Formula feed ready made?

[LJ642]

Hi all. Feeling overwhelmed at the advice re preparing formula feeds including at home at night and out. I can’t get my head round any of it and feel stressed. How does anyone do this prep?!

Has anyone just fed from ready made bottles for the first year? I know there is a higher cost but am I mad for doing this? We aren’t having any more dc after this and could afford it but are we silly for doing this. Sorry feel very overwhelmed

also is it true that cow and gate and aptimel are the same?!

Ok. Seasoned Mum here with 4 kids 6 and under. I BF for 6 months and then combo fed until 10 months then stopped BF so I have done it all.

When it comes to formula there are two ways to make bottle prep easier. Tomorrow tipee perfect prep machine which I would have bought if I hadn’t been able to continue BF. But I recently bought the Nuby Rapid Bottle Cool Twin Pack. this is AMAZING when out and about or beside your bed at night. You can use freshly boiled water, make up the bottle and tip it into the white flask. I’m under a minute it is at perfect drinking temp.

I will be honest, making bottles with the above machines is comparable in time to heating a premade bottle. The pre-made bottles are always good as a back up but I would never have only used them due to cost (we could have afforded pre made bottles but it is a total waste of money when there are so many options to make milk from the powder)

Also the adherence and standards of baby milk are incredibly strict, so they are all much of a muchness. I purposefully rotated between brands so my babies wouldn’t become reliant on one taste and it opened up weaning a little too.

Also all 4 of my babies had dicky tummies for 12 weeks. Our GP explained it takes this long for the digestive system to regulate and get used to milk. We waited for 12 weeks with all but one baby (the last) believe me, of a baby has an allergy to cows milk protein or has proper reflux you will KNOW. My last baby had this and it was torture.

Lastly, trust yourself, your judgement and don’t overthink every little thing. You have got this

I completely understand. Current guidelines for formula prep are unworkable.
Ready to feed formula is so much easier.

Someone will be along shortly to tell me I’m wrong but here goes;
if I were formula feeding today, I would do exactly as I did 30 years ago as a nanny.
Firstly, wash all bottles and equipment thoroughly in hot hot water and then rinse everything in cold water. Into the electric steam steriliser. Then pour and measure freshly boiled (and boiled only once) water from the kettle. Make enough for 24 hours. Add the formula powder to the bottles, screw on the lids (ring and blanking disc) and give them all a good shake until mixed.
Then, stand all the bottles in a sink or bowl of cold water to cool down as rapidly as possible.
Next, place all the bottles on a shelf and at the very back of the fridge where it’s coldest (never in the door shelves).
When required, add the teat and cap from the steriliser, stand the bottle in hot water to take the chill off and feed.
Five minutes in total when you have a very hungry and grumpy baby.

If you’re leaving the house, take a cold bottle and keep it as cold as possible (find an insulated carrier or suitable ice pack) until you need to use it. Never warm it and keep it warm.
I’ve seen so much advice on MN over the years about filling sterilised bottles with boiled water and leaving them to go to room temperature then adding formula powder when needed, then the formula is the right temperature.
The major problem with this method is that there is a dangerous bacteria present in powdered formula (which cannot be eradicated in the freeze drying process) which is very easily killed by water above 70C. If the powder hits the water at a temperature below this then it’s never eradicated.
Liquid formula does not have it because the milk is pasteurised in its container.

The whole thing about making every feed fresh before feeding is a nonsense to me.
Boil a freshly drawn kettle of water then wait 30 minutes for it to cool down - seems unworkable several times a day with a newborn.

Scrupulous hygiene and keeping it as cold as possible is the key to pre-prepared powder formula feeding.

Just finished formula feeding our youngest, and we used @FancyShmancy method for the past year which I actually found far easier than the Tommee Tippee prep machine which is what used for our older child. We have an insulated bottle bag that we used to bring a bottle out and about with us. I actually heat them in the microwave for 30 seconds to take the chill out but I know that's unrecommended. We used the premade for the first week or 2 until we got into the swing of things, I personally think you would be mad to use them for the first year but each to their own.

After EBFing DD for 6 months I switched to formula and only used the ready made bottles. I'm currently expecting DC2 and planning on doing the same. It worked for me first time and DD is 2.5 years old and healthy and thriving so why not I say... If something buys me convenience and comfort and is fine for my DC, I really don't feel like there's anything wrong with it. Do whatever works for you ☺️

I did purely ready made aptamil with dc1. All fine.

Wow really appreciate you writing this out so clearly. That’s really helped get a more workable process a bit straighter in my head. Thank you v much.

Thank you! I’ll take a look at the Nubi rapid cool ☺️

@gollyimholly and @OnlyMabelInTheBuilding thank you both for making me think I’m not mad if I choose to just do ready made bottles!

I've had the chance to look it up now, the bacteria present in powdered formula is called Enterobacter Sakazakii. Despite sterile manufacturing conditions, its still present in powdered formula. Easy to kill with water 70C or hotter so don't worry about that too much. The ready to feed stuff is ultra heat treated in its packaging so not a consideration.

If you were worried about the milk being around too long then making 3 bottles up at a time would cut down storage time but still be handier than trying to make every feed at the time of need with a frantic, hungry baby.

FWIW it is perfectly safe to give a baby fridge cold milk. Some babies will go for it and some won't. I looked after one little boy, many years ago, that would only take a cold feed!

The NHS advice does seem overwhelming, but it’s there to protect your baby from infections and ignoring it may work for some people but not everyone is lucky and formula fed babies do get gastroenteritis and other illnesses from the bacteria in powdered formula. To make powdered formula as safe as possible it has to go into water of at least 70°C, and then be cooled and fed within a short time, @FancyShmancy’s ’advice’ may seem like a good idea but it’s not, not really.

Readymade formula is pasteurised so doesn’t have the bacteria in it that powdered does. However it still carries risk as there’s none of the immune factors that are found in breastmilk, so you do still need to be careful to sterilise bottles etc for the first 6 months at least.

I know you haven’t asked about it, but is there a reason you are (planning to) formula feed? Is breastfeeding genuinely not an option? I know we hear horror stories about breastfeeding struggles, but with the right help and support it can be so much easier than formula, it’s always ready, no prep, no sterilising, no calming a hungry baby whilst you wait for a bottle to be ready…..

Don’t come at me with ‘Fed is best’ and ‘not everyone can’, fed is a basic need, and what babies are fed does matter, and it matters for long term maternal health too.

Anyway, the phone number etc on the picture will put you in touch with trained, non-judgemental, factual advice, rather than anecdotal ‘I did this and my kids survived’ comments.

Hi OP. You aren't mad.

DD who is now 17 was sick whenever we gave her powdered formula. (she also refused to breast feed despite every midwife in hospital having a go at getting her on).

We therefore bought aptamil cartons until she was 6 months old. This also made travelling easier (ordered enough to collect from Boots airside) plus when she was weaned (in those days at 17 weeks), I just poured the ready made stuff in with the baby rice.

When DS came along in 2010, I did the thing that apparently you aren't supposed to do - made 6 bottles with fresh boiled water, shook them and left them on the side for later. I don't think we refrigerated them either. So I suppose we were lucky as the bacteria risk doesn't sound fun.

Midwife told me to offer baby room temp formula or they would always need it warming up. This was fine for both of them.

Good luck. It sounds like a lot more work for you than it was for me!

Advice might have changed in the 30 years since dd3 was on ready made but we didn't heat it, just poured it into a bottle and gave it to her. As a pp said, it's great if you do a lot of travelling. With the large cartons we kept them in the fridge once opened and may have left them in the bottle for a few minutes to take the chill off.

I did pre-made cow and gate first infant 1 for my daughter for the first year. I'm doing the same with my son now (9 months old). Yes it is more expensive but it is so much easier than making the bottles up, heating, cooling etc as I just leave out of fridge and give to baby at room temperature.

My daughter was a micro preemie (24 weeks) and the guidance I had (from the consultants and SALT team) which I've followed is:

1. Once bottle opened provided baby hasn't drunk out of it/ if isn't tainted, it can be used for upto 24 hours. This is relevant if you use the 1ltr bottles.

1. Once baby starts drinking the milk, discard after 1 hour of not finished.

1. There was no need need to go onto the follow on milks, I could stick with the cow and gate first infant 1.

And when I'm out and about o sometimes take disposable Sterifeed bottles and tears (can buy on Amazon). Saves the hassle of returning home with a glut of bottles to clean and sterilise!

My 13 month old has only ever had the shop bought formula. I don't produce enough breast milk to sustain my children and it devastated me. I did the NHS guidance for making bottles with my first and honestly sobbed as my daughter screamed for a bottle as ever one made me feel so inadequate as a mother. When my second arrived I was more prepared that entirely breast feeding wouldn't be the journey we had however much I wanted it to be. The ready made milk made formula feeding much more manageable and was much kinder on my mental health and sanity. Perhaps I'm crazy (as other posters have suggested) but it was a worthwhile investment in our care as a family unit as far as I am concerned.

Re point 1 keeping for 24 hours - would need to be kept in fridge!

I always used readymade for out and about if I was going to be out longer than 2hr. I plan to use the readymade initially with my 2nd and then a prep machine once they are drinking close to 4oz.

It's not advised by the NHS, but I also used the @FancyShmancy method once I was giving more than one bottle of formula per day. I combination fed for eight months.

We used the prep machine at home and the ready made mini bottles for out and about, never any issues and baby did really well on it!
It does seem really complicated but we felt that was the safest way to do it. Sometimes HVs tell you to avoid the PP machine but as long as it has new filters in I believe they are safe and kill the bacteria.

I mixed fed DC1 for 3 months and then used formula. I plan to do the same with DC2.

I only used ready to feed formula and it worked well for me. I found it a lot easier than powder and it also meant grandparents were comfortable preparing feeds when babysitting.

Measure out little bottles of hot water and chill in fridge, the equivalent of 50% of water you'd need. Then when a feed is needed, boil the remaining 50% water and put in bottle, put 100% of powder in with the hot water immediately and shake, and top with the remaining 50% of your pre boiled cold water. Sterilised formula at perfect temperature in less than 5 min!

When out, same method but with hot water in thermos and just room temperature cooled boiled water. Made formula also lasts 2 hours ( but check latest guidance) so I sometimes pre made some before leaving and fed within the time frame or just used ready made.

Hope this helps!

DF did ready made for the first 6 months. You don’t need an excuse to use ready made, jist do it if you want to and csn afford to

I used ready made for the first few weeks and for any long days out (I.e. zoo) also always kept one in the changing bag as well as a sterilised bottle.
I also gave into the perfect prep and nuby rapid cool. DD was very fussy, had acid reflux and so sometimes just wanted a little bit so waiting for a kettle to cool down etc would not have worked for us.

“also is it true that cow and gate and aptimel are the same?!”

Yes, all formula sold in the UK is the same nutritionally, the price difference doesn’t mean one is better than any other.