Can't use made up formula after 2hrs...?

[MrsClark24]

So I was at my Grans and I made a bottle for LO, which she had half of. I put it down and carried on chatting. Before I knew it she wanted the other half, but more than two hours had gone by, so I went to make a fresh bottle.

My Gran, bless her, says "What are you doing?" I explained that it says on the packet to use the made up formula within 2 hours. She says "What a load of rubbish, it's like Sell By dates on food packets. Your yogurt says Use Within 3 Days of Opening but a week later it's still ok isn't it? Well it's the same with formula."

Being new to formula feeding I have no idea, I just follow the instructions on the box. Is she right? Can you have it longer than 2 hrs? and if you can't, why not? Then I will tell her why you can't!

I made a new batch up anyway and my gran was most disgruntled at the waste of a bottle haha!

 

[cocosianelle]

From what I've read the two our mark is in place as after that bacteria starts to breed.

 

[lewood88]

I make bottles up in the morning and keep then in the fridge i did that with dd1 and she was fine so i do the same with dd2 and shes ok x

 

[Mrs_Random]

If it wasn't much after 2 hours I would prob have used it - mind my kids were a bit older when I started using formula so I was a little less strickt.

I have been known to put a half drunk bottle in the fridge to use later as well.

I can't help feel its a waste - but then I try and reason with myself to bin it as if LO had drink it we would have used that much anyway so I would still have needed to buy/make up more formula.

 

[randomrach]

It's down to when the formula company's think they can guarantee safe levels of bacteria in the milk. They may well be playing it safe but I'd rather not risk it. I wouldn't keep regular milk out of the fridge for 2 hours either though.

 

[K.N]

I wouldn't leave the formula on the bench and use it after two hours, But here in NZ, the formula is safe to be made fresh - and then whatever isn't heated, can be put in a fridge and then heated for the next feed. As long as it's in the fridge - and reheated thoroughly; Then it should be fine between feeds

 

[MindUtopia]

Ideally, yes you should make a fresh bottle. I've certainly been known to feed the last of a bottle a bit over 2 hours (I have a very slow-eating baby...it takes her about 2 hours to have a bottle anyway!). So yes, really, you should make a fresh one, but I also don't think that in a pinch a bottle at 2 hours and 5 minutes old is any different than one that's 1 hour and 55 minutes old. I just wouldn't use it much longer than 2 hours, especially if it's been somewhere warm.

 

[SparkleUK]

It's definitely all to do with how warm it is. The longer the formula is out, the warmer it is, the quicker the bacteria breeds which causes salmonella in babies as they have no resistance against this.
Again, as a pp said, not much difference between 1hrv55 and 2hr 10! But I keep mine in fridge and warm as baby needs x

 

[Anikonjo]

Once its been drank from it should be used or discarded within an hour from when they started drinking. Or if you pop it back in the fridge, it'll keep for two hours. Once it makes contact with their mouth/saliva, bacteria begins to grow. I read that they actually use formula in labs to grow bacteria because it grows so quickly in it. Its perfectly safe to make it ahead of time and use what you need as your baby needs it - within 24 hours. My girls are almost 8months and I make a big jug of it before I go to bed and use it for their feeds the whole next day!