Making up a feed - is this wrong.

[Nickij]

I am just moving from BF to Formula feeding.

When it says to boil the water 30 minutes before making the feed. Do this mean I can't boil the water for all the days feeds and put them ready in the bottle at the beginning of the day and storing them at room temperature? Then add the milk powder just before feeding?

 

[jamielou]

I fill my bottles up half way of boiling water then put them in the fridge. When i need to make a feed i then just boil the kettle and half fill the bottle of what i need, i then store the bottles in the fridge. When i need to make a feed i take out the bottle and put another half of boiling water in to it then it makes the feed nice and warm. x

 

[OmarsMum]

I use a flusk to store warm water after boiling it. it's very convenient & ready to use.

 

[dom85]

The water really needs to be above 70 degrees to kill any bacteria in the milk which room temperature water will not do, although I know a lot of people on here do it the way you're doing it as well

I boil the kettle and use the water within half an hour to make the bottles up, I then quick cool them in a bowl of cold water and put in the fridge. I've got a bottle warmer to heat them up when LO wants one.

 

[Reedy]

I fill my bottles up half way of boiling water then put them in the fridge. When i need to make a feed i then just boil the kettle and half fill the bottle of what i need, i then store the bottles in the fridge. When i need to make a feed i take out the bottle and put another half of boiling water in to it then it makes the feed nice and warm. x

Same here x

 

[moomoo]

We make our bottles up with water and keep them in the fridge xx

 

[Louisandcoco]

I am just moving from BF to Formula feeding.

When it says to boil the water 30 minutes before making the feed. Do this mean I can't boil the water for all the days feeds and put them ready in the bottle at the beginning of the day and storing them at room temperature? Then add the milk powder just before feeding?

I've always done exactly as you do. Esmé has all her bottles at room temp, aside from her bedtime feed which is warm.

 

[sleeping bubs]

I find this the hardest thing to do!! Everyone has different ways! I now fill up to 2oz of water in each bottle and put it in the fridge when LO wants a bottle i boil the kettle and fill the bottle up with the hot water. But I do sometimes make bottles up and heat it up in the bottle warmer but I always forget to time it to c how long 5oz takes to warm from the fridge!!

 

[Clairylou]

i have just started bottle feeding in the last week and maybe i am making it more complicated than it needs to be as when it says on the instructions that any unused feed needs to be thrown away after 2 hours i thought that meant you couldnt make bottles up in advance so have been making them up as i go along it would be much easier if i could just make them up in advance and keep them in the fridge would this be ok. I use hipp organic growing up milk.

 

[sleeping bubs]

Making up feeding putting them in the fridge is fine just need to use them in 24hrs

Made up formula is ok for up to 2hrs when kept at room temp

Formula should be thrown away after 1hr is your lo has started to drink it


I hope this helps

 

[blahblahblah]

There are two things for you to think about - the government advice, and what is practical for you.

Government advice is to make the bottle up as you need it with water at least 70 degrees (to kill any bacteria in the powder), which means from a kettle boiled no more than 30 mins ago. You should make up one bottle as you need it, and not store them. Anything that you've made up should be thrown away after 2 hours. You can use a flask to store the hot water, but personally I found this a nightmare. There are various problems with adhering to the guidelines, not least that the tub instructions want you to leave it the full 30 mins before making it up. I suspect this is because the steam from very hot water clogs up the scoop and you get too little powder! By following these guidelines you could have a screaming baby waiting for 45 mins while you get it sorted - not good!

Previous guidelines have suggested storing cooled boiled water and adding the powder when needed, or making up the bottles, cooling quickly and storing in the fridge for no more than 24 hours to warm as needed. I've also known people to make them with boiling water, and keep them hot in a thermal bag. In any case, once a bottle has been in your babys mouth, you should limit how long you keep it for. Some people say 1 hour is ok, others 2.

You should follow whatever method you are happiest with. None is 100% problem/risk free but people have been using all of them for years with only a tiny number of problems. Personally, I store bottles made up in the fridge, I make two batches per day - one for the day and one for the night, and generally don't store them for more than 12 hours.