Tommee Tippee Prep Machine causing upset stomach? Advice for night feeds/bottle warmer

[mrsjturner90]

Hi!

Sorry - long post and first time posting as a FTM!

I'm looking for some advice..
My baby is almost 5 weeks old and for the past two weeks has only had two or three dirty nappies. I'm aware this can be perfectly normal but when I told my health visitor about it and mentioned that she has a painful cry at nights like she's trying to fill her nappy she asked me if I'm using a prep machine and told me there's theories that the hot shot isn't hot enough to kill the bacteria in the formula and can cause upset stomachs. She suggested making a couple of bottles from the kettle which I did and we did then get a dirty nappy, but another few days then passed without another one (note we also tried warm bath, tummy massage, bicycle kicks.. so may have been a combination of things, or it may have just been time to go!).

I looked in to it myself and found that the theories surrounding the prep machine are that they can cause constipation, but my baby isn't constipated as when she does fill her nappy it is the right consistency. I then read about infant dyschezia where a newborn basically hasn't learned to relax the correct muscle to pass a poop yet and will eventually have a nappy explosion and the symptoms of this sound exactly like what we're experiencing. The general advice is that this should pass in a few weeks when baby learns how to "go".

I said all of this to my health visitor and she said we probably haven't noticed the difference by only doing a couple of kettle bottles a day and to try not using the prep machine at all for a week. I'm a bit frustrated as I felt like she didn't really listen to what I thought (this was over the phone due to Covid) and I really don't think it's the prep machine causing the problems and it's really convenient for night feeds, but I said I'd do it.

I'm looking for advice on;

1. If anyone has experience of infant dyschezia
2. Or if anyone has experience of upset stomachs with prep machine
3. How I could use a bottle warmer for night feeds? I have a tommee tippee one but I'm soo confused - do I add boiling water to the bottles before bed then reheat just the water then add the formula? Would this be hot enough to mix with the formula? Or am I supposed to make up a bottle of formula with boiling water before bed then reheat it in the warmer? Help!!

Any advice here would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks! x

@TrulyMiss

Well it suits us and that’s all that counts!

I’m pretty comfortable that the hotshot kills all the bacteria. Thanks for your input though! 😉

Okaaaaaaaay.

“Basic science says this is dangerous.”

“Ah. Makes my life easier though, so I’ll keep doing it. ”

What a time to be alive.

If you're making them in advance then is it not better to make them up according to the instructions?

The perfect prep has such a small hot shot compared to the amount of powder that it may not be large enough or stay hot enough to kill bacteria in the powder. Formula made up using the PP shouldn't be stored for later and should be used immediately.

Well I'm finding this thread super confusing about what to do for the best!

Just made up my very first bottle of formulae - as per the instructions on the tin - but I didn't leave the water the full 30 mins to cool - sat looking at it now whilst I breastfeed one twin....looks very foamy - I guess that will settle?

Going to give it a week of making up formulae the traditional way before making a decision on the prep machine?

It will be the night times that will make the dedication for me I guess? At the moment it's super easy just to pour the carton milk into a bottle and feed little twin whilst big twin is breastfeeding at the same time

Which formula is it? I've heard aptamil can be quite foamy.

It is within guidelines to make formula up in advance with water over 70⁰C, cool it quickly and keep in the fridge for no more than 24 hours. It could make night time easier.

Once formula is made up it is ok at room temperature for 2 hours. Once they start drinking from it you should discard within 1 hour

@dementedpixie

It's cow and gate as they were premature and when they were in NICU and tube fed they were given that so thought I'd stick with that.

Looks like the foam had gone down loads now phew!

I'll give it a go making a bottle up before bed 🤞🤞

Thank you for all the responses! Definitely a lot of different experiences and methods out there..!
Thanks for the suggestions to use the ready made bottles - not sure why I hadn't thought of that! I definitely wouldn't make up my own formula in advance so these make more sense for night feeds.
I did what the HV said and stopped using the PP for a week. Instead I used the kettle for bottles during the day then at night used the ready made bottles warmed up using the bottle warmer (DD doesn't seem to like cold formula) But that's definitely not a permanent solution as the ready made bottles are pricey!
Anyway, it didn't make the slightest difference to the frequency of dirty nappies - still just getting one every few days. I honestly think that's just her cycle just now and she seems perfectly fine otherwise.
I'm speaking to the HV tomorrow morning so will tell her all this (is it bad that I'm kind of glad it didn't make a difference after I told her what I thought already..?). Back to using the PP now as I'm confident it's not upsetting her tummy and it's so much more convenient! Highly recommend if anyone is on the fence about getting one.

Prep isn't warm enough for my LO.

My process at night

Select 1oz less than the powder I put in.
Hot shot
Add 1oz hot boiled water (100 deg) from a flask
Shake
Press for second go.

In the day I make it in the prep as normal, then microwave for 10sec. We then shake and wait a min before feeding to ensure all hotspots are gone.

Lots of worrying info being bandied around on this thread. Have a look at the nhs page for correctly preparing formula www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/breastfeeding-and-bottle-feeding/bottle-feeding/making-up-baby-formula/

From the FAQ on your link

What if I need to transport a made-up feed?

If it is not possible to follow the advice above, or if you need to transport a feed (for example, to a nursery),prepare the feed at home, cool under a running tap or in a bowl of cold water, and cool it for at least 1 hour in the back of the fridge.

Take it out of the fridge just before you leave and carry it in a cool bag with an ice pack, and use it within 4 hours. If you do not have an ice pack, or access to a fridge, the made-up infant formula must be used within 2 hours.

If made-up formula is stored:

• in a fridge–use within 24 hours
• in a cool bag with an ice pack–use within4 hours
• at room temperature–use within2 hours