Talk to me about room temperature bottles and other questions

[Shiv52]

A flask of water for nights sounds like a plan.

 

Yes! A freshly made bottle is good for 2 hours at room temp BUT once it has been drunk from it need to be used/ discarded by 1 hour because of bacteria washing back into the bottle from the baby's mouth.

And what about if you make them the way Koe is saying and leave them in the fridge?  I didn't think that was considered safe to make up any amount of formula and leave it for more than two hours even if adding more boiled water. But then I guess if you're having to add boiled water anyways its not going to save time really.

[Lolly]

The WHO leaflet does say you can make up the bottles with water, leave at room temp then add powder if you DON'T have access to freshly boiled water but it's not the safest way.

If you do make up bottles and keep in the fridge they have to be rapidly cooled and then used within 24 hours. They have to be kept at the back of the fridge not the door because it's colder.

I don't think you are saving time either. I'd also be worried I wasn't getting the amount of water right if I was making the formula more concentrated then adding cold/hot water. UK formula boxes don't tell you what the volume would be after the powder is added so you would have to be pretty accurate measuring into the bottle and there's no way I could work out adding another x amount of water in the middle of the night unless I measured it out into another bottle and then that need sterilising too!

We could get a bottle made and cooled in the time it takes to boil the kettle to refill the flask in the middle of the night by having a flask of hot water to hand! We used to put the amount of powder ready in a pot before we went to bed too so no measuring - just dump in and swirl!

Laura

[creations]

I'm guessing the people I know who do it are maybe not aware of the risks

There are a whole lot of people out there unaware of the risks.
One of the bacteria which can be found in powdered formula is salmonella, remember the big salmonella scare? (maybe not, I am likely much older than you) Parents are frequently wary of feeding a 6-12 month old a cooked egg, which in the UK are lion marked to show the hens have been vaccinated and there is a very very low risk of salmonella, and yet the same parents fed their new borns formula made with cold water.

There is a way which adheres to the guides and that is the way it was done about a generation back, make the bottles up (hot water that has only boiled once as previously said), rapid cool, then keep them in the bottom back of the fridge.  The ideal is to make each bottle fresh as needed, but this method (to make up bottles in advance) is also listed as acceptable in the 'birth to 5' book new mums are issued with (ask HV for one) which I believe is the same as the WHO info (though not been to read it recently).

Depending how long you plan to be out it's possible to make up a feed and take the bottle out with you, like Laura said it's good for 2 hrs so you have a 2 hr window to the feed time and a further 2 or 3 (or later 4) hrs until the next feed is due by which time you may be home and able to make the next feed fresh.  That's a pretty long time to be out.  You can also carry bottles in a cool bag with a freezer block in it (available at the £1 shop) although that's added weight.

Another thought - feed straight from the fridge   Mine took it fine and many do.  I chose to use pre-made formula for all feeds (no guilt here Happy, we can all spend our money where we choose hey ) and poured into a sterile bottle just before a feed was due. I used large cartons which are kept in the fridge.  Depending where we were going I would either fill a sterile bottle up just before heading out or take a carton, a pair of clean scissors and an empty sterile bottle with me. DS drank it room temp if it was a new carton I'd just opened or fridge temp if it was a pre-opened carton stored in the fridge.  it made no difference to him and totally avoid having to wait for something to get to room temp or to warm it with jugs of water or whatever when you are out.  It really cuts down on the hassle whilst sticking to feeding guidelines and eliminates the difficulty of night time bottles needing to be brought up to room temp too.

oh posted, same time as a couple of others, I see Laura has replied about keeping bottles in the fridge too.

[creations]

If you do make up bottles and keep in the fridge they have to be rapidly cooled and then used within 24 hours. They have to be kept at the back of the fridge not the door because it's colder.

Oh and if you did choose to do this rapid cooling can be done by keeping 2 or 3 freezer blocks in your freezer, drop them in the kitchen sink filled with cold water in the morning whilst you wait for the kettle to boil, cool a little then make up your bottles.  By this time the freezer blocks will have further chilled the sink of water. Seal the bottles, lids on, then stand them all in the sink. After rapid cooling, bottom back of the fridge like Laura said and freezer blocks back into the freezer will be ready to use again the next morning.

[my3girlsjde]

Wow! I had zero idea about that!   

Well I think I would go back to what I did with my big girls and having a 24 hr supply ready in the fridge, because in my twin night-fog nights I most definitely would forget to take hot water to bed with me. No kidding. I used an ice cream bucket to put hot tap water in to warm them up, and yes it was a PITA but compared to the thought of it not being safe I would go back to the fridge bit. Especially since when we went out, the odd time I gave them cold bottles out of a cooler and they took them with little issue. Why I didn't think to continue with cold bottles I have no idea I think we all have been ingrained with the belief that their bottles have to be warm.

Every morning when I was fresh I would do a batch either in the jug or if I was really ambitious I would fill all of the bottles and line them up in the fridge. I would boil my water while I cleaned the bottles and steralized them, and by the time they were dry the formula was ready to bottle or put in the jug. Considering the options with having to mix with warm water and either refridgerate or use, I would try the cold route if I had to do it all over. If money wasn't an option, the liquid ready to go mix would be the way I would go but it's awfully expensive for two. We used a bit of it and cost quite a bit that way.

I hope that helps

[creations]

the liquid ready to go mix would be the way I would go but it's awfully expensive for two

it is more expensive.

Cloth nappies and wipes! Save LOTS of £££s and use some of the saved £s on the convenience of ready-to-drink.  It takes 2 mins to load the washing machine and no more than 10 mins to stuff the nappies so they are just as easy and convenient as a disposable.  It would take more than 10 mins of your day making formula up so in effect you save money AND time, more time for cuddles with lovely little babies 

[Lindsay27]

I pre-mixed my formula for the day every morning since it is good in the fridge for 24hrs.  I had 2 containers that I sterilized when I sterilized the bottles and I had pre-measured and drew a line on each container indicating how much water I needed.  I can't remember what the exact measurements were but I think each container was enough for 3 bottles, so x amount of scoops and then I filled with the boiled water (I would wait 20-30 mins before mixing) up to the pre-indicated line.  This way I only mixed formula once a day and I poured it into the bottles and stored in the fridge.  I hope that makes sense?

To warm the bottles I left a kettle on the counter and boiled water and I would just put the bottle in the hot water for a few mins.  I do wish I had a better system at night though because I would usually have to bring Ben with me to the kitchen to warm the bottle in the middle of the night because if I left him in his crib he would just scream, but bringing him to the kitchen was counter productive because it usually woke him more.

[*Kara*]

I didn't use powdered formula simply because of the boiled water issue... I used concentrate... you mix it 1:1 with water and since the concentrate is sterile, it was no big deal to boil my kettle and let it cool right down (I used to leave it about 30mins and it would be warm, but not hot)... mixed in the designated formula jug and popped into the fridge.  I poured a bottle as needed and used an electric bottle warmer... took 4-5 mins to heat 4 ozs from the fridge and about 6 mins to warm a full 8 ozs from the fridge.

As for night feeds, I did the same thing... we had a system!  I would hear DD stir over the monitor - DH would run downstairs and warm the bottle while I went to her room and changed her bum... by the time I was done, he would arrive with the bottle (and he went back to bed).. he was awake 10 mins or less and I was back in bed in about 20-30 mins.  Worked a treat to get the NF done quickly!

[ZacsMumme]

What we did for T in the big particularly was this

Keeping a flask of hot water and then add cooled water was the fastest!  No need to premake and no wastage.  Cooling under water took too long.  We had a very hungry baby.  (in the end, we changed to hungry baby formula so that the feeds were not every 2 hours at 4 mo!). 

But rather than a flask I just had a the kettle always with 2 cups or so of water in it ready to boil, and cooled boiled water next to me already ready. I learnt pretty quick the right amount so would use a diff bottle to measure up straight it the bottle ie the formula in it. I 2oz of boiled, shake, add 5 more of cooled. Shake, test and feed.

[my3girlsjde]

But rather than a flask I just had a the kettle always with 2 cups or so of water in it ready to boil, and cooled boiled water next to me already ready. I learnt pretty quick the right amount so would use a diff bottle to measure up straight it the bottle ie the formula in it. I 2oz of boiled, shake, add 5 more of cooled. Shake, test and feed.

I'm starting to like this idea.......but how to make it all faster for when out with them?

[babybarr]

Kara what is concentrate formula?  Not sure we have that here??

I would usually have to bring Ben with me to the kitchen to warm the bottle in the middle of the night because if I left him in his crib he would just scream, but bringing him to the kitchen was counter productive because it usually woke him more.

And this is something i won't be able to do very easily with two screaming bubs!!  Hence with DS I used to use the microwave and shake.

TBH I am now more confused than ever!!!

So I have three options...
1. Premake formula (either in a jug or already in bottles) store in fridge and warm - this is what I did with O.  Now I know that ideally btls are supposed to be made up fresh but in the hospital they use this method.  They would make his bottles for the day leave in the fridge for me to warm.  With O I just put them straight at the back of the fridge after making them, I didn't know about fast cooling them... best way is to chuck into a bowl of cold water yes??
2. Premake some sort of more concentrated formula and then add cooled / boiling water to make to the correct level - I honestly am not sure about this and not sure my frazzled brain would be able to cope with this !!!!
3. Make btls and serve them cold straight from fridge.

Cloth nappies and wipes! Save LOTS of £££s and use some of the saved £s on the convenience of ready-to-drink

The idea of this freaks me out even more!!!  Honestly I'm sure you are right, but washing nappies in addition to twice as many baby clothes / linen is a very scary thought!!

I'm guessing once they are on fewer night feeds I may be able to swap to cartons at night to save time...

The other slight issue I have is I am using dr browns bottles (o had them so just bought another set) and shaking and warming is a pita anyway due to the air vent thing

[Lolly]

The reason to fast cool them is because if you put them into the fridge hot it makes the fridge warmer which has implications for the other stuff in your fridge! It also means the bottles take a lot longer to cool which allows time for bacteria growth. Rapid cooling is either holding them under running water or standing in a sink/bowl of iced water (Creations idea of using ice packs is a great one!).

There is no concentrated liquid formula in the UK, it's either powder or ready to feed cartons.

You aren't supposed to use the microwave for heating either (although we did ) because of hot spots etc but I guess use your common sense with that one.

I really don't think time wise there is much difference in heating a pre-made bottle from cold or cooling a hot bottle you have made from a flask of hot water. Mine wouldn't take cold or room temp formula, we tried a few times so we had to warm! The other think you may find is that powdered formula and ready to feed are a bit different texture wise so they may not swap between the two if they are having mostly powdered in the day.

With Dr Brown's it's better to swirl not shake or you get air bubbles which kind of defeats the purpose of the bottles!

It is confusing. Your best bet is to follow the directions on the formula you choose and speak to your midwife/ HV.

Laura

[ZacsMumme]

I didn't pre make it concentrated, just put the right level of boiled water in, then poured in the formula (which I had pre measured at night in tommie tippee formula travel containers) then topped up with room temp preboiled water (measuring with another bottle) so other than booing jug (which took 30 secs with not much in it) it's just pour shake, top up, shake and serve

[babybarr]

Yeah I know about not using the microwave but like you we did for ease and to bf honest as long as it's stirred after it should be fine. We stirred our Dr browns bottles. Had sterilized spoons for that job!

So Sara you'd have say3oz boiled water in one btl cooled and then measure out 3oz boiling water and mix with 6 scoops of powder mix the powder with the boiling then add the cooled to get a 6oz btl?

[ZacsMumme]

Ugh I'm confused now

So we get up to stirring baby - siiiggghhhh
1. Flick on jug
2. Pour pre measured formula for 6 oz bottle in bottle
3. Pour 3oz (or whatever your mix is to get temp) boiled water into empty bottle, or measuring cup then into bottle to ensure right ratio. Put lid on shake quickly
4. Pour 3 oz cooled water into same measuring cup/bottle (now empty) and then into bottle, put lid on and shake while walking to room to feed.

Make sense? - sounds lie, a lot of work, but once down to a fine art it was really quick YK?