Prepping bottles for night feeds

[Rcg2022]

Hi all,

I'm currently 34w with my first baby and would like some advice with regards to night feeds. I know it's not recommended to pre make your bottles or even pre boil the water and add formula when it's cooled but this is what I was hoping to do to make life slightly easier Has anyone ever had any issues with doing this? Most mums I know have done this and babies been fine, but just wondering whether the formula you use matters with regards to it being safe. Please no comments about breast feeding, I also have a pump and am going to try that I'm just a nervous mama to be looking for some advice for if it doesn't work out. Thank you

If I was you I would use the premade bottles for the night feeds. With my last DS, he was on comfort formula which isnt available in premade bottles so I used to preboil some water and keep in a flask, put that in the bottle first then add the formula so it would sterilise it and then add my cool boiled water. If DS was on 6 ounces for example I would add 2 ounces of boiling water, then formula, the 4 ounces of cool boiled water, basically mimicking my perfect prep machine.

Currently pregnant with no3 and will be using premade bottles for night feeds or buying a second perfect prep for upstairs ! I know the premade bottles are more expensive but worth it in my opinion with a screaming hungry baby in the middle of the night

I'm planning on combination feeding this time (exclusively breastfeeding was exhausting and difficult for me) and I'm going to get a tommee Tippee perfect prep machine which does it all for you!
My friend also fills up two chilly bottles before bed - 1 with boiling water and one with boiled cool water and she puts formula in the bottle, tips in 1/3 full of boiling water (to kill off bacteria) then tops up with the cooled boiled water from the other bottle.

I have formula fed baby twins. In the early days they had such small feeds that I used the ready made bottles. As they got bigger and drank more, we prepped and cooled bottles for the night feeds in advance and kept them in a portable fridge in their bedroom. We also have a couple of sterilised bottles and some ready made available if they have a hungry night.
We’ve never had any problems doing it this way. You could also go down the prep machine route.

The ready made are amazing.

Perfect prep machine! Worth every penny, just take it upstairs with you at night - and voila instant milk.

I made up the bottles before bed, cooled them and put them in the fridge.
Then in the middle of the night, I put the bottle in a jug of hot water to warm it before feeding baby :)

Ready made formula. Luckily mine would accept at room temp.

@GemmaRuby the nhs advises against them, they aren’t considered to be safe as the hotshot isn’t enough to kill all the bacteria In the powdered formula. They’ve also been know to harbour bacteria even after a through clean. Some babies have got really poorly being fed with milk prepped with them, think a few caught E. coli.

Pre made formula or the bottle made in advance is far safer xxx

When I had my first 24 years ago you would make up the next days feeds the night before and store 8 bottles in the fridge and heat them up with a jug of water. When I had my next one it had all changed and much more confusing so I bought a perfect prep. It was a lifesaver for us, but I also did prepare some bottles in advance like years before.

There was a scare in France I think it was which is why they now say to dissolve the formula in hot water and then cool down but that's easier said than done when you have a screaming baby at 3am.

'the nhs advises against them, they aren’t considered to be safe as the hotshot isn’t enough to kill all the bacteria In the powdered formula.'

This is incorrect as the hotshot is over 70c so is enough to kill the bacteria in the powder. The reason the NHS doesn't advocate them is that the water that tops up the hotshot isn't preboiled water. I suppose suppose could use prevailed cooled water in the machine to solve that'll issue. I personally weighed up risk and decided it was safe to use from birth for dc2 with regular water.

you could use preboiled *

@Blackmagicqueen

'the nhs advises against them, they aren’t considered to be safe as the hotshot isn’t enough to kill all the bacteria In the powdered formula.'

This is incorrect as the hotshot is over 70c so is enough to kill the bacteria in the powder. The reason the NHS doesn't advocate them is that the water that tops up the hotshot isn't preboiled water. I suppose suppose could use prevailed cooled water in the machine to solve that'll issue. I personally weighed up risk and decided it was safe to use from birth for dc2 with regular water.

I used preboiled cooled water in mine. I think that's what the instructions said at the time.

I only use pre made in an emergency because it’s a bit shit environmentally plus it’s not very cost effective.

I pre load bottles with the powder, then use a thermos flask to make up in the bedroom before they’re needed because DS starts flopping about like a salmon about ten min before.l he’s actually awake. Cool by immersing in Pyrex jug of water.

Or pre make and put in fridge. Warm in Tommy tippee thing in kitchen, was about £14.

It’s perfectly ok to give milk at room temperature though, and even from the fridge still chilled if they will take it.

@Blackmagicqueen

'the nhs advises against them, they aren’t considered to be safe as the hotshot isn’t enough to kill all the bacteria In the powdered formula.'

This is incorrect as the hotshot is over 70c so is enough to kill the bacteria in the powder. The reason the NHS doesn't advocate them is that the water that tops up the hotshot isn't preboiled water. I suppose suppose could use prevailed cooled water in the machine to solve that'll issue. I personally weighed up risk and decided it was safe to use from birth for dc2 with regular water.

@Blackmagicqueen

Please see below for what the nhs says;

‘ Perfect Prep machines
Some people use ‘Perfect Prep’ machines to make up formula feeds. We strongly advise you against using these machines because they deliver a small volume (‘shot’) of very hot water and then add cool water to make up the rest of the feed. This is not a sufficient temperature to kill the bacteria in formula milk and your baby may become unwell’

www.nnuh.nhs.uk/publication/download/formula-feeding-top-tips-for-parents-v3/

So at night we pre make them and keep them in tommee tippee bags to keep them warm.

It goes like this:
Boil kettle> make bottle with 100 degree water> immediately put in insulated bag > wrapped in blanket > slow decrease in temp over next 4 hours so when the next feed is due we just open bag and it’s ready to go, literally no waiting.

In the day we pre make them and just bash them in the micro until warm enough and shake vigorously to distribute the hotspots

Another vote for the perfect prep machine. Takes less than 2 minutes. Hands down this is my number 1 thing I tell every new parent to get. Just clean and descale regularly. My baby has been using it since birth and we’ve had no problems.

Perfect prep was the best money we ever spent, honestly!

[quote Kanfuzed123]@GemmaRuby the nhs advises against them, they aren’t considered to be safe as the hotshot isn’t enough to kill all the bacteria In the powdered formula. They’ve also been know to harbour bacteria even after a through clean. Some babies have got really poorly being fed with milk prepped with them, think a few caught E. coli.

Pre made formula or the bottle made in advance is far safer xxx[/quote]
Exactly, I was just gonna say this. Its mainly Cronobacter though.

The instructions are there for a reason not to pre make bottles .....

I have a perfect prep for my twins...tommee tippee is a massive company so do you not think they went through a lot of testing before being allowed to bring that machine to the market....if there was any hint it was making babies sick it would have been pulled a long time ago. If you follow the instructions and keep the machine clean and change filter regularly and descale and use sterilised bottles there should be no risk of ecoli.

It's been 9 years since I had to do this, but I would make up 12 hours' worth of bottles, speed cool and store in back of fridge. Then heat up as required - 30secs in microwave or something. It was within guidelines back then.

It was such a non-issue I remember being really surprised that people actually spent money on a machine to heat up milk.

Thank you for the tips everyone

@Kanfuzed123 as another pp said:

' I have a perfect prep for my twins...tommee tippee is a massive company so do you not think they went through a lot of testing before being allowed to bring that machine to the market....if there was any hint it was making babies sick it would have been pulled a long time ago. If you follow the instructions and keep the machine clean and change filter regularly and descale and use sterilised bottles there should be no risk of ecoli.'

As with anything you decide to take which ever risks how ever tiny for your own child depending on your circumstances.

[quote Blackmagicqueen]@Kanfuzed123 as another pp said:

' I have a perfect prep for my twins...tommee tippee is a massive company so do you not think they went through a lot of testing before being allowed to bring that machine to the market....if there was any hint it was making babies sick it would have been pulled a long time ago. If you follow the instructions and keep the machine clean and change filter regularly and descale and use sterilised bottles there should be no risk of ecoli.'[/quote]
With all due respect @Blackmagicqueen that’s called survivors bias. There are lots of unsafe things on the market and due to clever marketing there are parents that get those products. Lots of parents say oh I used cot bumpers and my child is fine, or I co- slept on the sofa with mine and they’re fine, but we know those things are dangerous. Tommee tippee have tested their machine and promise it’s safe but they won’t make their test results public. That’s suspect, they also have a vested interest to make the product look safe in order to sell it. What is needed is independent studies. The nhs is an impartial service with no axe to grind so it’s really them we should default to not a huge corporation that want us to buy and the nhs advise against their use stating the reasons I’ve posted above.

It’s far safer to make up a feed in advance, again per the nhs website

‘ If it is not possible to follow the advice above, or if you need to transport a feed (for example, to a nursery), prepare the feed at home, cool under a running tap or in a bowl of cold water, and cool it for at least 1 hour in the back of the fridge.

Take it out of the fridge just before you leave and carry it in a cool bag with an ice pack, and use it within 4 hours. If you do not have an ice pack, or access to a fridge, the made-up infant formula must be used within 2 hours.

If made-up formula is stored:

in a fridge – use within 24 hours
in a cool bag with an ice pack – use within 4 hours
at room temperature – use within 2 hours’

www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/breastfeeding-and-bottle-feeding/bottle-feeding/formula-milk-questions/

I used a perfect prep machine with my first which was good for the night feeds as they make up quickly but I found the cleaning of it an extra hassle after a while so stopped using it when he started feeding less in the night.

My 2nd baby is now 3 months and for his night feeds I just pre make up a bottle before I go to bed, leave it in the back of the fridge and warm it up if he wakes for one. No issues at all.