Bottle warmer or perfect prep machine?

[StyleOfTheTimes]

I’m hopefully going to breastfeed but if that doesn’t happen for whatever reason I’d like a back up plan. I’ve heard about the perfect prep machine but just wondering if it’s worth it or if a bottle warmer is just as good? All my friends have said it’s a ballache waiting for the kettle to heat and cool down enough when you’ve got a baby screaming their lungs out for food in the early hours! Just wondered if anyone had any experience with either?

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MNHQ

Perfect prep machines are great. If out and about we replicated it with 2 flasks of water - one boiled and cooled, one just boiled before going into the flask. Shot of the boiled one into a bottle, mixed with formula and topped up with the cooled boiled.

Flasks may be a cheaper/more flexible option for you if you are planning on trying to breastfeed? Perfect prep was great in the house but I formula fed from the start.

I also second that Perfect prep machine wasn't around when I had my first DD in 2012 or had just come out with second DD I couldn't have lived without it! It was amazing!xx

I love my Perfect Prep machine and will be using it again when DD2 arrives!

Plastic jug and a kettle.

Don't know what the perfect prep machine is but I did same as december212 with flask of hot water and sterilised jug for cooled boiled water beside the cot at night. Was so fast and easy.

I used to make them up in batches and keep in fridge until needed and then just warm up in a bottle warmer, didn't take long. Doesn't anyone do that anymore??

I do that @OlderThanAverageForMN for my 11 day old. I think the perfect prep machines are a waste of £100 in my opinion and thats without the replacement filter costs. Each to there own but I don't find making the bottles up tasking at all!

Half and half just-boiled water and cooled boiled water (fridge temperature, kept in a sterilised bottle in the fridge).
The formula needs to go in the just-boiled water, and be mixed, before the cold water is added.

If you’re planning on breastfeeding then I wouldn’t invest in any significant bottle feeding equipment like the perfect prep until you know you want it, or you could just end up wasting your money. If you need formula, you can make it up using hot and cold water as other posters have described, or use ready made bottles as an interim measure. Don’t worry at this point about the easiest way to give formula - focus on your main aim of breastfeeding.

You aren’t supposed to make bottles up in advance and store in the fridge. I know people do but they tend to advise against that now.

I got my pp machine on sale around £65 and it is bloody brilliant. So so easy!

I love the Perfect Prep machine!

I had 2 under 1 and the perfect prep was the best money I ever spent.

Don’t understand the logic in a ’backup plan’ just in case bf doesn’t work.. it’s very rare for you to be physically unable to breastfeed, what makes you think you’d be the 0.1% that cant? Also shops are open pretty much 24/7 and amazon has next day delivery if you found you didn’t like breastfeeding!

A friend of mine bought all the things ‘just In case’ and found breastfeeding so easy it was a waste of money
If you want to though that’s fine, just it’s not necessary if you plan to bf

We've just bought the perfect prep night and day - it's £90 at the moment in the sales. I plan to breast feed but we thought we'd get it just in case we needed it. I have also bought the TT bottle/sachet warmer incase I express #firstbabyoverbuying

@Strawberryfield1 0.1%? Maybe, physically (would like to see the evidence), but so many more than that can't breastfeed despite desperately wanting to because they don't produce enough milk for the baby/the baby isn't feeding efficiently enough to get enough milk/the baby won't latch at all/the baby latches so badly it's incredibly painful/infections/birth complications meaning delayed first feed which can screw things up, to name a few. It's not like it's some incredibly rare occurrence. I went in 100% sure I would breastfeed and completely unprepared for formula, which I was instructed to under no uncertain terms when my baby struggled to feed and I produced nothing when I expressed and my baby went from normal to dangerously dehydrated, jaundiced and limp very, very quickly. I kept trying everything I could possibly think of, countless professionals, expressing products, latching techniques and tortured myself over it for over two months before admitting defeat. Please don't assume breastfeeding is possible for 99.9% of mums, because it makes many of us who tried and failed feel like shit.

Back to the OP - if you already have a flask in the house, you can easily emulate the PP by having a flask of boiled and still hot water, a sterilised bottle of cooled boiled water, and formula powder. Hot water first, mix in powder (the hot kills the bacteria), add cooled water to the relevant level (slightly above the marker since you've already added the powder). PM me if you want to try this and I can let you know my routines/things I found handy/mistakes I made!

sueshoes I didn't mean to make you or anyone feel like shit, I didn't mean to offend anyone. I am aware some women have difficulties of course, but my point was it isn't as prevalent as we think. I just think if op plans to breast feed it's not necessary to buy back up stuff because it could work and it would be a waste of money.. that's literally all I meant and if she isn't getting on with it most shops are open or like I said next day delivery so she could easily get hold of something.

I agree that having a back up plan is not necessary.

If you can’t for whatever reason, supermarkets are 24/7 and there is Amazon. It’s really not necessary.

BF is relentless at first and everyone has those moments where they think they surely can’t be doing it right because the baby is hungry YET AGAIN. If you have a perfect prep in your house and are fully stocked on formula, you will likely just use it.

Agreeing with pp about not buying anything in advance.

I was one of those women who had intended to BF and had to buy all the FF stuff when it didn’t work out.

Honestly, it wasn’t the end of the world. I ordered a perfect prep and a steriliser from amazon (which was cheaper than the local shops anyway) and in the meantime used the little premade bottles while we waited on delivery. It was fine.

I loved our PP machine but it’s a good chunk of money to pay out “just in case”.

PP machine Waste of money - just have two flasks . You make not need anyway. Once babies are older and having solids as well plus crawling around and eating mud, I think the risk of making bottles up in advance and warming in microwave is very low.

Sterilisers are totally unnecessary. Many hospitals don’t even use in their special care baby units and have micro guidelines to support this. If you wash bottles in hot soapy water properly with a bottle brush you don’t need to sterilise. I think because people have always sterilised ( as a hangover form when some people didn’t have proper hot water and used Milton tablets) it is something that new mums are scared not to do.

I'd just buy a few bottle of the pre-made ready to feed formula as an initial back up. I would recommend you have it at home ready just in case as if you live in an area that is anything like mine there always seems to be a shortage of aptimal 1st milk (ready to feed) and often the local supermarket and boots shelves are often empty!

If breastfeeding doesn't work out then use ready to feed in the interim and get a perfect prep from Amazon

If you desperately want a back up plan then buy some readymade formula in pre-sterilised bottles.

If breastfeeding doesn't work for you then get any gadgets you want. Spending £100+ on stuff you may not need or use just seems silly to me.

I would avoid the perfect prep machine, they are not recommended by the nhs. Please google perfect prep and BBC ; once you get past everyone selling one you will see some very concerning information !

My plan for BFing is to have some ready made formula at home in case it doesn't work out. If it doesn't work out, buy everything after.

Both are a waste of money in my opinion. I have an 18 months old and made 6 bottles a day and stuck them in the fridge, then warmed them up in the microwave or s jog of hot water. To go out I would just grab how ever many bottles I needed.
I’ll be doing exactly the same this time!