Does anyone make formula with cooled boiled water?

[Shootingstar2289]

I am now bottle feeding my 8 week old. I have been making bottles in advance, cooling them and storing in fridge until needed and I warm up. I keep them for no longer than 24 hours.

However, I have a 4 year old who is a very light sleeper and sometimes wakes when I get up and go downstairs to warm a bottle... And he has just started school so cannot lose any sleep.

Trying to think of a way I can make bottles at night without going down stairs. She wakes for 1 feed around 4/5. Has anyone made formula with coiled boiled water. Was thinking of using the milk powder dispensers..

Any tips?

Yes Pico that would be correct. Each scoop of formula takes up 5ml so it's very slightly more water than necessary for a 5oz bottle.

Recalculating is really not difficult at all - 30 ml per scoop! It takes 30 seconds to do the water, if that. With the money I've saved from not buying the perfect prep machine, I have gone out for weekly coffee and cake for the first ten weeks of DS's life. :)

To be honest, I find the formula goes frothy when it's shaken, so I couldn't accurately make up to the right volume just using the one bottle, I'd have to use another one for the cooled water. Used ones sell on eBay for about £30, so they're not really very expensive once you've recouped £30. Even for the whole £60ish it cost, I like having it.

In my work I am surprised at how many parents I meet who think it is ok to make up bottles with coiled boiled water. They think that because the water is sterile it makes the bottle 'safe' to give. When we explain that the powder needs to be added to the hot water and then allowed to cool they are genuinely shocked that their HV never told them this.

The advice we give, when wanting to make up a 6oz bottle, is to have 3oz of boiled water in the bottle and 3oz of cool, previously boiled water in a separate container. We then say to add the 6 scoops of formula to the boiling water in the bottle, give it a good shake and then pour in the 3oz of cooled water to complete the process. That way the parents know there is exactly 6oz of fluid to 6 scoops of formula.

I've had an instance where a parent wanted a 6oz bottle and they had 3oz of boiled water in a bottle, they added 6 scoops of formula, shook it up, and then 'topped' the volume up to the 6oz mark with cooled water. This meant in reality they probably had about 6 scoops of formula to 5oz of water, thus making the milk over concentrated.

I definitely think there is a lack of education in terms of how to make up bottles correctly. I know that breast feeding is pushed and professionals can't be seen to be encouraging formula feeding but it's ridiculous that parents can't be told the basics of safe preparation of formula for the sake of the babies digestive health.

I used to take the boiled water measured up in the bottle to bed with formula separate, warm the pre boiled water up in the bottle warmer and then add the powder. Kept it all in my bedside table :)

writer, they might be older/second/third time around parents. The guidelines on bottle prep have certainly changed a LOT since my last baby was born 13yrs ago. That's obviously no excuse for not using current best practice but if your last baby has no problems using the old guidelines then I can see why some parents might feel that it was ok to continue with that method.

*had no problems

What I would do is boil some water while washing the bottles. Once it was boiled I'd pour the water into the bottles and leave them for about 30 mins to cool off a bit. I then added the formula powder while it was still warm (it mixed a lot better, if it was too cold the powder wouldn't mix.) Then I'd store the bottles in the fridge for 24 hours.

To warm up the bottles I took a glass measuring cup, boiled water in kettle and then poured it into the measuring cup with the bottle in the measuring cup for exactly 8 mins. It didn't really make a lot of noise. No matter what I always had to go to the kitchen to get the bottle out of the fridge so I am not sure how to do this without going downstairs unless you had a mini fridge in your room with a plug in kettle and measuring cup.

natty - totally agree on people using methods that they used with previous children.

Some parents do look at us quite perplexed when we tell them that whilst on our ward we can't prepare the bottles in the same way they do at home.

However, no matter how well we explain the current guidelines and why we prepare bottles the way we do I'm pretty confident they they will continue doing things 'their way' as soon as they are discharged

Winter It sounds like you completely skipped the sterilising step altogether then! Or did you forget to mention it?

I'm not in the UK. My 6-9month formula says you can use cold water straight from the tap and no need to sterilize bottles. Do you have the same advice for babies over six months?

I know follow on formula isn't needed but irs cheaper and easier to prep.

You shouldn't be leaving the boiled water to cool for 30mins or using cold boiled water. The guidelines are "within 30mins" as most kettles will have the water cooled to less than 70degrees in 30mins so you are not sterilising/killing the bugs in the powder

Haven't read through all the posts but we started bottle feeding when DS1 was 5m old. By that age he was only taking one bottle through the night but we prepared the bottle with boiling water then put it in fridge. Then shoved it in the microwave when we needed it. Guidance is you can leave bottles for max 12hours in fridge prepared. I know you're not meant to use a microwave but I really don't see why not. WE would test the milk first. Not sure what I'm missing but it all worked quite easily....

I know you're not meant to use a microwave but I really don't see why not.

It's because you can end up with pockets of super-heated milk that can cause horrific burns the the inside of a baby's mouth/oesophagus even while the rest of the milk is cool. Shaking really well should distribute the heat more evenly and make it safe but the recommendations are in place in case someone doesn't shake the bottle well enough.

Goldmandra indeed, if you're the kind of person who is likely to heat the milk until it's scorching and then not shake it, you probably shouldn't use a microwave to warm milk.....however I heat until it's warm, shake it, then test it first. I also use the microwave to warm his food now. I couldn't survive without it to be honest.

You misunderstand, Heather

The point is that most of the milk can be cool or even cold but have some areas that are superheated.

Obviously nobody is going to try to feed a scorching bottle to a baby. The advice is there because of the concern that a bottle can feel luke warm yet have patches of milk that could cause serious burns.

I didn't post to say that the advice was right or wrong. I simply provided the information because you said you didn't see why it was given.

I think it's helpful for parents to be aware of why advice is given. They are, of course, free to disregard it as you have done

I genuinely never knew this. I switched to FF from BF about a month ago, and probably half of all the bottles I made up were with cooled boiled water. My HV said it was fine.

Oh shit!!!!

It totally makes sense that the boiled water is needed to kill bacteria in the milk. Why didn't I realise that??!

Changing my ways immediately.

Thanks for the info!!

It's your choice about risk really. Some EU countries don't follow the WHO guidelines about using cooled boiled water to kill the nasties in the powder and use cold bottled water (I'm thinking of Belgium and France). I guess you need to weigh up the risk and take a decision.

I bought myself a perfect prep machine there only 60 pounds on Amazon a absolute god sent makes the bottles for you in less than two minutes take a look u simply press the button puts in a hotshot then add the fomula then press it again the water pours jn to the amount u selected shake the bottle and made!

The boiled water has to be cooled for 30 mins to kill any bacteria and also any hotter will kill off the vitamin content of the milk. We used to have a travel kettle that we used to warm up night time bottles.

Lg74, it doesn't have to be cooled for 30mins to kill the bacteria, it kills bacteria at boiling, and temps hotter than 70. The guidelines are not longer than 30mins, but your kettle might have cooled to less than 70in that time

Yes I did, for both boys, it was recommended for DS1 so did it with ds2, no probs with either of my 2. We would measure all the day's water in the morning them add formula and shake as needed. I, not advocating, recommending or giving an opinion but it worked for us.

Prep machine is the best idea I use it for my 5 month old and it takes a minute to make

I've always used cold, previously-boiled water to make up formula and all is well

Tommy tippee perfect prep machine.

Worth its weight in gold

I've always used cold, previously-boiled water to make up formula and all is well smile

That is a bit like saying that you've never used a car seat for your baby but it's fine because you've never had an accident with him in the car.

Most formula isn't contaminated with food poisoning bacteria but it's a good idea to use the hot water to mix it so that, if that happens, your baby will still be safe.