Preparing bottles in advance

[birchykel]

Hi all,
I am 37 weeks pregnant and planning on breastfeeding but am open minded in case it doesn't work out. I had my first girl 8 years ago and back then I started breastfeeding but became poorly and ended up using Sma, I would make them up fresh before bed say 11.30pm and store about 6 in the fridge and then warm them up when needed during the night.
I emailed SMA to find out if this is ok and they said basically not really, I need to boil the water, leave to cool no longer than 30 mins and then make it up and either use it or keep it at room temp for no longer than 2 hours. Obviously whatever is best for baby but surly at 1 or 2am with a screaming baby in your arms, having to freshly boil, wait 30 mins, make it up and make sure its not too hot for babes is alot of waiting and no doubt a tad stressful??
Like I said I am hoping to breastfeed anyway but want to be prepared, anyone out there that can advise? Maybe I am being completely thick??

Ready made cartons for when you are out, or a flask with boiling water.

Make bottle every 3 hrs, chances are you know when you child is going to be hungry, make a bottle, by the time baby wants it, it will be cooled.

Like I said, right way, wrong way. Probably millions of people have made the wrong way and had no problems, but the fact remains that babies have died because of this.

Would you put baby to sleep on its front? Let's not forget that this was the guideline 20+ years ago...

Hi there, on another thread, someone posted a document relating to the death due to e.sakazakii contamination. This took place in a hospital because the bottles were not stored in a cold enough fridge after being made. The children who died of this were also premature, therefore with a more vulnerable immune system.
I am not suggesting that one should be negligent but the reality is that plenty babies are being fed not following the guidelines to the letter and the overwhelming majority is fine.
General hygiene, as in clean hands, a clean work surface and thoroughly cleaned bottles etc... as important as mixing the formula with water at 70 deg or whatever.

Blimey this is confusing! I?m 36 weeks pregnant with my first and have only just started paying bottles/formula any thought. Does anyone know how much pouring boiling water on to the formula actually reduces the nutritional value??

I'm thinking making up the bottles as per recommendations in the day won't be a problem (although of course I?m only going off what I?ve been told/read), but making baby wait for 20 mins or so every couple of hours in the night seems like it could be a bit stressful for baby and parents!

I?m thinking the simplest way for night feeds (as few people have mentioned on this) would be adding a small amount of boiling water straight from the kettle to a sterile bottle together with the pre-measured formula and then topping up with cooled pre-boiled water from the fridge to get the right temp.

The pre-made cartons seem a little expensive for every night, so it seems to me its either;

1. For every night feed get up come down stairs and make up bottle to recommendations and have stressed baby for 20-30 min until water cools in kettle to right temp
2. Worry about the nutritional content of bottles made up the quick way Or,
3. Buy expensive pre-made cartons for each night feed
   ????? Help

I was told by my health visitor to allow temperature of water to get to 70 roughtly about 30 minutes. The guidelines are to make as need, however she did say that they are still advised to tell parents how to make up a few bottles as this is what some people will do anyway and they want it to be done safely.

So she told me to make the same as above, then cool very quickly (under cold running tap) and put in the fridge. If going out for the day, the advise was to take boiling water and powder seperate and add the powder when bottle was needed.

I personally made when needed for 6 months then made a couple for the fridge.

Or breastfeed?

I couldn't breastfeed, but thank you for telling me what my other option was!

Pearl, yes it is confusing. I'd do them in advance and store in the fridge.
But quite frankly, the risk is very very very low and the likelihood of it to be fatal to your child even lower.

Is a nipple sterile by the way?

Sorry nunnie, that was meant for pearl, who is pgnant for the first time. It wasn't meant in a snide way.

Oh sorry can you tell I am still very bitter and about my experience?

word missing is sad sorry.

Bear in mind the 30minute guidance is based on 1litre of water in a well insulated kettle. It will most probably be less time as few people boil a litre and many kettles aren't sufficiently good at retaining heat.

I always sterilised bottles and fillled with boiled water once a day then added formula powder to the bottle (cold) when needed . Never even bothered warming it for #2. Appreciate there is a minute risk but its a bit like avoiding pre packed salad really!

It's nothing like avoiding salad.

babies have died

I would not:-

Put my baby to sleep on it's front
Smoke near my baby
Put my baby's car seat in the front when the airbag is turned on.
Use a pillow in babies cot
Make up formula incorrectly

All of the above may have relatively small risks but as an adult, I make an informed decision of risk v effort v benefits.

I have no problem with people making up their own minds, as long as they know the risks. What I do have a problem with is people coming on here, giving incorrect advice, justifying it with "but I did it and my ds is ok" my grandmother smoked 1000 cigarettes a day, climbed up and down chimneys and drank 10 litres of gin whilst pregnant with my dad... And he's ok

Oh - wasn't confused until reading this! It seems to have gone a bit full circle as years ago when I looked after babies it was the done thing to make up the formula for the day and then store all the bottles in the fridge - then with dd1 3 yrs ago, clear message you shouldn't do that, but was ok to prepare sterile water then add the formula as needed (as described in my earlier post). Now people seem to be saying that one option that is ok now is to prepare a few at once and put them in the back of the fridge to cool.

I also think what we're discussing here can't really be compared to the examples in Geordieminx's post of smoking near baby, putting baby on front etc. since the advice is not very clear and seems to change every few years!

Anyway fingers crossed that breastfeeding works out for me this time (due in a few weeks) and if not will do some thorough research into it and make up my own mind. If the 'correct way' is too impractical then cartons might be the (quite expensive) way forward.

But it use to be advised to put babies on the front.... Ok perhaps not the smoking but advice does change, and usually for good reason

babies have died
Have they? I would not do any of the things you have listed either but I have never heard of a documented case of a baby dying through unsterilised formula. Exactly what is the risk and where is it documented?
Unless you know that it is impossible to make the judgement.

Hm - link to the website in an earlier post says that the risk of the bacteria was in reconstituted milk (i.e. made up formula?) that was kept at room temperature - to me that makes sense in terms of the advice that was given to me with dd1 in terms of only adding powder to (room temp) sterile water just before using.

To me that still seems safer than making in advance and putting in the fridge ready made up as surely the bacteria will have more chance to multiply during the cooling down period.

What a minefield!!

risks are just that. You can sterilise your bottles, formula etc to your hearts content but the little darling will still shove everything it picks up off the floor in to its mouth. Unless you have some sort of immune deficiency going on I wouldn't get to stressed about it.

Chynah, that might be the case when a baby is 6/7 mo but when they are newborn, not so much

I too would like to read the research evidence behind guidelines.

Whilst I don't want to doubt validity without further reading I do wonder if the formula manufacturers make a larger profit from ready mixed cartons than they do on dried powder. Not that it would be like a formula manufacturer to try & cash in on parents anxieties about doing the best for their babies

If anyone has good links for this guidance pls post, sorry if this has already been done & I missed it I am on phone.

here

WHO here

here

It's true that the number of deaths is small, but they are avoidable. And who knows how many babies get ill as a result of this. Is it worth the risk?

Chynah - babies died in France and Belgium iirc, in about 2004, from outbreaks of enterobacter from contaminated formula. One outbreak was in a hospital neo-natal ward. That was what prompted the new guidance in 2005.

My baby sticks all kinds of things in his mouth, but nothing that would give him salmonella or enterobacter. I don't let him lick raw chicken just because he licks the floor.

Chynah you are spectacularly missing the point. The dirt/sterilizing issue is like comparing apples and buses.

You aren't adding water to kill germs, in the same way that you would sterilize a bottle, you are using hot water to kill a potentially fatal bacteria, similar to ecoli....

Thanks Rita! Exactly.

Adding boiling water to formula has nothing to do with sterilizing bottles.

If the true be told, if it was a toss up between making formula properly and sterilizing bottles I know which one I would give up.