"Sterilizing" formula?

[Surprised26]

Okay, so now that I've decided that I shouldn't let people guilt trip me into breast feeding when for personal reasons I'm just not comfortable with it. I'm doing my research on proper bottle preparation. While on many forums I'm seeing the notion to sterilize formula by first mixing it with boiling hot water and then adding cool water to make the "perfect" temperature. I can't find any actual expert advice supporting this. Everything I'm reading says that mixing with too hot of water actually kills the nutrients of the formula making it less healthy for the baby. The only thing boiling the water does is "clean" the water, which is still very much effective after the water has cooled. Now I'm not trying to discredit anyone so my question is does anyone have any links supporting the need to sterilize the formula other than one's opinion that the formula is made in "unsanitary conditions"?

I'm really trying to learn as much as I can to guide me towards the right decision for my baby, so any help is appreciated.

 

[Kitteh_Kat]

Breastfeeding wasn't right for us either, and I ended up having a wonderful, amazing experience with my daughter with formula feeding. (completely happy and healthy, and she hasn't been sick once) Don't let anyone put you down for your choice.

I never did boiling water or anything like that, and her doctor said it wasn't necessary because of where we lived. I always used tap water at home or bottled water if we were out and about. Bottles were handwashed at the beginning because our old apartment didn't have a dishwasher, and once we switched to a place with a dishwasher I'd just throw them in with the rest of the dishes.

From the AAP

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!

 

[Surprised26]

Thank you. I'd been searching and searching and couldn't for the life of me find anything on this (Mixing cool clean water opposed to boiling hot) on either side of the argument that wasn't a simple forum post. This helps a lot

 

[Kitteh_Kat]

No problem! Feel free to PM later if you have any questions when baby arrives; I loved formula feeding and would be happy to help.

 

[SoBlessedMama]

Good for you for making your decision based on what is right for you and your baby! (Happy mom=happy baby!) With our first son, I attempted BFing for 5 weeks, and absolutely hated it. Switching to formula was such a relief! He is 4.5 years old now, and has been sick one time ever. : )

With baby #2, we started with FFing, and it has been SO much better!!

I agree 100% with Kitteh--I've never boiled water or formula. We use bottled water, or filtered tap water, and our doctor said this was fine. We use Dr. Brown's bottles, so we hand wash all the bits, but the bottles get thrown in the dishwasher with everything else. A couple of times a month, I will use a sterilizing steamer bag in the microwave for all the bottles and parts. But honestly, that even is probably completely unnecessary lol.

Good luck with FF! : ) I hope you have a positive experience as well.

 

[lauraemily17]

I did the boiling thing with ds1. I waited a few mins after the water had boiled before mixing with formula so it didn't scold it but hot enough to kill any bugs. As I understand it, the actual risk of not using hot water to sterilise the milk is pretty minimal but it worked for us as it meant we could make the perfect temp bottle and use straight away. (Hearting up or cooling was a pain in the ass with a refluxy baby who needed it at just the right temp!)

The cold water we mixed it with was cooled boiled water but in the UK you are advised to only use water that has been boiled. Not tap or bottled.

 

[LoveCakes]

It depends on the brand. I use aptimel sad it says to use boiling water or if it has been boiled in the last 30 min. I know someone else on here who said their milk says not to use boiling water and to let it cool for 30 min first.

I do the half and half thing with cooled boiled water as my LO would not wait for a hôt bottle to be cooled under a running tap as per the instructions! Plus it's so wasteful of water

It's not to do with the powder being dirty, its due to it being a dairy product.

Sterilising bottles etc... seems to be a us/uk thing. Here in the uk we are advised to sterilise up to 6 months.

 

[LoveCakes]

Plus in the uk there are a lot more restrictions in tap water than bottles so technically it should be cleaner than bottled water!

 

[lauraemily17]

Theres added sodium in some brands of bottled water too apparently.

 

[MindUtopia]

You're in the U.S., so from my understanding, formula is different there and the formula powder itself is more likely to be sterile (I'm not sure why, but that's what I've heard). In the rest of the world, formula powder in its raw form out of the package isn't sterile and can harbor dangerous bacteria because it's dairy-based and has sugars and other things that bacteria like, which is the reason for the recommendation to sterilise it with boiling water. So it's not the water or the bottle that you're concerned with, it's the formula powder itself. There have been cases of babies dying due to bacteria-contaminated formula, mostly in the developing world where storage isn't as great, but it's happened in Europe too. Here all formula is supposed to be made with water than has been boiled and then cooled a bit (so it's still hot, but not boiling so as not to damage the nutrient content) and not topped up with cool water. I'm not sure most people do it that way, but that's the recommendation. As you're in the U.S., I would follow the manufacturers directions for how to most safely make a bottle for the formula you decide to use. They can be different and one person's advice won't necessarily be appropriate for you.

 

[Surprised26]

Thanks for all the input. I do plan on using bottled water regardless,as I'm not even comfortable drinking my local tap, and do understand the reasons for regularly sterilizing bottles themselves. I'm still trying to decide between room temp vs warm bottles, and these answers have helped me feel like either way would be perfectly safe.

 

[mel28nicole]

I have a filter on my tap that I use and I also used bottle Dasani water. When DD was up to a month old I just gave her the formula at room temperature because that's how the premade bottles were. Now she likes it a little warm so I pop it in the microwave for about 15 seconds (30 seconds if I made it before hand and it's been in the fridge). I haven't had an issues.

 

[whattoexpect]

I ff my daughter and I boiled the water first and left in a glass bottle
on the counter. She drank all her bottles at room temperature it was much easier esespecially at night and out and about. If they get room temp from the beginning they won't know the difference. When she switched to cows milk it came straight from the fridge and never said a peep about it. Best of luck with your bundle!

 

[SoBlessedMama]

Totally agree--if she will take it room temp, I would do room temp. So much simpler, especially if you're out and about!

 

[Selaphyna]

With DS1, I used bottled water, even though I drank from the tap myself. It's purified water, which is much better than tap because it doesn't have all the chemicals tap does.

DS2, I also use bottled water, but here, our tap water is nasty, so much calcium in it.

We don't heat it up or anything just pour from bottle (room temp). Both son's never liked their formula warmed up. Not sure why but that's what they preferred. Makes making a bottle fairly easy. We just make sure we wash his bottles in hot soapy water (no dishwasher here).

 

[skunkpixie]

Hey. Just wanted to dispel a myth that US formula is more sterile that anywhere else in the world. It's not, it's exactly the same. Highly stringently manufactured, but powder formula can not be produced sterile. The reason why in the US and alot of other countries don't use 70c+ water to make up their formula is because their country have chosen not to adopt the WHO guidelines, unlike the UK. X

 

[sethsmummy]

you dont use "boiling" water. you supposed to leave the water for roughly 20 minutes so it falls back to around 70 degrees Celsius (no longer than 30 minutes) and then make up the full feed and cool in cold water.

In the end i started just putting the milk in and then 1/2oz the cooled boiled water and shook till dissolved.. and then topped up to the required amount with cold pre-boiled water/bottled water xx

 

[noon_child]

formula powder in its raw form out of the package isn't sterile and can harbor dangerous bacteria because it's dairy-based and has sugars and other things that bacteria like, which is the reason for the recommendation to sterilise it with boiling water. So it's not the water or the bottle that you're concerned with, it's the formula powder itself

Yes this. UK based health organisations say to always use boiling (not boiled) water to sterilise the formula, not to make the water safe.

If using bottled water, check it is not mineralised.

 

[skunkpixie]

formula powder in its raw form out of the package isn't sterile and can harbor dangerous bacteria because it's dairy-based and has sugars and other things that bacteria like, which is the reason for the recommendation to sterilise it with boiling water. So it's not the water or the bottle that you're concerned with, it's the formula powder itself

Yes this. UK based health organisations say to always use boiling (not boiled) water to sterilise the formula, not to make the water safe.

If using bottled water, check it is not mineralised.

It doesn't have to be boiling, just above 70c (so still very hot). The advice is to actually let the water cool a little (maximum 20-30 minutes for one litre just boiled) to avoid serious scalds.

 

[noon_child]

formula powder in its raw form out of the package isn't sterile and can harbor dangerous bacteria because it's dairy-based and has sugars and other things that bacteria like, which is the reason for the recommendation to sterilise it with boiling water. So it's not the water or the bottle that you're concerned with, it's the formula powder itself

Yes this. UK based health organisations say to always use boiling (not boiled) water to sterilise the formula, not to make the water safe.

If using bottled water, check it is not mineralised.

It doesn't have to be boiling, just above 70c (so still very hot). The advice is to actually let the water cool a little (maximum 20-30 minutes for one litre just boiled) to avoid serious scalds.

Yes you're right - I was just trying to distinguish between making hot bottles to sterilise the formula, and making bottles with cold but previously boiled water. Thanks for clarifying.