Formula bottles clogging

[t3al0v3r]

Me and my DH are premaking formula bottles and keeping them in the fridge for when we need them. But we've started to notice that our DS isn't always getting a proper feeding because the teet of the bottle is clogged with formula. Even tho we are making them with the boiled water giving it a really good shake to ensure it's all mixed up and then shaking again before giving it to baby.

Is it because we're not reheating it before giving him it? We did read that if baby didn't mind it cold then it's safe to give cold but now I'm second guessing it all. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

If your pre making bottles, you shouldn't be putting the powder in until it's time to give the milk, formula only lasts a short amount of time when it's mixed. If the test is clogging, it's not being mixed well enough which happens when it's cold. Just warm it a little

But I thought you had to make formula with boiling water to kill the bacteria in the powder? How can we premake bottles but not add the powder?

Sorry I'm a FTM and have no idea

Well the safest method is to make a fresh bottle with recently boiled (at least 70c) water. If you can't do that then making them in advance is ok as long as they are cooled rapidly and stored in the fridge.

You say that you are making them up with hot water and shaking vigorously so I'm not sure why the teats would be clogging. Are you definitely using the right ratio of powder to water? It may be worth getting in touch with the manufacturer and seeing if they can help.

@Zoomintheroom yeah definitely using the right ratio of powder to water. Should we be cooling them under cold water before putting them in the fridge?

Yes, it's important that they cool rapidly. You could fill the kitchen sink and put them in there with ice cold water (not too full or the bottles float on their side!) Then keep giving them an occasional shake and change the water if it warms up.

You need a Perfect Prep- they're fabulous!

I used to keep a jug of water in the fridge to cool bottles down rapidly - pop the freshly made bottle into the chilled water.

@Springb0ks is the perfect prep machine worth the money? I've looked into it when I was pregnant but couldn't convince my DH it was worth the money

You don't need a perfect prep
But you shouldn't be pre making formula

Boil kettle and add water to sterilised bottle, cool and keep in fridge

When you need a bottle boil kettle, add water that's at least 70 degrees to for example 4 oz add 6 scoops of powder mix then add the last 2 oz (measure it) of cooled water to make up to the 6oz for the powder. Takes the same time as a perfect prep abs a fresh bottle every time

@t3al0v3r for me it was worth every penny we paid for it! Yes you can easily make the bottles, but the convenience and knowing that the temperature was correct each time was so worth it. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy it again.

Perfect Prep Machines are fabulous, especially when you've got a hungry baby in the middle of night, can whip up a bottle in about a minute, they have filters in to clean the water, they produce an initial hot shot to kill bacteria in the formula then the rest of the dispensed water makes the bottle the perfect temperature :) I would recommend aswell, definately worth the money xx

Perfect preps are definitely worth the money, and gets rid of all of this. You should be putting boiling water into bottles, cooling down quickly then in the fridge until you want to use it, then warm it, add the formula, shake. It says on the tins that nixed it doesn't last longer than an hour, that is the current guidelines.

...i know everyone raves about Perfect Prep machines, but the midwives and HVs said they're not recommended, as it's impossible to clean the tubes inside the machine and they can get moldy/mildewy without you having any idea, which obviously is not good for baby at all. I wouldn't have thought saving yourself 5 minutes was worth the risk tbh.

If you're really not able to make bottles fresh, could you try readymade formula?

Perfect preps are easy to clean if u follow the instructions, and u can take the back off to check the pipes to make sure they are. Mine is 8 months old and squeaky clean

HV etc don't like them because there was talk that the hot shot isn't hot enough to kill the bacteria in the powder. I tested mine with a temperature probe and it was way over the recommended temperature.

It's just new kit and people like to find fault in my option

Perfect prep machines are great OP. Well worth the money.

I've had 3 babies and always premade bottles and put them in fridge. I did reheat them in microwave though (making sure to swirl and shake to avoid hotspots). When I made the bottles up, I would swirl the powder in instead of shaking the bottles. Might be worth a try?

I've been FF DS for nearly 11 months and I still get confused about how to make up a bottle from scratch - the perfect prep is a lifesaver (and we make three at once, store the other two in the fridge and reheat them in a bowl of hot water when DS wants one - I know it goes against current best practice but it's not the worst thing in the world). We've never had an issue with a bottle.

I thought it was nonsense about what the HVs say about the perfect prep. However, my DS was producing horrible green smelly poos (when he actually went as he was really consipated) and he had really bad wind and was squirming around with tummy pains when feeding. Made up a bottle the old fashioned way as a one off and he took it so much better so started doing it all the time and had no issues since. Could just be a coincidence but make of it what you will. I'm now wondering if it's what was causing DS1s issues when he was a baby.

I’ve used the PP machine with both babies. Best bit of baby equipment invented for formula feeders. My GP recommend it to me after using it for her daughter 🤷🏼‍♀️ Mine has remained spotless, I check the pipes regularly. I run a Milton wash through every couple months. I used it for a year, then stored it in the loft, then did a couple serious sterilises and using it again now with DD2. You need to use the proper Tommee Tippee filters & not the knock off ones on Amazon.

Also, a PP saying you should add milk to cool boiled water from the fridge is very wrong! Do not do this! It’s the milk powder that needs sterilising, not the water! You add boiling water to milk powder to kill the bacteria in it. Cool boiled water will not do this!

Its not aptamil is it? I've seen several threads about it not dissolving properly and clogging up the teats

If your pre making bottles, you shouldn't be putting the powder in until it's time to give the milk

This is incorrect. The powder must be added to very hot water. Shaken. Chilled. Stored at the back of the fridge.

Adding powder to cooled boiled tap water is absoloutley not correct.

We used boiling water and a glass flask of boiled water kept in the fridge. Very quickly worked out what temperature baby liked it.

So say for a 6oz bottle, I'd use 3oz boiling water, add formula powder and shake to dissolve, then top up with another 3oz chilled boiled water from the fridge.

Bottle ready in the length of time it takes to boil the kettle. No faffing around warming up an ice cold bottle whilst baby screams

..i know everyone raves about Perfect Prep machines, but the midwives and HVs said they're not recommended, as it's impossible to clean the tubes inside the machine and they can get moldy/mildewy without you having any idea, which obviously is not good for baby at all. I wouldn't have thought saving yourself 5 minutes was worth the risk tbh.

If you use the branded filters and follow the cleaning instructions then the tubes will be fine, plus you can check them- so that's untrue. The ones who had issues were using generic filters which caused the issue, but the build up in the pipes was found to not be harmful anyway. The issue some medical staff has is that if you add the powder after the hot shot then on contact it might not be hot enough to sterilise the powder; this is mitigated by adding the powder before the hot shot and swirling straight away.

I have a perfect prep machine and it is 100% worth the money. Im not sure why but there seems to be a general hatred for them on MN. I started a thread about it the other week and was called 'lazy', which is ridiculous. They're so convenient.

@bespokepaininthearse

If your pre making bottles, you shouldn't be putting the powder in until it's time to give the milk, formula only lasts a short amount of time when it's mixed. If the test is clogging, it's not being mixed well enough which happens when it's cold. Just warm it a little

This is incorrect and unsafe advice. The water needs to be above 70 degrees to kill any bacteria in the formula. Preboiled and cooled water isn't safe to use on its own as it won't kill any bacteria, though it's fine to add to cool a hot bottle down, if you want to use a "shot" of boiled water to mix with the formula first.

It's not ideal to premake formula but as long as it's kept in the fridge for less than 12 hours, it should be absolutely fine.

@bespokepaininthearse

Perfect preps are definitely worth the money, and gets rid of all of this. You should be putting boiling water into bottles, cooling down quickly then in the fridge until you want to use it, then warm it, add the formula, shake. It says on the tins that nixed it doesn't last longer than an hour, that is the current guidelines.

No, again, this is wrong and unsafe. The formula needs to mix with just boiled water to kill any bacteria IN THE FORMULA.