question about baby formula

onlyroz

Well I used bog-standard Cow and Gate, and I always made it with cold water and heated it up in the microwave. I've no idea what the recommended method is these days but I'd suggest following the advice on the tin. However, I've never known it to split, no matter what the temperature, so if you're concerned I'd suggest taking it back to the shop and asking them.

an9i77

adamantine wrote: »

i always made the bottles up with freshly boiled water then shook each bottle till my arm was about to fall off then did the same again while i was waiting for the kettle to boil to heat them up then another few shakes to make sure it was the same temp throughout.

always found the cooler the water the harder it was to mix. i was a bad mummy though and made up a days worth of feeds which i stored in the fridge whereas you are now meant to make each feed at a time.

Does anyone actually make up a fresh bottle every time, using boiling water and waiting for it to cool, even at 3 in the morning with a screaming babba? I make up a day's worth at a time and store in fridge too, never had any probs that way

Gillyx

The new advice is to make bottles up as and when needed, as making them up in advance can cause the bacteria to breed again.

Most people I know who have had babies recently either, make up the bottles with slightly cooled boiling water, keep the milk in the little storage containers? and add into the bottle when needed and heat up.

Or make up the bottles with slightly cooled water, but leaving an ounce or two out, then add the milk and the extra ounce/2 ounce from the kettle when needed.

Hope that helps x

onlyroz

Gillyx wrote: »

Most people I know who have had babies recently either, make up the bottles with slightly cooled boiling water, keep the milk in the little storage containers? and add into the bottle when needed and heat up.

Yes, that's what I did - I pre-prepped the bottles with the boiled water, and then added the formula and heated up when needed. I never really had to deal with prepping bottles in the middle of the night though, because I breast-fed initially.

I imagine if you were bottle-feeding from birth then it would be wise to do everything possible to eliminate bacteria etc - however, for older babies it's probably not so critical.

Gillyx

onlyroz wrote: »

Yes, that's what I did - I pre-prepped the bottles with the boiled water, and then added the formula and heated up when needed. I never really had to deal with prepping bottles in the middle of the night though, because I breast-fed initially.

I imagine if you were bottle-feeding from birth then it would be wise to do everything possible to eliminate bacteria etc - however, for older babies it's probably not so critical.

I'm hoping to breast feed initially too but I'd agree on the from birth thing.

It probably is a bit of a faff rather than having them all in the fridge ready, but better safe than sorry.

heretolearn_2

Why are you using a formula now (presumably you bf until recently?). Why not just start using normal milk? A 10 month old should be drinking normal milk out of a cup, not having bottles of formula. Search on here - there was a thread recently from someone asking if those follow on milks were just a marketing rip off she'd fallen for, and the unanimous answer was YES!

Gillyx

I thought it was 12 months for cows milk? May be wrong though

skintchick

I can;t answer about the splitting but here is the advice on safe making-up of forumlas

http://www.nhs.uk/Planners/birthtofive/Pages/making-up-formula.aspx

It isn;t sterile and can contain bacteria so it is vital you make it with water that is 70 degrees c or above and then cool it down for your baby to drink. It is not safe to make feeds with cold water, or to make them with hot then cool them to be reheated. They must be made individually for baby at the time of each feed, and cooled to an appropriate drinking temperature.

merlot123

an9i77 wrote: »

Does anyone actually make up a fresh bottle every time, using boiling water and waiting for it to cool, even at 3 in the morning with a screaming babba? I make up a day's worth at a time and store in fridge too, never had any probs that way

I always made a days feed in advance, and stored in the fridge, never used a bottle steriliser either, shoved them in dishwasher. Both of my children slept in own rooms from newborn as well. Thank the lord I'm not having anymore children, I couldn't cope with all the "new" advice given to new mothers, it's a hard enough job as it is with a newborn, never mind having to make up a feed at 3am with a screaming baby in arms, and baby waking the whole house up.

adamantine

an9i77 wrote: »

Does anyone actually make up a fresh bottle every time, using boiling water and waiting for it to cool, even at 3 in the morning with a screaming babba? I make up a day's worth at a time and store in fridge too, never had any probs that way

ive met a few people who have. insanity if you ask me! most put the bottles with the water in the fridge then add the powder when they need it and heat it up. added from a special little bottle made to store the powder of course. waste of time and money buying this wee jar that has no other use than for a few months to carry around powder!