Clueless

[Rebaby]

Hope you ladies don't mind me popping in to ask a few dumb questions?!

After a lot of thought and going over and over things in my mind, in the last couple of days we have replaced one of Toby's daytime feeds with a bottle of formula in preparation for me going back to work (sniff! )

It's going well but up to now i have only ever used pre-made cartons (both at work and at home!) but it's going to get quite expensive doing it that way i think so have bought a tub of powder. I feel like i don't have a clue what i am doing though!

Can you tell me if this is okay...i boiled the kettle at lunchtime and put the boiling water in a bottle and put it in the fridge- later on when he wants a feed is it alright for me to add the scoops of powder to that chilled water, stand it in a jug to warm it a little and then feed it to him? Or not?!

I have just been trying to find the answer in other threads on here but i am making myself even more confused because people are talking about needing to add the powder to boiling water to kill germs...but on the side of the tub we have it specifically says NOT to add to boiling water because it will scald the milk?!

 

[Mary Jo]

Lots of people have done it the way you've done it and have no problems, and TBH, with a baby as old as Toby I would probably be ok with it myself. I wouldn't with a tiny newborn though. The way I used to do it is the way I think I remember reading on the side of the box is to boil the kettle, leave it for up to 20 mins to cool slightly (but what does *that* mean - up to 20 mins could mean leave it 1 minute!) and then make up the bottle and cool. I have read different things about the scalding - some say it's to avoid scalding yourself, some say it's to avoid scalding the milk powder and killing the acidophilus in it.

I changed my routine when Adam started having bottles that took an age to cool (over about 5oz). Now he is on 6oz bottles (down from 8oz pre-weaning) and what I do is fill small bottles with 4oz (120ml) boiling water and chill in the fridge. At bottle time I take the bottle he is going to be using and add 2oz freshly boiled (usually boiling) water, add a drop of the chilled water from the small bottle in the fridge to cool a bit, add the powder and mix, then add the rest of the cold water. It is at drinking temp right away and I feel ok that the powder was added to hot enough water.

Good luck

 

[blahblahblah]

The recommended way is to add the powder to water that was boiled within the last 30 minutes - so it's still hot but not actually boiling. The scalding they are referring to on the label is of yourself (they don't want to be sued!), but the jury is out on whether adding to boiling water affects the formula or not.

There are two main methods of simplifying the process - one is the way you described, and the other is to make up the bottles with the hot water and powder, cool quickly and store in the fridge. You just need to decide which of them you are happiest with. When Dylan was younger I made them fully and stored in the fridge, now he's older I do a mixture. By the way, the powder mixes easier if you warm the water before adding the powder.

 

[OmarsMum]

Hi hun. I prepare bottles at room temperature since Omar was 6.5 mnths. They'r weaned now & food itself is not sterile. Many ladies here dont boil water & use water at room temperature, others also use tab water without boiling & their babies r fine with it.