bottle feeds

jackben

hi all,,(new user to this forum) but my son is 15 days old and im am feeding him aptamil formula. i normally make up a few bottles each morning and pop into the fridge for the day and use as i need them, but i was just wondering, how long can you leave the made up bottles in fridge before using them, is it 12 or 24 hours??just wondering as when he goes to stay a nite with his granny, i wonder would it be ok to send all his bottles made up and store in her fridge for her to just heat up as she needs them through the nite and following day.?? thanks...

crazy cat lady

I was under the impression that you should only make bottles up as needed as bacteria will start to grow once the formula is constituted.

We would fill our bottles with the necessary amount of boiled water after they had been sterilized and then add the formula as needed. Once that bottle had been made, it had to be used within 2 hours. Would it be an option for you to send the bottles with the boiled water in them to his grannies and leave a tub of formula with her?

Everyone seems to have their own way of doing things tho! Did you not get an information leaflet from te hospital about making up formula?

upinthesky

boil your water let it cool pour what ever amount of Oz's into the bottles

then when you need a bottle put the scoops of formula into the bottle and heat to the right temp or use as room tep if you want
(my little lad likes it heated slightly)

this is the best way as your nearly making fresh bottles each time and there is no need to store the bottles with the water in them in the fridge

and its easier to heat up as they are not freezing from the fridge

upinthesky

oh back to your question its 12 hrs i think

faw1tytowers

When I had my boy in 07 they said t use within 4 hours but had another last year and now they don't recommended pre making bottles at all. They say to throw it away if it hasn't been drunk within an hour. Even a made up bottle in the fridge will start to form bacteria.

Buy one of those pots that measure the correct amount, they hold 3 feeds and much easier than having to count each time. Pre boil the water and keep it in fridge then use your bottle warmer when baby is due the feeds.

The other option would be to buy the ready made cartons. You can get them up to pint size in tesco. that would be much easier for granny to manage.

fiona stephanie

I have 3 children the oldest is 9, youngest 1! The reccomendations are always changing! But what I have always done is boil water, pour boiling water into bottles and add formula straight away to kill bacteria! Cool all bottles at once and leave in fridge then use as I need them!

January

I wash all my bottles the night before, then in the morning use boiled water (left sitting for half an our to get to the right temp, add formula, cool them down (into a sink full of ice cold water for that) and then into the fridge for the day.

It's the way I've always done it and I've two healthy daughters.

Nevyn

What does the instructions on the formula say?

http://www.aptamil.co.uk/bottlefeeding/article/storing-formula-milk

How to store baby milk

It’s important to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines and stick to good hygiene practices when preparing your baby’s food.

In recent years, the Department of Health and Food Standards Agency have issued new advice about how to prepare infant formula:

* Boil freshly-run water, then leave the kettle to cool for 30 minutes before mixing it with the milk powder. Artificially softened or repeatedly boiled water should not be used, as the mineral levels could be too high
* Your baby's milk should be prepared fresh for each feed. Using stored milk may increase the chances of your baby becoming ill
* Any leftover milk should be thrown away after two hours
* Always test the temperature of your baby's feed. If the milk needs to be cooled down, hold the bottle under a cold running tap – with the teat covered

If you’d like more advice on preparing and storing milk, call our Careline team for advice on 08457 623 628, Monday to Friday, 8am - 8pm, or chat online with our instant messaging service, Live Chat, Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm.

I would suggest you only store the preboiled water in the bottled and send a small tub of formula to his Grans or transfer some of the forumla into a clean and suitable container which can be sealed and make sure to include one of the measuring scoops.

jackben

hi all thanks for all your replies, i think ill try sending the boiled water in the amount of bottles she will need for the nite and the tub of formula to grannies, at least then she will only have to add the formula when she needs to and the water will be at room temp and wont need to be heated up. but all along i have been making the bottles up every morning and storing in the fridge for the day and use as i need to, and my little boy hasnt been sick or anything so ill continue doing this myself on a daily basis, thanks again everyone,,,

whosedaddy?

Mrs WD is breastfeeding, but we need to top up with formula for a little while.
PHN told us that HSE has changed their guidelines (again) and now preparing bottles in advance is ok/recommended (again). While the current batch of printed leaflets is still saying prepare a bottle when you need it.

One question I have tho (regardless of mix as you go or bottle batching), it always says boil kettle and leave for half an hour to cool. Well, doesn't the cooling period depend on how much water you have boiled (size of Kettle)? Or is the assumption standard kettle has 1.5 l and you always boil a full kettle - even if you need say 250ml???
Is the cooling down to reduce risk of scalding or is it related to mixing the formula?

EDIT: @ jackben
HSE leaflet on preparing bottle feeds says (page 6): "Throw away any feed in the fridge that you have not used within 24 hours."

January

It's related to mixing the formula, if the water is too hot it will kill all the nutrients in the formula. It needs to be at 70 degrees to be hot enough to kill the bacteria but cool enough not to kill the nutrients in the formula.