Making a bottle with a hot water tap

[Journey2022]

Sorry! May seem like a stupid question... I have a hot water tap and no kettle. My tap goes up to 98c.

I understand to make a bottle you need to use boiling water followed by cold water not sure 98c is deemed boiling?

So basically does anyone use a hot water tap to make bottles and is 98c enough to sterlise the milk powder?

Secondly does the cold water shot after the boiling water is added need to be pre boiled then cooled to make it sterilised, or can I use cold tap water or maybe buy a filter and use cold filtered water?

I understand some people also make up bottles in the morning and keep in the fridge and microwaved and shaked well when wanting to use - how long can they be kept for? Is this safe for a newborn?

Sorry I'm pregnant with my first baby, I can't find guides online that are clear and I want to ensure I am prepped!

Thanks!

You're supposed to use freshly boiled water, not water that has been boiled before. I imagine water that is kept at that temp wouldnt be suitable and get a cheap kettle to use just for bottles

It’s been a wee while but I have just googled and NHS guidelines say boil the kettle and leave it to cool for no more than 30mins, so temperature is no lower than 70 degrees. So I think your tap will be fine.
If you google the different formula companies, their guidelines will be online.

Good luck with the pregnancy and your new baby :)

So I never add cold water. The instructions on formula state to boil the water and let it cool for no more than 30 minutes before making up the bottle (I usually wait 15 minutes). I then leave the bottle to cool to appropriate temp for a baby either sitting at room temp or sitting in a jug of cold water until it cools down.

Everyone seems to find their own ways of doing it, but I never felt comfortable deviating too much from the guidance (adding cold water for example).

Lots of people use the Tommy Tippee Perfect Prep which you might want to look into. I was advised by Health Visitor that they don't recommend these but my understanding is that as long as you make sure you're cleaning properly and using the proper Tommy Tippee filters, they are fine.

I also use the ready to feed stuff a lot. It's much more expensive but I find it very handy for night feeds and for when I'm out and about. I never bother with flasks of water etc in those scenarios.

Formula is not actually sterile so bacteria can build up easily if you don't prepare it to the exact instructions on the pack. I think maybe it's worth buying a container of the formula you want to use and follow the exact directions. From my experience it was always fill to your desired level with freshly boiled water and then add a level scoop for every ounce.

Also, please don't ever microwave a bottle of formula. It can create really hot pockets that's potentially dangerous. If you wany to heat a bottle up, sit it in a jug of hot water or buy a bottle warmer.

Most formula is meant to be consumed within 2 hours of being made up, or an hour after your baby starts drinking from it. Plenty of people still make up and store in fridge, but you won't find official guidance on this online as its no longer officially recommended to do it.

Definitely recommend the perfect prep machine. Midwives don't officially recommend as the guidance is from 2016 and the first version had some problems. However the new versions have none of the issues the first one did.
I had one for my baby and it was amazing, total game changer.

I’d recommend the nuby rapid cool flasks, they’re on the expensive side but so worth the money. We use it to make every single one of my babies bottles.

So I'm trying to get my head around the fact that the tommee tippee prep machine uses boiled water followed by a cold shot, yet the guidance says we should only use boiled water and wait for it to cool.

Second with reheating pre made bottles from the fridge surely if they are lightly microwaved then shaken well and tested there wouldn't be hot spots?

I'm sorry I find this such a mind field! 😔 🤯

I have a boiling water tap this time round and I was wondering this. I think the only reason it might not be suitable is because it’s been pre-boiled as the tap obviously keeps it hot for a certain amount of time. It is definitely hot enough to kill any bacteria though so I’d imagine it’s safe enough! Any cooled water added needs to be pre-boiled so if you’re doing it that way you’re best to fill a few bottles of boiling water, let them cool then leave in the fridge to add to your bottles as you need them. You’re not meant to microwave them and I personally wouldn’t pre-make bottles other than if I was nipping out you can make it and keep it for 2 hours. The tommee tippee machine saves a lot of this faff but it’s good to know how to make it with the cooled boiled water so you can take a flask of boiling and bottle of cool to make them when out for over 2 hours

There’s now a nubby rapid cool bottle that you fill with say 5oz of boiling water and take it out with you, you just add the formula to it, close the lid and press the button and it’s ready in 2 minutes so I think I’m going to get that, it wasn’t out when I had my first

Give up on following the guidelines to the letter, it’s literally not possible- feed on demand, but make every bottle fresh from
scratch with freshly boiled water, never mind that the water will take 45 minutes to come down to drinking temp 🙄

Get a perfect prep they are amazing!

@Journey2022 just to say that ther are usually people giving away perfect prep machines in local FB groups or parents networks or charging very little. I asked on our local toddler group WhatsApp and was offered 2 free and 1 for £20 so don't feel you have to buy new if you can't afford it x

@Journey2022 dont know exactly what magic is going on inside the perfect prep machine but in my head it boils and cools it 🤔🤷🏼‍♀️ some people are very against them and I looked into it a lot when I first bought one but it seems as long as you change the filter as soon as it says it needs changed and don’t just ignore it then there’s no issue with mould etc. I bought a second machine for upstairs off of Facebook but I did get my husband to remove the back to check for any mould in the pipes as I saw on Google that can happen but they were perfectly clean. You can run a cleaning cycle a few times.

I now use the microwave for my toddler’s cow’s milk bottle before bed but when he was a baby I would only ever sit it in hot water if I wanted to heat it a bit, I wouldn’t risk using the microwave. When you get confident at making bottles on the go with the boiling water (from a flask), formula measured out in the little box and cooled boiled water in a bottle, you really don’t need to pre-make them. Tommee tippee when at home is a lifesaver and for night feeds I’d 100% pre count the scoops of formula out into the little boxes.. you lose the ability to count when you’re sleep deprived and have a newborn screaming at you so it’s way easier just to tip it in

The Tommee Tippee machine does use the hot shot method and that’s one of the reasons it’s not recommended.

first safest way is make up with one litre of water boiled and cooled for no more than 30 minutes and then cool to appropriate temp and feed

or make up bottles as above, flash cook, store in back of fridge for up to 24 hours. This is second safest way and riskier than above but less risky than playing around with hot shots and all sorts. Personally I fed milk straight from fridge and didn’t faff around with warming it. The less time you store it, the safer it is so making up 8 or 12 hours worth of bottles is safer than 24 hours worth.

Ready made formula is also an option for nights or the early days when babies drink very little.

The WHO guidance sets it all out very plainly including fridge storing. Pre prep style machines weren’t about at the time so are not recommended but not on any solid basis just we don’t know if they’re safe. In theory they should be fine.

A perfect prep machine does all the thinking for you! Fed 2 babies using it and not a single upset tummy between them. I replace the filter and clean it when it tells me it needs done.

My second child also took readymade formula at room temperature if we were away from home which was handy. I've also been known to microwave a bottle of readymade to warm it slightly but I think using your common sense to shake well and triple check the temperature goes a long way.

We use the nuby rapid cool.
Pour the amount of boiling water you need directly into your bottle, pour most of that water into the rapid cool leaving a bit of the boiling water in the bottom (approx 1oz). Turn the rapid cool upside down and press the button, while that cools the water you put your formula into the bottle that has the bit of leftover boiling water in. Give that a swirl, then when the rapid cool is finished you pour the rest of that into your bottle.
It takes around 3 mins for us ti make a bottle at home and when out.

98°C will be fine.

I used to make up 6/8 bottles after bath time with freshly boiled water ( wait 15 mins to pour from kettle ) fill up to however many oz you plan to use, add the corresponding scoops of formula, mix/shake with lid on and then pop them in the ( clean ) sink with cold water for 30 mins then in the fridge at the back ( not in the door ) and heat them with boiled water in a jug as and when. They kept for 24hrs.

As a midwife, this is solid advice👍🏼

I was a young mum 4 years ago, and terrified of not following the guidelines to the letter for fear of being labelled a ‘bad young mum’.

I used to make the bottles up as I went along, waiting exactly 30 minutes after filling the bottle with boiling water, before adding formula and then flash cooling it with cold water for baby (and being paranoid about it being too hot). I used to try and pre-judge when baby would want the bottle, but we ended up with many occasions of a miserable screaming baby wanting a bottle faster than I could make it. I don’t recommend it.

My MIL advised me she used to make up the bottles 24hrs before and refrigerate (for baby born 15 yrs before). I decided to heed her advice, but I never made more than 2 for the fridge (so lasted a few hours).

Honestly, it’s a mind fuck sometimes trying to do the right thing. Just look at all the choices and try the least damaging option- that’s my philosophy for parenting in general now 😅.

It's all blowing my mind too!!!!!
I see a lot of people this those rapid cool flasks but don't quite understand them and they also don't sell in my current country . Might have to ask my mum or a friend from the Uk to post if they are good for our and about.

I didn't realise the formula went into the bottle too

Just get a prep machine, they're brilliant. Ready made is good for the early days when they don't drink much of a bottle.

You’ll get a million different recommendations on here op!

We used pre-made in the early days and then made up 2-3 bottles at a time using boiled water (cooled for 15mins), flash cooled using ice sleeves (like the ones you get for canned drinks) and then popped in the back of the fridge. We either heated them in a jug of hot water or 15secs in the microwave - and a good shake - if DD was screaming. As long as you practice good hand washing and hygiene this method should be fine.

My sister is a midwife and apparently they don’t recommend the PP machine as the hot water shot isn’t big enough to sterilise that amount of powder. Saying that, I know loads of people who used them and their babies were fine (my friend had another one for beside the bed!)

You’ll figure out the best way for you - good luck! X

Hi all thanks for your replies - I am not sure if its made me even more confused as it does feel conflicting and mixed. I've checked who guidelines also which helps! 🤯

I've contacted my hot water tap manufacturer to see what their guidelines say. My gut feeling is that as the water is filtered and boiled over 70c that the hot tap can be used but I shouldn't top up with cold water (like the prep machine) unless possibly if it's cooled boiled and filtered water - maybe if I keep a bottle next to my hot water tap of cooled water. I will check this with my Midwife but it feels early to ask them these questions (I'm 23 weeks) but I want to know what I should buy well beforehand - if I need to.

Someone recommended a second hand prep machine - I have got one on market place for upstairs/night feeds but - wow lots of conflicting info on this too! I will be sure to open it all up and check for mould/descale and clean it through. I've also seen I can used a diluted Milton tablet in one of the cleans for it too (does anyone recommend doing this?). I could also use the prep machine in the day if it's advised not to use my hot water tap.

I think in regards to making bottles up and putting in the fridge, I may feel more comfortable doing this after a couple of months but then again if it's deemed better to do this than the prep machine I'm lost here too! 🤯😆

Thank you for those recommending the pre made milk. I had planned to buy some of these for the hospital (I plan to part breastfeed but understand it doesn't always happen and won't pressure myself if it doesn't, also can take a couple of days to get milk) so I'll have them and see I can store unused pre made formula in the fridge so the large bottles won't get wasted. It may be that these are so easy I use these at night anyway!

I guess my main concern was do I need to go and buy a kettle as I don't own one and I don't own one because I have a boiling tap and didn't want one on my counter 😆😬 but I guess if I had to I would!

I thought hot water taps weren’t recommended as the water is kept at a hot temperature so isn’t freshly boiled. We aren’t allowed to use them in hospital to make up feeds.

Personally with my own I made feeds up then flash cooled them and kept them at the back of the fridge, which isn’t ‘allowed’.