Perfect Prep Machine

[Marshmallow1992]

I’m 29 weeks so starting to really think about routines etc. I will not be breastfeeding at all and wanted advice from any mums out there on the best way to make up formula. I know you aren’t meant to make bottles and leave in the fridge so is the perfect prep machine easier for making bottles then? Especially thinking for those night feeds early on. I’m worried about the cleanliness of the perfect prep machine and mould etc? My midwife told me to steer clear of it as it’s not safe but I’ve seen so many mums use them so really wanted to know from mums who formula fed the easiest way to make bottles and get into a routine. Thanks.

@Curtainly you are incorrect. TT say to add the powder after the hotshot.

I've just watched their own video on their website and read the instruction manual to confirm this.

www.tommeetippee.co.uk/product-support/perfect-prep-machine

We tried the perfect prep machine, however my son had really bad wind & colic, & we were told that the prep machine would make that worse because of all the bubbles it creates, whether that's true or not I do not know, but we stopped using it after 3 weeks.
We used the following method to make up bottles & we still use this now. We use part boiling water & part cook boiled water. So
If we are making a 5oz bottle, I would add 2oz boiling water, add the formula & then from a separate bottle that has previously had boiled water added & is now cooled down, add the 3oz from this. It sounds more complicated then it is & literally takes seconds.

@Gileadisreal. Could also be because mothercare went into administration.

@Marshmallow1992 my water stays pretty much warm from 9 until around 6. But I have to refill at around 4 cause of how much dd drinks. The reason I started this way was due to the machine starting at 4oz and dd was on 10z to start with

I love my perfect prep machine! That saying if you live in a hard water area, I feel that it is hard maintenance with cleaning and descaling but the pros definitely outweigh the cons!

Mine literally says on the screen to add the powder first, and in the instructions, online guides and everywhere else. Perhaps the advice on the original machine differs.

@ThisMustBeMyDream the digital display on mine tells me powder first. It is step by step

I love it when people ask for advice on formula feeding and you get the 'helpful' poster who just can't keep their beak out asking why the OP doesn't just breastfeed! Can't you pop on to one of the billion threads about breastfeeding to chat about that and leave us to it?

When I had my daughter 7 years ago the midwives’ recommendation was to make your day’s worth of bottles in advance, let them cool and then store them on the top shelf of the fridge and use over the next 24 hours as required. I used to make 8 bottles and then microwave them. Always fine!
This time I have bought a prep machine and am looking forward to using it.

I think people forget that breasts aren’t sterile 🤨

We made them by adding boiled water to a bottle, adding powder the topping with previous boiled cooked water (measured separately) can’t see that a pp machine would do it any quicker.

Oh and @stucknoue doff

@curtainly I wonder if the perfect prep and day and night differ. Interestingly the youtube video you posted is Jan 18. This one supersedes it as April 18 for the perfect prep. It shows hot shot first, powder next.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=c-5HAUifQ7w

I had one it was fine. There was never an issue with "mouldy tubes" it was carbon and due to people using the wrong filters. If you clean it properly it wont go mouldy.

They arent reccomended but nor is anything thats not breastfeeding and personally i took the minuscule risk of the hot shot not killing 100% of bacteria in the milk over the massive risk of having an incredibly stressed screaming baby who was waiting 40+ mins for every feed.

I had a perfect prep machine and it was the best thing I bought. Ours never got mould in it, if you change the filter when it tells you to it filters stuff out of the water anyway, I'd defo recommend one xx

Mould isn't the issue. The refusal to share research to show the hot shot is effective at killing the bacteria is the issue.
Please do read the link to first steps nutrition I posted last night which explains this better.

I don't know, but the machine literally says on the screen to put the powder in first as you use it. If the 'issue' is solely with the temperature, we measured it several times and it was hot enough; I would think it was probably more accurate than someone settling an alarm with a small baby for 30 mins after the kettle has boiled to ensure the water isn't too hot, but hot enough to add to the formula and having to add it within a similarly small timeframe. It doesn't need research, the science says it's needs to be 70 degrees to kill bacteria, but not much hotter as to not kill the carbs, measuring the temp surely proves this as much as it does taking the temp of cooled boiled water from the kettle? I don't use it anymore as DS is on milk and I'm not having anymore so it doesn't really bother me, but the argument against is that the conditions may not yield a perfect temperature; neither does someone using cooled boiled water which relies on a theoretical timescale that is correct in most cases.

Also they know people are going to use them, why not advise to put the powder in first? It's like co-sleeping, not recommended, but as people sometimes have no choice it's better to publish guidelines to make it safer. Health professionals attitudes to formula feeding are disgusting in my opinion, so I'm not surprised a factsheet with no actual evidence is used to train them.

You can pre measure your formula amount into the bottle and make up a bottle in about 40 seconds with the machine. We used ours everyday for a year, never got mouldy, beeped when the filter needed changing and was a lifesaver.

Curtainly the guidelines don't state it should be cooled to 70 degrees. The NHS start4life Unicef leaflet states "It is vwst to use drinking water from the tap that has been freshly boiled (and cooled slightly to 70 degrees or above) to make up a feed.

This is the only advice that should be followed as it is is the official advice from the NHS and is fully researched.

Additionally, 1litre in the kettle cools down at approximately 1 degree per minute. If you pour it straight in to a bottle the volume is less and cools down at a faster rate.

You shouldn't be needing to wait 30 minutes to make a feed. It should take around 5 minutes, then a few more to cool it down in iced water.

@Marshmallow1992

It’s your call ... my son is 11 months and not been ill with his.

The point of adding the hot water to formula is to Kill the bacteria in the formula as it’s not
Sterile but the longer it is not used the more that grows. Saying that I grew up on this method and didn’t die 🤷‍♀️

I clean my machine two weekly and use filtered water ... and never been ill, if I go
Away and don’t use it for a week or
So complete clean and brand new filter is done.

My friend uses one too ... her son did get ill once as she didn’t realise she needed to
Clean it ... so user error he hasn’t been ill since using it correctly

The health visitors locally neither recommended or stoped us as there was no information around them at the time

HCP's can and do give advice on correct safe sleeping. The basis (formally ISIS) website is what they use to provide evidenced based research on how to co-sleep safely.

As for why not advising to put the powder in first - I'm sure they would if TT would provide the research so they could give that advice.

then a few more to cool it down in iced water

I personally found it took much longer than a few minutes because most people don't have enough ice hanging round for say 6 bottles a day.

It’s the best thing ever. Just keep it clean. Both my midwives have raved about it!

When I bottlefed one of mine, I bought ice packs so there was always plenty of ice avaliable. I would imagine reusable ice packs to be the norm for most wanting to cool bottles quickly.

I do not know one single other person organised enough to do this. I barely functioned with a newborn and tbh making your own life easier is the best thing you can do at that stage!