists or notice the bottles were cool as we were desperate to feed him. However now having realised it wasn’t producing a hot shot of water I feel sick with worry over the risk of bacteria in the formula and having given it to him - especially as we’ve literally only just recovered from a bout of viral meningitis (from enterovirus) and the thought it could lead to bacterial meningitis or sepsis if he does have the infection.

I know In France and the US they don’t boil the water and use bottled water to make up formula, and my partner is trying to calm me down saying if it was that big of a concern it would be plastered all over the formula tub. Also that cronobacter is rare - but I feel sick, riddled with guilt and completely beside myself.

I phoned 111 and spoke with an OOO GP who didn’t seem to concerned and simply said to keep an eye on his feeding and nappies and put the breast refusal / excessive crying down to possible reflux / colic. I’ve also read similar mumsnet threads where people have made similar errors in the moment (eg using hours old water from the kettle to make up a bottle) which is marginally putting my mind at ease but I can’t stop crying that this happened.

am I over reacting? Ideally I wanted to take him to A&E to test for blood cultures (as happened with his meningitis) but the doctor I spoke with said that would only be if he was presenting symptoms - but surely it’s better to catch early?

You are overreacting but understandably so with everything you have been through. They won't do blood tests just to reassure you because the chances of your baby having caught anything from the formula is vanishingly tiny.

Can you speak to your GP or HV about your anxiety?

Kindly, yes you’re overreacting but if baby has recovery from meningitis it’s totally understandable why you’re more worried than usual. But you must know logically that your partner is right. It’s incredibly rare to the point where most countries with safe water don’t suggest using the hot water. I’ve had a baby in the US and no I didn’t use hot water and yes she’s absolutely fine (now 7 years old) as are my 3 French nieces and nephews who had their bottles made with Evian. Can you see your GP or talk to your HV about your anxiety? There are things that can help.

It's understandable that you're stressed but the GP is right, there's nothing you can do now apart from keep an eye on him. The risk is minimal so he'll probably be fine.

On the refusal, if it is fast let down have you tried expressing a few oz first then feeding him? Save the expressed milk in the freezer for the future

Thanks everyone for being kind and putting my mind at ease. I’ve never particularly been one to worry about health but this time round I can see it’s flicked a switch of some kind and brought on a level of anxiety I’ve never experienced, probably heightened by the fact we’ve already recovered from one serious illness in his first month alone.

the last bottle we have was around 8:30 last night so I’m sure if he was poorly we’d know by now. Had a bit of a fright earlier when his temp presented as 37.5 but having moved into the shade outside and taken his vest off it’s back down to normal, so hopefully was just overheating in this hot weather we’re having today.