Keeping formula in the fridge

[bobble53]

Hello. Is it possible to make bottles of formula up and keep them in the fridge and use a bottle warmer to reheat Before feeding baby?

We have a perfect prep machine but it often overflows and my baby has been taken ill with an infection. It may be totally unrelated but baby is only 5 weeks and I’m trying to eliminate any causes and after reading about perfect prep machines, my mind is torn. Just wondering another quick way to feed baby a bottle.

Thank you x

Thank you!

Ive always done it, DS is fine and doing it again with DD. I let them cook before putting them in the fridge and make about 3 up at a time so theyre used within 12 hours-ish. Its fine IMO

Yes that's perfectly fine. Hope your baby is better soon

Yes it's fine alrho don't tell HV as they will tell you not to.

Why is it over flowing on a prep machine? Is there an issue with The machine

@Sleepycat91 thank you - how long do you leave them to cool beforehand?

I wouldn’t take any short cuts while your baby has an infection because formula contains bacteria (which is why it needs boiling water to sterilize it). If you’re really struggling just get pre-made bottles until your son feels better?

@ChocolateCoins19 we aren’t sure - it sometimes just won’t stop so formula is too diluted and we have to pour it down the sink. I’ve tried googling it but not found an answer and then I’ve come across lots of articles saying they’re not safe. With a baby wired up in hospital I’m trying to think of absolutely anything that can prevent this again!

@June705 thank you

@GrumpyHoonMain we are making bottles up in hospital and he is absolutely fine and cooling down with the ice machine but don’t have that luxury at home unfortunately.

I did this with my DTs when they were older, purely because we were terrified and pfb with them. Once we got in the rhythm we realised we were being daft! If we had more and bottle fed I’d do it again straight away.

We used to make them with freshly boiled water and put them straight in the fridge when made, and then put them in a bowl of boiling water to warm them up. Eventually learnt how high the water had to go up the side of the bottle to warm up in the time it took to change their bums so it was at perfect temp for them.

I mean buy pre-made formula. You can get it at most supermarkets now.

I hope your baby gets better soon x

For all three of my DC I have always made bottles in advance and stored them in the fridge. My youngest is a toddler and still has her formula. None of mine have ever been ill due to the way I have prepared or stored formula.

I will point out that it is not the recommended way of doing things these days, but it is so much easier. Some people makes formula up on demand by adding cooled boiled water to the powder mix, however you must have first mixed it with water the has been boiled and left no longer than 30 minutes before using. I was always worried I’d get that wrong and that it wouldn’t be hot enough to kill the bacteria so I always made mine with boiled water and then cooled and stored in the fridge.

We used to make them with freshly boiled water and put them straight in the fridge when made,

This is one of the reasons the guidelines changed.

Make the bottle as per instructions, rapid cool and put in fridge. Warm in a jug of boiled water when needed. We used to make batches of 6 and it was the norm. Too many people either doing as a pp did and placing boiling hot bottles in the fridge or leaving them out on the side to cool for hours before refrigeration was what changed the rules. If you do it safely and quickly there really is no issue.

Thanks everyone. Is it best to make the bottle and put into the fridge straight away or to let the bottle cool before putting in the fridge?

@JohnVirgo answered my last question - thank you :)

@MuchTooTired thank you x

Hi op, I’d suggest contacting tommee tippee about the machine aswell. You can do it via Facebook messenger so can send a video of what’s happening as there’s definitely a fault with your machine

We used to put them in a bowl or a pot in the sink under cold running water. It took a couple of minutes (occasional shake midway) to cool ready from the fridge.

Yes, it's fine.

1. Sterilised bottles
2. Cool rapidly in cold water before putting in the fridge

Protip.
Put number of scoops of powder in the bottle, then put it on kitchen scales and tare/zero it, then weigh in the water. 1g water = 1ml. Much easier to weigh it in, much more precise, and mixes better.

Stand bottles in the sink in cold water up to the level of the milk. Set a timer for 15 mins, that should do it. They should be cool before they go in the fridge.

Thanks everybody - sounds easier than a perfect prep machine to me this way anyway! Definitely doing it once we get home. Thank you.

As long as you follow certain rules it's fine.

-Don't mix powder with water under 60°C
-Sterilised bottles of you're storing milk for more than 2 hours
-Cool milk quickly once made up
-Discard unused milk within 24 hours.

Baby was in HDU. Formula was carefully pre-made, I asked their procedures. That's where the weighing in the water comes from (it's so much easier)

We did this and DD never had any issues. She never got any tummy bugs until she started nursery at 9m so doubt related. At nursery they make each formula bottle up just before that feed is due and cool them before they give to the baby. I found that was not practical for me at home alone with a screaming baby so we made the next day's feeds up the night before and left in fridge and slightly warmed each feed before we gave it to her. Couldn't afford to solely use premade but we did often if out and about for the odd bottle here and there.

@bobble53 did you ever get to the bottom of you little ones infection? I also stopped using the pre prep machine for the same reason x