So, is a perfect prep safe or not ?

[thunderonlyhappenswhenits]

When I had my ds 8 years ago we just used the kettle and cooked the bottle down in a bowl of cold water, seemed to do the trick for us. But I'm worrying about night feeds so was looking into a perfect prep or a formula kettle and can't really decide what's best.

The formula kettle boils and then keeps the water at 70degrees - is 70 degrees hot enough to kill the bacteria in formula ?

The perfect prep I've seen the nhs say that there isn't enough of a hot shot to kill the bacteria in the powder. So how is it legally able to be sold if it isn't 'safe'?

Sorry but it's all a minefield to me now ! I'm worried about getting everything right and don't want to give the baby a bad tummy either !

Have you seen how the NHS recommend you make formula? Boil the kettle, wake 30 minutes. Make the bottle. Cool it down, feed your baby. So from when your baby signals they want a bottle you're talking another 45 minutes which is a non starter. They don't recommend prep machines. They don't recommend making them up in advance. I'm all for following their advice and guidance but whoever made up the rules about making baby formula need their heads testing.

And I can bet my life whoever decided it has never had a baby.

@mummyh2016 totally agree! I have an extremely needy DD who thinks even waiting for the time it takes me to run downstairs and warm a bottle for 30 seconds is too long 😂 I'd be having the neighbours calling 999 thinking we'd left her alone if I followed NHS advice!

I tested the temperature of the hot shot on my perfect prep with a meat thermometer and it was well over 70 degrees, something like 78.

Didn’t use it when my babies were tiny but that’s because the smallest bottle it makes is 4 ounces. Used ready made milk in the microwave instead!

When I go out I do a portable version of the PP, using the same ratios for the hot and cold water that it uses:
Cooled previously boiled water measured out in a bottle with a lid
A tommee tippee powder container inside a sterilised bottle with a teat
A small flask full of recently boiled water (it’s a good flask and I don’t want it too hot)
Then put the hot water in bottle, add powder, shake, then top up with the cool water. Your baby will get used to nice warm milk from the PP machine so probably won’t be happy with cold milk from a ready bottle or carton!

We use one. When I was sobbing about my breastfeeding “journey” coming to an end before it really began, my MH midwife told me (off the record) to get one.

@thunderonlyhappenswhenits I used one with my first, had one left over in fact but do not use it. So unreliable if you ask for a 5oz bottle you get 6oz, the same as you do if you press the 6oz bottle.

In the Facebook baby groups I’m on a lot of us do the same, have a flask of cooled boiled water and use the kettle, leave for a while, add formula and boiled water then top up with cool. It’s nice and easy, can be used the same out and about and you can control the temperature a bit better.

There's loads of things sold for babies that are unsafe. Some more than others (padded cot bumpers for example).

I loved mine so much I bought a second one from facebook marketplace to keep upstairs for night feeds. Always fresh filters and cleaned regularly. I think they're great.

I thought this was the case with my first PP machine, but it was actually the bottles. I checked with a jug and the measurement scales weren’t quite the same on each (all
proper tommee tippee bottles). Maybe because some had been through the dishwasher? Anyway, this makes the flask method less accurate.

Also, tommee tippee state on their own website that the hot and cold shots have a 5% tolerance either way on accuracy and that this is fine. So one 100ml bottle could be 95ml and the next 105ml.

Can I just jump on this to ask if people
Used the prep machine from newborn please??

You can find a review of the safety of the perfect prep on the ‘first steps infant nutrition’ website. It’s a charity that aims to give unbiased advice about formula feeding. Research done by the company that made the product isn’t very reliable.

We had one for DS1 and will be using it again for DS2 when he arrives!

I'm not convinced that the whole 70 degrees thing is the be all and end all, we ended up using formula that gave instructions not to make it with hot water as it would go lumpy! So how come that formula was ok (aptamil anti reflux) but normal aptamil needs to be added to hot water to kill bacteria?!

I also think the mould was usually found when people swapped out the expensive tommee tippee filters for Brita water filters as they were cheaper. There's no mould in our machine, I've checked.

We used it in the house but had to bring hot water in a flask for out and about so have done it both ways. Perfect Prep every time!

The NHS had requested the findings and safety reports from perfect prep machine which they never supplied. Therefore NHS does not recommend it as they don't have the safety data to back it up. I work in NHS (different area), I did use prep machine for mine aged 6months plus when I moved from breast feeding. I don't think anyone can tell you if it is totally safe as the information has never been released. However, many many babies have been fed via it by now and no massive reports of sick babies from it. I think it comes down to personal choice.

Mine was a godsend with my twins

I have used pp with my dd and had no issues op she is quite impatient when she decides she's hungry so definitely has been a life saver for us lol

This is what I did (I mix fed) and I stored the boiled cooled water in cheap baby bottles in the fridge.
I chilled down a whole kettle full every morning so I always had more than I needed.

We used perfect prep work both of ours, will be for this one too! And my SIL used it for both of their. If you clean it properly and change the filters when needed (around every 3 months) then it's absolutely fine! And means you don't have a screaming baby while you mess around with a kettle and then cooling 🤷‍♀️

It’s an absolute godsend, we constantly praise it. Our son goes unpredictably from fine to starving in 3 seconds, he’d be so distressed if he had to wait for the usual method - plus he’s so fussy about it being the right temperature. When I’m taking bottles out and about I just make up whole bottles with boiling water and make sure he’s well fed right before we leave, by the time he’s next hungry the boiled water bottles in the changing bag are usually at the perfect temperature.

Lots of countries don’t even recommend the use hot water to make bottles, notably the US and Australia but also other European countries. The whole hot water must be added to the powder to kill any potential bugs goes way above and beyond most country’s advice, where you would add the formula powder to already cooled boiled water, so the perfect prep and it’s 70 degree shot was more than enough for me. Also the whole mould thing was only when people weren’t cleaning it properly and/or using knock off filters designed for water jugs. Feed times aren’t always predictable with a newborn so unless you want them screaming at you for 30 minutes whilst you faff with the kettle, it’s either make them up in advance fridge and reheat, use only ready made or succumb to the perfect prep.

I had one. It was fine

Alternatively you do this:

Boil water in a kettle. Let it cool and keep
In fridge

When making the formula up, cover the powder with boiling water, shake up.
Top up with cold from fridge

Voila! Sterilised bottle at
Drinkable temp

Used one for both of my children, even totally fine for us and so useful!! Xx

@TeethingBabyHelp I think the smallest bottle a prep makes is 4oz so you might waste formula for a while with a newborn until they are having 4oz+ bottles

I have one and it's been a game changer for night feeds. So quick and easy. As long as you change the filter and run a cleaning cycle now and then I don't see what the issue is. Worth noting that the smallest size bottle it makes it a 4oz so maybe not suitable for a newborn unless you're willing to waste some!

The one thing I don't get is that you could essentially do the process yourself using a kettle and cold filtered water. It literally is a shot of hot water, add formula, then add cold water. Yeah the machine measures it all out and does it for you but at £100 a pop I think I'd be figuring out a way to do it myself. Luckily I got my prep machine second hand from family for £20. I wouldn't have paid full price for one.