Formula preparation

[OneDeepGoose]

Is formula prep really stressful?

Is anyone else struggling with electrical prep machines and cleaning them?

Is anyone else struggling with counting scoops! I keep losing count!

3am night prep! What could make this easy? ANY IDEAS?

My children are much older now but I had formula pots that I decanted the desired amount of formula into. It’s was for when I went out but you can use them to pre-scoop for the night when counting is difficult.

Pre scoop the formula into bottles before bed. Keep a thermos of boiling water and a bottle or thermos of cooled boiled water next to your bed. Add a splash of boiling water to the formula in the bottle to sterilise it, then top up with cool water. The perfect ratio is 25% boiling to 75% cooled water. I just did this and didn’t have a prep machine, worked well as the last thing I wanted to do in the middle of the night was go downstairs!

I think i brought the perfect prep machine up to bed

I was also totally overwhelmed at first but it's not stressful once you get into a routine with it. We found a way that works for us which I'll share - we have never needed to prep at 3am doing it this way (other than warming the bottle).

Honestly I'd ditch the machine because it's not necessary and I think cleaning it can cause more stress.

Here's what we do:

• Half fill and boil the kettle, put a timer on for 15 mins.
• Make up 4 bottles (any time between 15-30 mins is fine if you're busy with baby)
• Keep open tupperware pots in the back of the fridge half filled with cold water.
• Put the bottles straight in the tupperware water baths - the cold water cools it quicker so it's safe. (It's important to keep it in the coldest part of the fridge - towards the bottom/ back - not in the door).
• Get a cheap bottle warmer to warm the bottle when it's time to feed (we have the Grownsy one from Amazon - pretty good, takes about 4 mins).

It sounds like a lot, but honestly I find it better than worrying about machines and it is much more portable to take a couple of tupperware pots and a little bottle warmer when we go on holidays/ family visits etc!

Once you're in the swing of it it really does become second nature. And this way you have a few bottles in the fridge ready to go at any time.

If you're going 'by the book' then they would tell you not to do this, but it's honestly not realistic. Everyone I know preps a few bottles ahead of time. They tell you not to on the formula packets because they have to cover themselves, but it's overly cautious. As long as you cool it quickly and keep it cold, it is fine to keep it in the fridge for half a day. My son is 10 months old now and is absolutely fine.

And yes I do sometimes lose count when doing the scoops - my husband and I have learned not to talk to each other if we see the other doing it! 😅 I count it out loud, it helps.

Don't forget you can also use a bottle of ready made formula if needed - we did this a lot as well, especially out and about or just if we ran out of made up bottles before we'd prepped more. It's fine to use a combo, it's really only the cost that's the issue (ready made costs more!)

Also just to add, even though it's not 'by the book', I think the above method is still safer than the perfect prep machine - that's another reason why we do it.

If you go by the packet then they expect you to make a whole feed every single time and cool it, which takes 15-30 mins and is just bonkers! - No one actually does that. Thermos flasks can be good if you do want to make one at a time but I never tried it that way.

I assume you have a newborn? It's particularly stressful when they're so little as they are so unpredictable and feed often and they're also quite small and vulnerable. I think @StellaShining 's suggestion is what most people do.

Don’t use prep machines. They aren’t safe. I’m sure you’ve seen about all the recent formula issues. Don’t risk not making up your baby’s feed properly. You need to think of formula like raw chicken. It needs ‘cooking’ to get rid of any potential bacteria.

@fashionqueen0123 Yes, I don't know why they're still allowed to sell those prep machines really.

We were affected by the recent SMA recall and it was terrifying too! We switched to Nannycare - honestly don't know why I ever trusted Nestle with my baby's milk 😥They are not an ethical company.

Formula is a minefield.

We use a Nuby Rapid Cool to make babies bottles. We take a flask of boiling water to bed and some pots of formula already measured out. The Nuby brings the formula to the correct temperature. Then once it’s used we clean it out an pop it in the Milton steriliser and ready to go again.

Precisely this. You really can’t assume it’s safe sadly and need to make sure it’s hit with enough water at 70c.
Pre machines should be banned.

I think calling perfect prep machines unsafe ignores the reality of parenting. When I had my first, I did the whole 'kettle and wait' routine, tried doing my own manual kettle hot shot, measuring out cooled pre-boiled water to top it up, and trying to get it perfect while completely exhausted. It was an absolute nightmare.

For many of us, the stress and potential for human error while sleep deprived is a bigger risk than the machine itself! Like anything, it's about weighing up the risks, and for many parents, this trade off is absolutely worth it. It was for me, and I was disappointed I hadn't used it for my first; I had been put off by all of the advice.
With my second I did use the mini pre prepped bottles at first, and then moved over to the machine which I used to take upstairs. It is absolutely vital to clean and maintain the perfect prep as per instructions. It worked for us.

Edited to say I used sealed formula pots that I prescooped in, and a pre sterilised sealed bottle. Hot shot, formula, shake, topped up and perfect temp!

Nuby rapid cool and hot shot method. Flask of hot water and formula pots.
I count the scoops out loud 😂

Yes, it's often a balance of risk and what each parent/ person is happy with. We are all just trying to get through this stage in one piece and it's hard!

I do think though that the reality is people buy the prep machines and then don't clean/ maintain them properly, which creates more risks than pre-prepping bottles or even using too hot water.

There are ways to prep formula that are still realistic and not too complicated (e.g. the method I use above).

I think formula companies should acknowledge the reality of how hard it is for parents to follow their exact instructions, and take some responsibility for educating people on how they can safely make up a few bottles at once, or use thermos flasks.

I think both of these methods are generally safer than using prep machines.

(When I say that I am talking about general use - I'm sure what you did was safe with cleaning and following the instructions, but I think a lot of people in reality struggle with the maintenance and cleaning, and there are safer ways that are still not too difficult).

I found the perfect prep to be a god send to the point I had one downstairs for during the day and one in the bedroom when they had night feeds. If the perfect prep wasn't available for whatever reason then I'd make it fresh, rapid cool and store in back of fridge until needed (up to 24 hours).

Saying the prep machine needs to be banned is a bit OTT in my opinion, sorry. If you use it properly and clean it (i did, and made sure to follow videos on youtube on how to clean it), then it is fine. No one i know personally had issues with it.

We used the pre-made bottles for night feeds. We also used them occasionally when out and about. They’re expensive (about £1 each if you buy them in bulk) but for us that £50ish/month was so worth not having to worry about cooling formula in the night and often meant we didn’t ’wake up’ quite so much. It also meant the baby was soothed instantly instead of having to wait for a bottle.
Good luck - you’ll make it work for you xx

We had a babybrezza, its like a perfect prep but the powder is already in the machine. You can get night time perfect preps that are quieter.

My DDs were both combi fed breast + formula top ups, but what we did was use the prep machine in the day (cleaned, descaled and water checked regularly with a food thermometer to make sure it was dispensing at over 70c) and then ready made formula at night. It was more expensive that way, but we only did it for the first couple of months. Once DDs were sleeping longer stretches/ not feeding as frequently at night, then we stopped using the ready made formula.

We made up 24 hours worth, speed cooled and stored in the back of the fridge. We started off warming them in hot water which we quickly dumped and started doing them in the microwave for a few seconds instead.

Yeah yeah, hot spots bla bla. They have to offer advice for the lowest common denominator but tbph you'd have to be a moron to get it wrong.

I can't even imagine faffing with measuring scoops at 3am or doing hot shots or several flasks of hot and cold or whatever...what a PITA.

This is exactly what I did. Never had any problems. Just made sure I gave them a good shake after microwaving them

You see, this works through the day, old school testing temperature on back of wrist. On the other hand I couldn't be bothered to go downstairs in the middle of the night! I tried every method and the perfect prep (thoroughly maintained) beat them all, and saved me preparing feeds in advance. I had a demanding baby however, maybe some are more chilled. It was a godsend.

We had two of these milk powder dispensers and measured out the required amount of formula for 6 feeds ahead of time.

Perfect Prep Machines weren’t around then. We made up bottles in advance or did the “hot shot” method, topped up with cold boiled water.

If you go by the packet then they expect you to make a whole feed every single time and cool it, which takes 15-30 mins and is just bonkers! - No one actually does that.

Hahaha, I totally did. Spent ages awake every night to make formula. Those were the times…

OP, the easiest but still ‘by the book’ way would be to prepare the right amount of formula in a formula holder thingy (little plastic cups with lid), then boil fresh water, the boiled water into the bottle, add the formula, stir it, then cool it down under cold water to drinking temperature. Takes about 8-10 minutes all in all. From there, you’ll find various ‘less-by-the-book’ variations.

Insulated bag + second hand microwave for a tenner next to the bed = no getting up at night and a pre prepared bottle ready within about 15 seconds! So easy.