I don’t understand the Tommee Tippee perfect prep?

[Sconehenge]

My friend has the Brezza machine which seems like it saves a lot of steps because it dispenses the formula for you and the milk is made by the machine. You literally just press a button and the milk comes out done (but downside is no boiling water to sterilise formula).

I’m reading the perfect prep instructions and you have to measure out and put the formula in the bottle each time, and shake the bottle yourself between the “hot shot” and the cool water from the PP. So, essentially all the PP does is dispense a bit of hot water and then some more cold water and you have to do all the rest…

Can someone please explain how is this more convenient/quicker at all than boiling a jug, putting in your own hot shot, mixing, and then topping up with sterile cold water? Am I missing something?

No idea. I live in another European country, the Brezza is really popular, and the prep machine isn’t sold.
Although Most friends just boil water in the moring, make say 6 bottle sip with 6oz water, then add formula to room temp as needed throughout the day.
Adding formula to hot water isn’t needed according to the formula package here - same as uk brands like hipp, aptimal.

I’m sure there’s any need to bother sterilising the water by boiling if this is the method they’re using, as the boiling water needs to go on the formula to kill germs in the formula, rather than in the water itself.

(I’m aware other countries have different guidelines on this, I’m quoting the UK guidelines.)

so does the Brezza just use cold/warm water? Again doesn’t seem like it has any purpose if so?!

@modgepodge no idea. This is what midwife’s/ formula package says.
But places like France definitely use bottled water like Evian so they use cold bottled, rather than boiling.

@modgepodge i think it just uses water that’s the right temperature to drink but no “sterilising” initial hot water shot, which is why it’s less popular than the PP. But in terms of why you’d use it, it’s like a coffee machine that you put your kg of beans in and then the coffee comes out ready made (except the beans are formula). So very convenient as no measuring or heating and cooling water or even shaking of bottle required.

I can’t see why the PP is touted as such a life saver when you have to measure out the formula powder yourself, top it up, shake it after hot shot and then return it to PP for cold water!

Couldn’t all of this be achieved just as easily with a jug of boiled water and some cold water….

Agree. I think they look like much more work as you need to keep them clean which is harder to do than just a jug, you need to replace filters making sure you do it right and also use only the tommee tippee ones as the it is the other ones that allegedly cause the reported mould issues. Then you are manually adding the powder anyway. During this you don't know if the hot shot actually is hot enough or one of many machines that is faulty (not a problem with a kettle). Then it doesn't even test the temperature of the milk in the bottle for you, you still need to test it on the back of your wrist.

If the hot shot isn't needed to sterilise the powder, that make the machine even more redundant.

Some people just love an appliance the sells the dream!

I think it's more the fact that it filters the water to a higher level of purity, like you'd get with cool boiled water. In that instance, it saves the faff of boiling the water, waiting something daft like 40 minutes for it to cool, doing a hot shot and then adding the cool boiled water. I used a prep machine for both my kids, a friend of mine just used tap water for their DD and she was fine 🤷‍♀️ who knows

I think the milk created by perfect prep is a bit more pretty fool proof in being the right temperature, compared to doing your own. Also easier to operate the perfect prep one handed at midnight whilst holding a screaming baby then juggling a bottle, just, kettles etc. I had little pots with pre-measured out formula powder in which was handy.

I loved mine - so convenient. No waiting for the kettle, no waiting for bottles to cool, no trying to remember if there was bottle in the fridge. Best thing I brought!

The main advantages over the jug method is you don’t need to wait for it to boil, you don’t need to keep a supply if cooled boiled water and you don’t have to measure the water carefully to get the right volume and it comes out at body temp so no risk serving too hot milk to the baby. With the jug method I never got the volumes right.

I recommend premeasuring your formula into little boxes for night feeds at least.

Oh I absolutely loved the perfect prep. I bottle fed all 3 dc and ds (3rd) was the only one we got it for. It’s so convenient for 3 am feeds!

Well as you shouldn't use boiling water to make up formula but it needs to have been boiled and then cooled to a certain range so that it's hot enough to sterilise the milk but not too hot that it breaks it down its certainly more convenient. Rather than having to wait around for it to cool you just press a button and it'll dispense water to the correct temp for the hot shot and then the right amount to make up your bottle of which can be drunk straight away. Even with daily use multiple times a day the filter doesn't need changing that much.

I know that prep machines have made life much simpler for parents but there was some research released this month saying that even with the hot shot, 85% of machines didn’t make it hot enough to kill bacteria. Might be useful knowledge for anyone thinking of buying one as gastro cases in infants have gone up.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-67001503?at_format=link&at_campaign_type=owned&at_link_origin=BBC_Wales_News&at_link_type=web_link&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_ptr_name=facebook_page&at_medium=social&at_link_id=2827F4FE-6279-11EE-AD8B-111FD66E6F62&at_bbc_team=editorial&fbclid=IwAR37ZyrInwsUzAXo-7SExEmtBDpzpQTn4dN19C_NeWdOZpsYvFu0cIxFq3g_aem_AVRX6VxyPq2umYyRNCZalXMtGADMmXSrLUuj6jG_FpzuM--lFojWRLcjr4w6cVqGCbA

This was before they changed the instructions, the machine has always got the water hot enough, but the instructions used to say to do the hot shot first and then add powder. As the time this takes varies from person to person, there were instances where not all of the powder was added in time before it cooled below the advised temp. Let's be realistic though, is boiling a kettle and waiting for it to cool to optimum temp likely to be any more accurate? (No).

Literally just got rid of our perfect prep! It was introducing waaaaay too many air bubbles into baby’s milk. He was awake all night with trapped wind and I stopped using it and voila….no more wind!

I also think the prep machine leaves milk too cold. It was cold by the time baby had drank an oz.

we have a boiling tap in the house and I now just use that to sterilise the formula and top up with cool boiled water I store in the fridge. At night I use a good quality flask and cooled boiled water. It’s actually quicker than the prep machine!

I used the perfect prep machine when DS now 8 was a baby. Absolutely loved it

@Unithorn interesting, so it’s because you can’t actually use boiling water and the PP gives it at 70 deg which is just right?

@JeresaLove that does make sense!

To me it sounds like the perfect prep would be PERFECT if it dispensed the formula for you as well like the Brezza does!

Best thing I've ever had! It's literally putting the formula in and a quick shake. It's really easy and the perfect temp! Would advise anyone with a newborn to get one

I did infant feeding training and was taught that the hot shot isn’t actually hot enough to kill any bacteria that might be present, so parents are better off just making fresh.

Pretty much! Much like any appliances some people find them useful, others dont and thats fine. Theres lots of misinformation about them which has been twisted though so would encourage people who want to make an informed decisions to actually read up on it. I don't think they're revolutionary or life changing but can see the use and benefit of them for some people at the same time. I've never heard of the ones that mix in the milk as well but sounds good.

Yes I have attended similar training and pointed out to the trainers that they have misinterpreted (probably willfully) what was found. If made as per the revised instructions (which have been changed for many years) and add the powder first then the hot shot is hot enough on contact.

It's definitely a swizz. The boiling water is to sterilise the milk powder (not the water itself in the UK), so you can just use a moderate amount to dissolve the powder then top up with cold tap water to have ready to drink milk.

Nope you're not supposed to use tap water even in the UK. You're supposed to use cooled boiled water, or something like the prep which filters the water appropriately.

I looked into the Brezza and what put me off is that you need to calibrate it to dispense the correct amount of formula per ounce (same principle as always having to use the scoop that’s provided with the formula itself) so there’s margin for error there, plus you needed to clean and sterilise (?) the part of the machine where the formula powder is stored like once every 24 or 48 hours or something. So unless you have a spare of that part, which I understand you can buy, your machine is out of action whilst you’re cleaning it and waiting for it to dry. I sacked it off and kept the Perfect Prep we got with baby no.1. When DS was born in May I just used one of the MAM formula dispensers which holds 3 feeds so there was no counting required at 2am.

The bottle prep recommended by the NHS is pretty onerous compared to a lot of other countries. On the continent, NZ, the US, etc there’s no requirement to use boiled or near boiling water. Even with anti-reflux formulas in the UK you can’t use hot water to make them up because it makes the gelling agent clump. For that reason I always take the warnings about the PP with a pinch of salt.

The PP machine is, quite frankly, marvellous!

It's much better than a kettle! Water is at the right temp immediately so baby isn't waiting. Used ours non stop with 2 babies. Get a secondhand one cheap and just buy new filters from sains, Tesco etc.