How do French people make up a formula bottle?

[googietheegg]

I have a one month old baby and I live in France. I am now switching to formula feeding and went to the pharmacy to buy the powder. They told me how to make it up - basically add mineral water (the ones suitable for babies) to a bottle, add in the powder, shake it up, warm it in a bain marie if you like and then feed it to the baby.

This is my first baby so I really don't know anything about the whole thing, but everything I've read in English says you have to boil water and somehow add that to the powder and then cool it down.

So my question is - does anyone know if making up the bottle this French way will harm my baby at all? I asked the midwife and she thought I was mad not to do it the French way, the pharmacist said the same thing...but somehow I'm not convinced! Any advice?

No idea about this but you could try asking in the Breast & Bottle Feeding section as you may get more replies

In England the advice is to measure out the boiled water, add powder then cool, because the powder isn't sterile, so the hot water kills the bugs etc.

In practice lots of people, probably most, don't bother. It takes too long, and not convenient. I used boiled water, put in fridge, then when ready put powder in and microwave for 1min to suitable temp.

Hth

In Spain we all used, bottled water which was stamped for baby use, and then warmed the bottle up!

I used to get many an odd look from the spanish as we wouldn't microwave the bottles so used to ask for boiling water. We also used to take a thermos out with us if going somewhere different to heat the bottles up.

This was combined feeding for DD after she was 6 months old. So I don't know if I would have done it differently if bottle feeding earlier.

Just realised that this post is about as helpful as a chocolate fire guard :)

I'm in Belgium with a 4 month old and also in the process of switching over to formula. They advise the same here, in fact one of the girls in my NCT group was actually told by her midwife not to sterilise bottles after a couple of weeks old?! I am both sterilising and following the "over 70C boiled once tap water" advice as formula milk isn't sterile so it makes the most sense to me. I am resigned to the fact that after 6 months when my son goes to nursery I will just have to accept that they will make it their own way, but at least he will be a bit bigger and stronger by then.

1)measure cooled boiled water first. Add corresponding amount of formula (usually one measured scoop per 30ml) then shake and feed.
You can use mineral water stamped for baby use. That means it has a low and adequate mineral content.

Warm it up if you like and always try on the inside of your wrist first. TBH, water at room temperature in the summer is just perfectly fine.

Use any made up milk feed within the hour.

As for sterilizing, I followed my mum's advice which is common sense really.
If you are at home and washing the bottle straight after use, warm soapy water and clean washcloths are just fine.
If you have been out and about and the milk has dried or sat in the heat for any length of time, then definitely sterilize after washing.

My last baby bottle were 7 years ago though so my advice might be dated.
Am sounding like my mother now!

In Belgium where our two were born we used bottled water suitable for babies (i forget which brands, sorry) mixed with powder and heated in a bottle . When DD2 went onto mixed feeding we lived in Sweden and I used tap water, mixed it with formula and heated in the microwave.

With both I sterilised bottles in a steam steriliser til about 6 months, thereafter they went in dishwasher.

Worked fine for us, and much less faff.

I personnaly steer clear of the microwave heating up baby food or milk. Temperature may be uneven. too paranoid thinking about potential scalds.

Lukewarm is just fine and standing bottle in hot water for 2-3 mn works just as well for the small quantities babies drink in the first few weeks.

What do the instructions on the tin say? All the tins here say to use 70 degree water to kill off any nasties in the non-sterile powder.

Live in England but spent a lot of time in france so used French formula. I always sterilised bottles (ESP teets) although it's not essential if properly washed. I used to keep sterilised bottles in fridge til I needed them (which probably defeats point as not technically sterile then but they were clean enough).

I did use mineral water (of approved kind) as my one disastrous attempt to make french formula the English way curdled it.

Mineral water may be advisable as tap water may come through lead pipes and not be usable depending where you live.

Personally I wouldn't risk using cold water because there are nasty bugs lurking in the powder and I know a family living in France whose baby got very sick from contaminated formula and still has long term health problems. The doctors initially dismissed it as a little gastro but eventually had to admit it was a lot more serious. The only possible source of infection was the powder. Everything else was sterilised and they were using Evian. Evian does not have magic sterilising properties.

There's another MNer whose DS got salmonella, possibly from contamination in the manufacturing process, possibly from being contaminated in the kitchen but formula powder is not sterile and once it's open it's exposed to everything going anyway, being opened and closed, in a nice warm kitchen. Bacteria heaven.

So I would always use water at 70C and either rapid cool to use immediately or keep at the back of the fridge to warm just before use.

The MWs at the hospital here agreed with me, but apparently it's 'too risky' to handle hot water and a baby (so they'd rather risk babies' health ).

Is that the reason frak? If so that is piss poor.

If it helps I boiled mineral water (approved) made a day's worth of bottles with the boiling water. Then once cool stored in fridge for re-heating when needed.

If out and about took hot water thermos, filled half a bottle, mixed in powder, then added cool mineral water to get right temperature.

We were in Africa though so had to be extra careful!

We always discarded any unused bottles at the end of the day.

The microwave thing is about killing the nutirents formula provides (as well as the scalding aspect).

Enterobacter sakazakii infection is a very, very small, but serious, risk if formula powder is made up with water under 70C.

At the end of the day it's up to the individual about what level of risk they are willing to bear. The younger the baby, the more risk-adverse I'd probably be with this.

The instructions on the tin say to add mineral water to the bottle, then add the scoops of powder, then warm the bottle using a bain marie if you wish. The pharmacist said in warm weather using room temp water is fine.

As this is my first, I would not have known any different and just did it as everyone here says,but as I've read on here about using boiling water (but I wasn't sure when/how) I am just so confused. Especially as I'm anxious enough as it is with a new tiny baby.

Thanks for your advice so far.

IIRC I was advised to use boiled and cooled down (actually I'm not sure they even recommended boiling it, tbh) tap water added to the powder. That was 3 years ago.

I was told in the hospital that there's no reason to sterilise at all, whatever the age. Just use hot, soapy water and a brush.

There is a tiny chance of powder being contaminated (v.v. tiny chance) so perhaps it makes sense to use hot water.

I did it as you were advised by the pharmacy (7 years ago) but my babies were older when I started using formula, I had never heard of mumsnet and didn't have any non-French parenting advice.

Given the reasons behind boiling the water mentioned on this thread, I would probably do this with such a young baby.

I stopped sterilising the bottles at 6 months but always washed the bottles straight away.

I've had three kids in France and never been very successful at breastfeeding. I did Evian all the way. I sterilised the bottles but never boiled the mineral water and I cannot remember using tap water. I had no health problems with my babies.

gigondas I know.

I can understand that they might see more babies with scalds than serious bacterial infections from formula but for the love of the republic you don't hold a baby and pouted boiling water from a kettle! And you cool it down under a cold tap until it's cold enough to feed to baby.

It's all about perception of risk to public health.

On another note, do they sell those small ready to use formula packs in France? Because if so, you could provide nursery with those? I would still sterilise the bottles or buy ready to use sterilised bottles which you afterwards throw away (great for when you are out and about) until 6 months - you can probably buy them from Boots online (forgot their name) or John Bell & Croydon pharmacy in Wigmore Street in London (I think they send abroad).

I always thought that the mineral content of Evian was wrong for babies or is this a special Evian for babies?

Evian is fine. It's one if the few that is :) because it's low enough in sodium.

And for nursery if necessary get cartons sent over from the UK until 10mo, then use lait de croissance.

The thing is that it may be common practice to make up the formula with cold/room temperature water, but it's safest to make it up with hot water, which is why the UK guidelines have changed. If the formula packet does not state this in France then perhaps the guidelines have not changed there, but it is still the safest way to do it - I don't really understand why you would risk it. If making up fresh with boiling water is inconvenient, then the second safest method is to make up bottles with hot water, cool rapidly and store in the fridge or a cool bag.

IIRC the babies who were ill recently prompting the UK guideline change were in France.