Is it dangerous to pre-make formula?

[Mrsmitch80]

We sterilise, pre-make, rapid cool and store in the back of the fridge for 4/5 bottles at a time. My little man has reflux and eats 10-12 bottles a day and there's no way I'm making up that many fresh bottles for him with a toddler to chase after too!

I do this too, I combi feed and can mostly make do with bf but when lo is still hungry I need to have a bottle ready quickly, it's not easy making bottles with toddlers around xx

 

[dgirllamius]

I make mine in advance and store them right at the back of the fridge. Never had a problem and it's so much easier to do. My midwife even said this was fine to do as long as they're stored at the back of the fridge and used within 24 hours.

 

[readytotry]

I always thought that pre-making risked a stomach upset, but not using hot enough water when mixing had a very, very small risk of serious illness like salmonella.

I wouldn't say anything to your friend though unless she asks because she can read the back of the tin herself so needs to make her own decision on the risks versus the benefits. I might be tempted to say something if she used cooled boiled water though in case she thought that was following the guidelines. I think a lot of people think it needs to be boiled to kill bacteria in the water, instead of to kill bacteria in the formula. That said, the risk is very,very small. Would you comment on her lo eating a runny egg?

 

[Mamoosca]

I make them up and stick them in the fridge. My LO will not wait for a fresh bottle to cool if she decides she wants it early. Sometimes I will just use cooled boiled water to make them

 

[hubblybubbly]

Essentially no it's not safe, and it goes against manufacturers guidelines, however I agree making up a fresh bottle and waiting for it to cool while you've got a hungry baby is also very stressful.
Here's how I do it, feel free to ignore!

I put 4 oz of freshly boiled 70 degree water into a bottle, add seven scoops, shake about.
Then add 3oz of cooled boiled water I store in the fridge to make up the right consistency.

So the bacteria in the formula is killed, the bottle is the right temp to drink at, and it takes no more than a minute each bottle. Everyone's a winner!
Obviously change the number of scoops/water amount for however much your lo is drinking.

 

[midori1999]

I always thought that pre-making risked a stomach upset, but not using hot enough water when mixing had a very, very small risk of serious illness like salmonella.

I wouldn't say anything to your friend though unless she asks because she can read the back of the tin herself so needs to make her own decision on the risks versus the benefits. I might be tempted to say something if she used cooled boiled water though in case she thought that was following the guidelines. I think a lot of people think it needs to be boiled to kill bacteria in the water, instead of to kill bacteria in the formula. That said, the risk is very,very small. Would you comment on her lo eating a runny egg?

The risk is around 2 in 1,000 for salmonella, which isn't that tiny when you consider how serious salmonella is. The risk of E. sakazakii is much lower, at around 1 in 100,000, however, the effects rae much more devastating than salmonella.

So, it is really important to make sure water is hot enough when mixing formula.

Pre-made or cartons of ready made formula are sterile, so these are much safer to use, although obviously more expensive. A good option for when you are out and about though.

 

[bumpy_j]

I always thought that pre-making risked a stomach upset, but not using hot enough water when mixing had a very, very small risk of serious illness like salmonella.

I wouldn't say anything to your friend though unless she asks because she can read the back of the tin herself so needs to make her own decision on the risks versus the benefits. I might be tempted to say something if she used cooled boiled water though in case she thought that was following the guidelines. I think a lot of people think it needs to be boiled to kill bacteria in the water, instead of to kill bacteria in the formula. That said, the risk is very,very small. Would you comment on her lo eating a runny egg?

No I wouldn't probs, I just didn't know why it was the guildlines to use within an hour - I thought it would probably be something minor but I wasn't 100% sure - she didn't know either. She asked me if I thought it sounded okay and I was like errrm...sure? Aha and then I thought about it and was like 'I know it says what it does on the back of the tin...and I haven't heard about anyone else do it before, but if I hear about people on here doing it i'm sure it'll put me at ease a bit - and her if she talks about it again'.

 

[My_First]

@Midori where are those figures from? Its just I am trying to do the maths here?

2 in 1000 works out at 0.2% right?

From what I have seen, number of cases of salmonella in the Uk in 2010 were just over 9000 and the number of babies born were 720,000. Now I couldn't find a break down of figures but assuming all of those cases were babies thats 0.0125%.

Okay so of that 9000 it was all ages and salmonella cases so covered anything (interestingly enough the highest cases were over the summer), so that 2 in 1000 is certainly not correct?

Have I misinterpreted that somehwhere?

Editted to say I have also just read that there have actually only been 70 cases of E.sakazakii worldwide 2 of which were in the UK in 1961, (infected incubator). None have been recorded since. Again where does one in 100,000 come from?

I am honestly not trying to be awkward, just interested in those figures...

 

[steph.]

I think to acctully make up formula is dangerous. we steralize all bottles in evening and fill with boiled water then add formula when needed. We never leave a bottle of water more than 24 hours. I know a lot of people that do it this way. X

I do it this way too. I got really confused when i was starting out and then realised the guidelines are different here in australia to the uk and us. Here we have to used cooled boiled water (it is also specified on the tin) so everyone i know does it this way. Its a lot easier then having to mix it at 70 degrees and means you can make a fresh bottle in 30 secs

 

[laura077]

I premake 24 hours worth of my son's formula. He's on a special extra calorie recipe still that we received from the nutritionist at the NICU when he was discharged. Their instructions were to boil water, mix and use within 24 hours. Storing the bottles in the back of the refrigerator. However, I also sterilize his bottles with boiling water daily.

 

[bigbetty]

I always pre made a days worth of bottles using the WHO guidelines - make as fresh, rapid cool and store in the back of the fridge for no longer than 24 hours.

If you want to make fresh but not have to wait for the kettle to cool half an hour each time then an easy way is to boil it in the morning, let it cool and fill a flask. This will keep the water at a constant temperature for a good few hours then all you've got to do is make the bottle up and cool it down. You could have a couple of small flasks so you ensure the water is always hot enough to kill the bacteria in the powder x

 

[Arisa]

Actually this is more dangerous than pre-making and the UK guidelines state that water must be at least 70 degrees C when the powder is added. This is because formula powder is not sterlie.

Making up bottles in advance and storing in the fridge for up to 24 hours is not the ideal method, but is acceptable.

https://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_124526.pdf

Yes I agree
We were told by midwife that making up formula on demand with cooled boiled water does not kill the bugs and germs that are always more risky for 0-3month olds then you heat it to room temp which is perfect for bacteria to grow so we were told to make up the formula with boiled water as the formula dissolves and the boiled water kills the germs then we store it in the fridge for around six hours, no longer and she is fine. No colic or reflux and no bugs like colds, cough or flu but she does have constipation due to many factors, one being that bowel issues run in my mothers family, my husbands family and I have IBS too, plus FF babies tend to get more constipated, but less reflux

 

[tinkerbelle93]

I know it's not recommended but I know soo many people who do it. As someone said, who could really get up a few times through the night and boil the kettle and prepare a feed, let it cool to the right warmth etc.

I've seen the Avent powder dispensers.. where you make bottles with just water in them, let it cool then when you need a feed you pour in the powder, mix it and you have milk at the right temperature. This can't be dangerous can it? As bacteria wouldn't really grow in cooled boiled water in that amount of time? xx

 

[Jin]

I am so confused at all the posts I read on here about making up bottles with water that MUST be 70 derees or more. I am in the Uk and I have never been told to do this. Even the staff at the hsopital told me to make up bottles as and when needed by adding the formula powder to COOLED boiled water. And this is how everyone in my area makes their bottles. They all have milk powder dispensers and just bring this and bottles of cooled boiled water when they go out and then add the powder to the water. They all do this at home too. I am in Basingstoke by the way so south England.

In response to the OP's Q, I actually pre make my bottles now but only because he is on comfort milk which has to be made with boiling water in order for the powder to dissolve properly. I then rapid cool and store in the fridge. Before this I used the method described above. I have had no problem with either way. I certainly would not want to be faffing around making up fresh feeds and trying to cool down when dealing with a hungry baby, especially at night time. You'd have to get up half hour before your baby is due to feed and I don't know about every one else but my baby never wakes at the same time each night and never has.

 

[flashy09]

Similac website says you can pre make formula and store in fridge for 24 hrs

 

[flashy09]

Similac website says you can pre make formula and store in fridge for 24 hrs

 

[dizz]

A) Half the confusion over who says and does what on here is the difference between the US and UK guidelines - which differ massively - this is probably the only forum I really take note of the poster's location when reading posts for that reason.

B) I don't actually see why the OP is sticking her nose in to be honest - some kind of "making a FF mum feel crap" crusade?

C) I've always read it that premaking has "a" risk to it, is less than ideal but in storing the bottles sensibly and following precautions - it's something you balance out for yourself versus the ideal method which requires rubbing your head, patting your tummy, consoling a sobbing infant while bottles cool and standing on your head farting rainbows. You make the decision for your own child - but don't let that get in the way of internet FF-bashing vigilanteeism.

 

[Saphira]

I personally wouldn't say anything. From what I've read on this forum it seems quite a few moms pre-make formula and it's been working well for them but I'm not very knowledgeable about it either.
I've just been following the instructions on the back of Aurora's formula - always make up bottles fresh, with cooled boiled water is stated. This means cooling down time, which isn't always easy when a baby's hungry right then as you can imagine. There's faster ways to get the job done though - setting the bottle in a bowl of cold water or use what's been a lifesaver for us - the Cool Twister! Cools boiled water in 80 seconds!

 

[Saphira]

Wait, I'm a little confused - babies have contracted salmonella through formula powder? To prevent this you should add powder into the boiled water to kill any bugs? I guess I'm confused because I thought adding powder to water that was just brought to boiling temperature would cause the formula to lose some of its nutrients.

 

[Jin]

A) Half the confusion over who says and does what on here is the difference between the US and UK guidelines - which differ massively - this is probably the only forum I really take note of the poster's location when reading posts for that reason.

B) I don't actually see why the OP is sticking her nose in to be honest - some kind of "making a FF mum feel crap" crusade?

C) I've always read it that premaking has "a" risk to it, is less than ideal but in storing the bottles sensibly and following precautions - it's something you balance out for yourself versus the ideal method which requires rubbing your head, patting your tummy, consoling a sobbing infant while bottles cool and standing on your head farting rainbows. You make the decision for your own child - but don't let that get in the way of internet FF-bashing vigilanteeism.

This post made me LOL because you are so right. There is so much conflicting advice out there it's hard to know what is the right way, which is exactly why I just do what works for me and I always advise other mums to do the same x And to the person who posted above me, I've heard that one a lot too. I tend not to listen to any of these things any more tbh.