Formula Feeding help please!

[TheHermitCrab]

Hi guys, been combination feeding my 2 week old since birth, but I'm starting to feed her more and more formula and I am just confused about the preparation of the powder online! (I've been using the pricey pre-made bottles)

Sooo I know you can't pre make the formula and store. But obviously boiling a litre of water and waiting half an hour each feed seems a farce!

Am I right in thinking I can boil a litre of water, measure all the water into sterilised bottles, then store in the fridge and just add the powder as and when. Is that the correct method?

Thanks people!!

No. If you are going to make formula in bulk then boil, mix and store in sterilized containers, and when you are going to use it warm up in hot water or whatever.

I used to do it as you described but read in an nhs panphet that the right way is what i just said.

No, that's not right.

The powder is not sterile and so for this reason why the water has to be boiling, or near boiling - so that the very hot water kills any bacteria in the powder.

Bottles can be made and then stored in the fridge.

1. Measure boiling water into sterilised bottle
2. Add correct amount of formula powder straight away
3. Add lid and mix
4. Store in fridge
5. Warm bottle when required

Ah thanks guys. EVERYWHERE I read said the one way NOT to do it is to put the formula in and store. As once the formula is mixed it will grow bacteria in the fridge! :/ there's so much conflicting information.

Also - do I have to warm, or can I take out and wait for room temp? My baby doesn't drink warm milk.

Thanks guys..

What fate said. I used a fridge-to-go for nights and days out and stuck the bottle under my duvet/jumper to warm up.

Phone doesn't seem to be in the mood for links, but you can get fridge to go from Amazon and Argos (on line only I think). It's a wee bottle cool bag that stats colder than a fridge for 8 hours.

Yep make it with hot water, flash cool in a big bowl of cold water and then keep in the fridge until you need it. I just stick it in the microwave for 20/30 seconds so it's not really cold but not hot. I also use a cool bag for during the night and he drinks it at whatever temp during the night luckily.

Thanks guys,

Don't know why so many websites say whatever you do. don't pre mix, but then I found this

www.channel5.com/shows/cats-do-the-funniest-things/episodes/cats-do-the-funniest-things

And it says pre mix if you must.

I can't see the majority of people boiling full kettles for one feed, so I'm guessing a lot of people store it up without poorly babies.

BikeRunSki

IS this what you mean??

www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3993035.htm

From the NHS website:

•If made-up formula is stored in a fridge, use within 24 hours.
•If made-up formula is stored in a cool bag with an ice pack, use within four hours.
•If made-up formula is stored at room temperature, use within two hours

TheHermitCrab

The ideal way to make formula milk is using freshly first-time boiled water in sterilised bottle, add formula powder, cool bottle under a running tap and give it to he baby immediately.

This will be the 'recommended' method for making formula, as you will find on the NHS website.

However that is never not often practical and so you can pre-make the formula and store, as explained above.

Thanks FATEdestiny I understand it isn't the ideal method, but I just can't see a lot of people making one fresh feed each time. Based on a hungry baby waiting over half an hour, and the cost of boiling full kettles for 2-4 oz of formula. I reckon a lot of people store it up... but maybe I'm wrong x

Have a look at the Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep machine. Haven't used one myself (I prefer pre-made) but I've heard nothing but good things about it.

www.amazon.co.uk/Tommee-Tippee-Closer-Nature-Perfect/dp/B00BG6304A

The Perfect Prep was the best thing we ever bought for our baby- I 100% recommend it. Bottles fresh, ready to go and at the right temp within about 2 minutes.

I use a Perfect Prep machine and it's great and it really does only take a couple of minutes to make a bottle.

You have said your LO only takes room temp bottles in which case you could pop the bottle in cold water after using the Perfect Prep machine.

If I'm going out I pre make the bottle and put it in an insulated bag.

However, if the machine is out of reach (they are quite expensive) I would prep bottle like others have said and make the bottles up and store in the fridge.

Do you think in another couple of years they'll decide to change the method again?

Thankfully this advice wasn't in place when my DSs were small (only 6 years ago), I don't know how you all do it!

I just made each feed fresh.
You don't have to leave the water in the kettle to cool you measure it into the bottle, cool it slightly, make up the feed then cool again. I used cold water and an ice pack in the sink.
It only took IIRC maybe 10 mins, it took longer for me to warm up the cold formula to a temperature my fussy babies would drink it at.
I only used a half full kettle unless I was making a pot of tea. I just made sure it was fresh water each time.

Most people I know don't make bottles up safely.

To make it easier we store bottles in fridge with pre-boiled water, then when we need a bottle boil kettle, add about 1/3 of the required amount of water to bottle, add powder, shake, then top up with the cold pre-boiled water from the fridge.

So eg ds is currently taking 150ml, I use 60ml just boiled water, plus powder, then add 90ml cold boiled water. The formula is then the right temp without having to cool it down but the powder has had hot water added to kill off the bacteria. Safer than storing made up formula in fridge all day and easier than making it up hot and having to cool.

Hope this makes sense, it's surprisingly hard to explain!!

I don't know why you have had advice against making the bottles up ahead of time and storing them in the fridge because if the fridge is at the right temperature it keeps for 24 hours.

The usual problem with mixing ahead of time is that the powder is not sterile, which means there is a very small risk of stomach problems if you use tepid or cold water to make up the mix. It therefore needs to be very hot water (you can look up the exact temp but boiling water is safe).

Then you take 4-6 sterilised bottles and pour in your 3-4 ounces of boiling water (for that age) into each bottle with 1 scoop of powder per 1oz water (a scoop means fill the one supplied with the formula, then scrape off the top with a clean dry knife (clean means it has been through the dishwasher or you have sterilised it and dried it with a fresh tea towel, fresh muslin, or paper towel).

You then store the bottles near the back of the fridge (not the door) until you need them. Use a fridge thermometer to make sure your fridge is between 0-4 degrees centigrade/celsius. They can be fed to the baby cold if the baby is used to that, or you can warm them briefly in a bottle warmer or jug of hot water (shake the bottle before use and also shake a little milk onto the inside of your wrist before feeding it to the baby to test it in case it is too hot).

Each day at the same time, throw out any unused formula and prepare a new batch for the next 24 hours.

If you are out and about, longer than a bottle will keep properly cool for in a small cool bag in your opinion, most people these days take out a flask of hot water and a sterile bottle of cold, boiled water. You then pour about a ounce of the hot water into the bottom of the bottle you are about to use, add your scoops of powder, and then any bugs will be killed off by the hot water. Next you look at the level of the mixture, and top up the amount until it reaches a total of 1 oz water per scoop including the hot water you have already used (the powder will have made the level higher). Test it on the inside of your wrist as above before feeding it to the baby.

Willa, I would say that the advice is different in every country, which makes me think there isn't a cast iron method.

Here are some emergency cheats people in various Western countries use from time to time with older babies that have a very low risk of any problems for European babies during occasional use, and in clean households. Not recommended with tiny babies though, I imagine. For me, the rule of thumb is the more they lick the carpet in the course of routine everyday life, such as learning to crawl, the more you can get away with.

1. Carry cool boiled water in a bottle, and powder in a container with special compartments (you can buy them in baby shops). Tip the powder into the sterile bottle with cooled boiled water just before use (bypassing efforts with hot water).
2. Use Evian water to make up the bottle (France).
3. Mix boiled pasteurised cow's milk half and half with boiled water if you run out of formula, and allow to cool (Germany).
4. Use an old Fruit Shoot bottle rinsed with boiling water to feed milk to your older baby because you are such a bad parent you forgot the proper bottles, and it is bedtime and everything near the holiday cottage is closed so you can't buy a replacement. (Shoot me now, MNetters).

I think an element of common sense needs to apply with normal, healthy babies in Western homes.

It wasn't around when my dc were babies, but I believe there's a thing called the Perfect Prep Machine which makes up bottles in a few mins when needed. Worth a Google at least.

That perfect prep machine looks... well perfect lol But I don't have £2.00 never mind £60 - £100 so it's out of the question.

So...

I've boiled the kettle, left for 20/30 mins. Made up the feed with the formula, and shoved them straight to the back of the fridge still hot to cool as fast as possible.

Is this right?

Still on the internet I'm reading everywhere that people have pre-boiled water without formula to put in the fridge, but this seems daft as it won't kill any bacteria in the formula.

No - cool them down before you put them in the fridge, with cold running water does it quickest.

Anything put in a fridge hot is asking for trouble as they take hours to cool down so they're at warm temperatures for far too long. (Hot and cold stop bacteria growing, warm doesn't)

That is right. You don't need a special gadget. Your baby will be fine as long as the boiled water is 70C or more when you pour it on the powder.

TBH though if I was hard up I would be bf to save money, but that's just me ... ... not too late ...

And take into account that heat expands liquids and vapor and cold contracts them. So it may be a little bit hard to open the containers.