Can someone please explain...

[momofone08]

Powdered formula is good in the fridge for 24 hours. At room temperature formula is good for 2 hours, but if the baby already drank from it the shelf life goes down to one hour because baby introduced bacteria into the milk. The pre-mixed formula is good in the fridge and if left at room temperature also only good for 2 hours.

This is what I use. https://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Powdered-Formula-Dispenser-Colors/dp/B000RFCXIK

You measure the formula you need and put it in the container. The container has several slots so you can make multiple bottles. I put an empty bottle and a water bottle in the diaper bag and mix as I need.

 

[Starry Night]

I think there is some discrepancy about when to mix in the powder. My formula packages say to allow the sterile water to cool before mixing in the powder. So when I go out I take bottles of water with the powder to mix as I need OR I bring a cooler with freezer pack to put in premade bottles. I also have some ready-to-go bottles and don't unseal them until needed. Enfamil even makes little packages of ready-to-go powder. It's a lightweight, little-space way to bring powder along. If you sign up with their website you can get a coupon for a free package (about 16 tubes of powder at 120mL worth each)

I play a little loosey-goosey with some of the rules but I do try to make sure everything is sterile. And yeah, toss the formula if it's been out for more than 1 hour. Sometimes I think all the stringent rules are there to make sure women BF instead. Of course we need to make bottles ahead if we're going out all day.

 

[Rosie06]

I think there is some discrepancy about when to mix in the powder. My formula packages say to allow the sterile water to cool before mixing in the powder. So when I go out I take bottles of water with the powder to mix as I need OR I bring a cooler with freezer pack to put in premade bottles. I also have some ready-to-go bottles and don't unseal them until needed. Enfamil even makes little packages of ready-to-go powder. It's a lightweight, little-space way to bring powder along. If you sign up with their website you can get a coupon for a free package (about 16 tubes of powder at 120mL worth each)

I play a little loosey-goosey with some of the rules but I do try to make sure everything is sterile. And yeah, toss the formula if it's been out for more than 1 hour. Sometimes I think all the stringent rules are there to make sure women BF instead. Of course we need to make bottles ahead if we're going out all day.

i think its an american/uk thing with the formula, in uk i think nearly all fomula needs to be made with water of at least 70degees x

youive proberbly got a point re the breastfeeding! x

 

[jenniferttc1]

I have a container that divides the formula powder and I have filled bottles of water in my bag and I make them as he needs them out.

 

[JAJuly2013]

I just bring a bottle with water in it and the formula with me and mix when lo is ready to eat. The water doesn't stay warm but it doesn't seem to bother my dd. Some babies may not like that though..

 

[Rach79]

I use Hipp, I am in the UK, I make it up with either cooled boiled water or bottled water, never hot water

 

[BabyMamma93]

you have some good advice here, when i was out and used normal c&g milk, i would always take a flask of boiling water, then a baby bottle filled with cooled boiled water, plus then the powder, when little one wanted a bittle say 4oz, i would put 2oz of boiling water then the powder, shake it up then add 2oz of cool water, that way its ready to drink right away.. this isnt so easy now i use SMA stay down which has to be made using chilled water, now u try keep water chilled when your walking in the park when its 22 degrees outside, it isnt easy haha.

i was once at a party and making a bottle for LO, a woman i know said how much of a good idea that was, but that im silly for making them fresh, the truth is, i only make them fresh because LO doesnt like them if they arent, she said shes ALWAYS made bottles in advance for her little girl, when shes at home yeah they go in the fridge if not they just go in her bag till she wants them, she said at that time she had 3 ready made ones in her bag.. he baby has always been fine, never ill (apart from her been in neo natal as she was early) x

 

[Starry Night]

I think there is some discrepancy about when to mix in the powder. My formula packages say to allow the sterile water to cool before mixing in the powder. So when I go out I take bottles of water with the powder to mix as I need OR I bring a cooler with freezer pack to put in premade bottles. I also have some ready-to-go bottles and don't unseal them until needed. Enfamil even makes little packages of ready-to-go powder. It's a lightweight, little-space way to bring powder along. If you sign up with their website you can get a coupon for a free package (about 16 tubes of powder at 120mL worth each)

I play a little loosey-goosey with some of the rules but I do try to make sure everything is sterile. And yeah, toss the formula if it's been out for more than 1 hour. Sometimes I think all the stringent rules are there to make sure women BF instead. Of course we need to make bottles ahead if we're going out all day.

i think its an american/uk thing with the formula, in uk i think nearly all fomula needs to be made with water of at least 70degees x

youive proberbly got a point re the breastfeeding! x

Is that 70 degrees F or C? The packaging I have says to let it cool to room temperature which I do but I looked up the official Canadian guidelines and they say 70 as well but didn't clarify. 70F is approximately room temperature but 70C is near boiling.

 

[Rosie06]

I think there is some discrepancy about when to mix in the powder. My formula packages say to allow the sterile water to cool before mixing in the powder. So when I go out I take bottles of water with the powder to mix as I need OR I bring a cooler with freezer pack to put in premade bottles. I also have some ready-to-go bottles and don't unseal them until needed. Enfamil even makes little packages of ready-to-go powder. It's a lightweight, little-space way to bring powder along. If you sign up with their website you can get a coupon for a free package (about 16 tubes of powder at 120mL worth each)

I play a little loosey-goosey with some of the rules but I do try to make sure everything is sterile. And yeah, toss the formula if it's been out for more than 1 hour. Sometimes I think all the stringent rules are there to make sure women BF instead. Of course we need to make bottles ahead if we're going out all day.

i think its an american/uk thing with the formula, in uk i think nearly all fomula needs to be made with water of at least 70degees x

youive proberbly got a point re the breastfeeding! x

Is that 70 degrees F or C? The packaging I have says to let it cool to room temperature which I do but I looked up the official Canadian guidelines and they say 70 as well but didn't clarify. 70F is approximately room temperature but 70C is near boiling.

yeah its 70 degrees celcius so as long as its above 70 your ok, the only reason they say to let it cool a little is to reduce the risk of you scalding yourself! lol x

 

[Lou1234]

When LO was very small I had the hot water in a flask and a bottle of cooled boiled water and would mix up the formula in the hot one then add the cooled water to bring the temperature down.

After a while doing that I just ended up taking cartons out with me.

You can make up your bottles and rapidly cool them then store them in the fridge (we had to do this when LO first started nursery as she was still having an afternoon bottle). If you do that though you should keep your bottles in a cooler bag when out and not just in a bag. Especially in the warm weather we are having in the uk.

 

[MindUtopia]

I think some of the confusion involves the fact that formula in the U.S. is different than what we have here in the UK. It's considered sterile (not sure how or why), particularly the liquid concentrate formulas, which we don't have on the market here in the UK. In the UK, formula powder isn't sterile and has to be sterilised with hot water.

Honestly, for going out during the day, I can't recommend enough just buying the ready-made cartons and bringing a sterilised empty bottle with you. If you're baby isn't drinking the whole 200ml, then you can save the rest in another sterile bottle and place in a cool bag with an ice pack for use later (the ready-made stuff is sterile, so can be at room temp until opened but then should be stored in a fridge or cool bag til you need it). It's a pain in the ass to try mixing formula with hot water from a flask and trying to cool it all while trying to manage a hungry baby (like someone else said, it can also be dangerous to have boiling water around a baby). I did it for a month or so, but it sucked. The ready-made cartons are more expensive, but once you get past about the 3 month mark feeds are more regular and larger and it's worth the small added expense to have a happy baby who gets fed right away without having you try to balance everything on a park bench trying to make up a bottle.

 

[Starry Night]

I agree that the ready-to-go formula is simply easier for travelling. It really is expensive though. And right now my baby needs the gentle formula and I haven't been able to find Enfamil Gentlease in liquid form. But they do come in ready-to-mix packets. Not sure they'd be in the UK though do to the differences in rules for water temperature.

I also have the container that holds the multiple portions of formula but it only had 3 compartments so it's really only useful when the number of feeds drops. DD still eats every 2 hours so it's not enough for a day out.

 

[Nats21]

I make up the bottles in advance at home or if im going to my moms then I take them ready made in a cool bag (shes only a short walk away). If we're out for a few hours I take the cartons with me and a sterilized bottle and just pour out when needed. Luckily she drinks it room temp so no annoyances of having to heat it up xx