Preparing formula

[Littlemissexpecting]

Ds is now exclusively formula fed. We have been using the pre made cartons mostly but now wish to use the powder exclusively.
My friends are making up bottles differently.
Some pour boiling water from kettle into bottles and add powder as and when required to the bottle (which sits on worktop or bag until required).
Some make the days bottles up and chill then put in fridge.

So how do you make your bottles? Please no criticism on breast vs bottle, I really just want more info to help me make my decision. TIA

I also have the TT perfect prep machine (currently reduced to £61 on amazon) and it is brillllllllliant!!! My LO was on the cartons only and there was no way I was going to do the whole making up feeds faff without the machine!! I would def recommend it!

Here in the US we were told it is fine to make up bottles 24hrs in advance. I don't trust our tap water so use purified water that is opened when making the bottles up. Anything left over is poured out for DD's water consumption. We were advised not to use boiling water to make formula due to killing off some of the proteins.

If going out I put a bottle in my bag before leaving and let it come up to temperature slowly. It is really cold here during the day. In summer I bring a bottle of water and the powder in a little dispenser.

I think the NHS is stuck in the dark ages on making bottles. I don't know anyone in continental Europe, let alone the US or Canada who is advised to follow the methods per the NHS.

Actually the NHS is way advanced for bottle making. The guidelines were revised 6 years ago following a spate of infant deaths across France and Belgium as a result of contaminated powder. Many more infants contracted serious infections, most recovered, some have lifelong disabilities. Health officials in the UK felt it was better to promote practices which minimised the risk of that happening.

It's a risk/benefit calculation. Some countries feel the risk to the formula content is greater than the risk of infection, which is virtually impossible to measure but we know the nutritional content is safe at 70. The risk does exist for special formulas, including some comfort milks. Others belief the risk of a minor burn or scald from handling hot water (high likelihood, low impact) is greater than the risk of infection (low likelihood, high impact). It depends what numbers you assign to the impact of the consequences.

In terms of continental Europe all formula preparations in French hospitals are now sterile and parents are told not to being in their own milk as a direct response to the cases of infection, but as a whole the health ministry thinks sleep deprived adults handling hot water is more dangerous. The guidance is also to make up bottles as you need them and discard immediately, rather than 2 hours, which reflects the 'if you really have to do this' NHS guidance and cartons of pasteurised milk are slowly starting to appear.

The paediatrician group said the cases of sick children in the US were due to contaminated water and drove home the point about not using water that isn't fresh (once opened it is refridgerated or used up elsewhere). They advised us not to use spring water due to the high mineral levels. They would prefer us to use tap water but our township is in a legal dispute with the water supplier because of previous contamination issues.

I had my two within two years of each other. There is no way i can make up bottles on demand for the baby while running around after DD. Lower risk to have the bottles made up the night before and warm them when needed.

I find that if you use steaming water the scoop with the powder gets very clogged and the moisture would surely encourage bacteria in the tin. So how anyone uses boiling water is beyond me.
I have always made up a few bottles of water then left them to cool before using them.

The tap water in the UK is generally fine though. It depends a little elsewhere in Europe (dodgy lead piping etc) but the infections in France and Belgium were definitely traced back to the powder and the UK is more likely to share manufacturing facilities with them than the US.

You tend to know on a local level whether the tap water is suitable or not, but again it's relative risk. If the risk of tap water, even boiled, outweighs the risk from infections in the powder then the safest thing relatively speaking is to use bottled water. That's also why it's best to follow the guidelines the country you're in.

Make up feeds in advance here, in one batch.
Boil the kettle, leave for 10mins and then add to bottle then add formula.

Luckily both ds's have taken feeds straight from thw fridge so never faffed with heating up.

Each bottle should be made up freshly, as you need it.

Use ready made cartons when out or not organised at home.

The guidelines in France are to use bottled water at room temp. We pour in room temperature vittel and add the powder. This is the advice we've had from midwives and paediatricians -but, they are all really strict about not making up in advance. It's definitely easier than warming cooling etc and DS has been formula fed since birth and has had no stomach upsets at all.
We have lead pipes at ours so I would never let DS touch the tap water!

Ds is 6 months bit what I do is fill kettle with fresh water boil, leave to cool for 30 mins then pour into a large thermos flask. Then when needed used the water in flask to make up bottles and cool in a jug of water. When going out I have a small flak I take out with the water and make up bottles as I go. The good thing about the flask is the water is kept at the right temperature so saves boiling kettle and waiting for it to cool 6 times a day!