Does formula milk have to be mixed at 70 degrees?

[Joss C]

Hi
Please help - I am trying to find the easiest and safest way to mix formula in advance of a feed -

I have been told you can boil the kettle a couple of feeds in advance and let it cool completely. Then pour it into a flask and keep topping up throughout the day. When LO is ready for a feed pour the water from the flask to the bottle and add the formula. Therefore his feed is at room temperature so you never have to warm up or cool it down. (I wouldn't keep the same boiled water for more than 24 hours though.)

Someone has said when I go out I can just take the flask with me and put the formula in a dispenser. I can then take bottles as I need.

However I thought formula had to be mixed at 70 degrees to be safe?

Please help?
Joss C

 

[Seity]

It doesn't need to be 70 degrees. It just has to be at a temperature that your LO will drink it at. Some babies actually prefer it at room temp.
We don't boil the water at all here in the US. The tap water is perfectly safe to use, so I just run it till it's warmish and fill the bottle as much as I need.

 

[blahblahblah]

It is safest for the water to be 70 degrees or hotter. But many of us don't do this. Personally I was quite vigilant when DS was newborn, but as he's got older I've relaxed the rules. Now he's 8 1/2 months I sometimes use cool water and sometimes I don't sterilise - I just do what fits with my day.

I would always sterilise and use hot water if I was making the bottle up ahead of time though.

 

[Pyrrhic]

Formula powder is not sterile, so the reason why you have to boil the kettle is so that the boiling water kills any bugs that are in the powder and keeps everything sterile. It;s not about the water being sterile, but the powder. Tbh if you use cooled water then there is no point in even steralising your bottles.

 

[PrayinForBaby]

It doesn't need to be 70 degrees. It just has to be at a temperature that your LO will drink it at. Some babies actually prefer it at room temp.
We don't boil the water at all here in the US. The tap water is perfectly safe to use, so I just run it till it's warmish and fill the bottle as much as I need.

same here!

 

[AP]

The powder isnt sterile, but it helps. My formula MUST be mixed in cool water (not even warm!) or it will clump up (SMA Staydown) so I can only boil the water and let it cool.

 

[Eala]

Tbh if you use cooled water then there is no point in even steralising your bottles.

So everyone who uses formulas like SMA Staydown should just stop sterilising then? Riiiiiight....

I sterilise because then I'm putting water into bottles which I know are as clean as I can get them. Rather than putting water into bottles which may or may not be 100% clean (depending on whether myself or my DH washed them )

There has not been a case of seriously dangerous bacteria being found in UK formula in years. (I looked that one up a while ago, so I can't say for definite how many years it is, and don't have time to look it up again just now).

I appreciate that this is one of these divisive issues, but the kind of hyperbole inherent in "Oh well you might as well not sterilise" really isn't helpful.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

I personally would never mix formula with cool water as I don't feel it's worth taking the risk of bacteria being present in the powder, however a small a risk it may be.
However I agree with Eala that sterilised bottles and a non sterile feed is better than non sterile bottles AND non sterile feeds...

 

[Vici]

I personally would never mix formula with cool water as I don't feel it's worth taking the risk of bacteria being present in the powder, however a small a risk it may be.
However I agree with Eala that sterilised bottles and a non sterile feed is better than non sterile bottles AND non sterile feeds...

Ditto Tap water in UK is very different to that in the USA

 

[AP]

Tbh if you use cooled water then there is no point in even steralising your bottles.

So everyone who uses formulas like SMA Staydown should just stop sterilising then? Riiiiiight....

I sterilise because then I'm putting water into bottles which I know are as clean as I can get them. Rather than putting water into bottles which may or may not be 100% clean (depending on whether myself or my DH washed them )

There has not been a case of seriously dangerous bacteria being found in UK formula in years. (I looked that one up a while ago, so I can't say for definite how many years it is, and don't have time to look it up again just now).

I appreciate that this is one of these divisive issues, but the kind of hyperbole inherent in "Oh well you might as well not sterilise" really isn't helpful.

Staydown is packaged exactly the same as the other SMA milks, so i cant see why there would be a difference. Besides, come on, would I be getting a unsterile milk prescribed for an extreme preemie?

Sterile bottles anyway would reduce the risk further, so there is a point in sterilising bottles

 

[Eala]

Can I just clarify that I was agreeing with you, sb22? Not sure if that came across right, or if you were just quoting my post because it included the relevant bit of quote from rafwife's post!

I guess this is one of my broken record moments, where I say "You do what works for you and I'll do what works for me!"

 

[AP]

Yup, I was agreeing with you too chick

 

[Eala]

Hurrah! I managed to actually get across what I was trying to say