do you still boil the water...

[NikiJ]

We still boil water for lo bottles!!

Dh works in building trade & keeps saying that if you saw inside the water mains you'd boil your own drinking water.  I must admit i used tap water twice on the sly though.

[Tatumsmom]

Thankyou everyone for the reply's.I think for piece of mind I'll keep boiling, as I have a good system going.
Kim

[lisamichel]

Ok I just thought I had to jump on the band wagon on this one.    I will say that I don't boil my water and use it right out of the tap,  my doctor also said as long as you are on city water there is no need to boil it.   Now if your on a well or something then you need to boil.   The job I have will now convince maybe some of you others that even distilled and nursery water and other sources may not necessarily be a better choice -   So I test foods and even water - and actually we had that same exact nursery water as a sample where I work - I work for the FDA as a microbiologist-    and if you read the jug it says that it is not purified or sterile!    Well I will tell you that when we tested the water it grew all kinds of organisms -   It was definilty not germ free -   The chlorinated water out of your tap was probably cleaner.   I was pretty shocked myself.  Granted these organisms are probably found in all kinds of water but I don't want people to think they are buying something without anything in it.    If you want absolutly sterile water for you baby then I would say boil away - and if you don't then tap water is just fine.    It all comes down to preference.   

[Mom2katiebug]

Wow!  That must be a fun job!

[lisamichel]

Yes its a great job and I really love it.    I do say that it has opened my eyes to many of the foods we eat,  I kinda look at them in a different way.   There will be weeks when my husband and I are at the grocery store and he will pick something up and sometimes I will just look at him and say "we aren't eating that item this week!"  The food supply in the United States is pretty darn safe and usually we have nothing to worry about but there are times when thing do happen.   But I have been here 4 years now and I think I have seen it all.    I test for Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli (the Bad E.coli O157:H7),  Anthrax,  Mad Cow,   you name it we test for quite a lot of stuff.    It really opened my eyes while I was pregnant.   Especially Listeria - that is one bad little bug you don't want to get while your pregnant!       Lisa

[VLR2006]

I am not so convinced that drinking bottled water is that safe (chemicals in plastic etc.) but have been giving my baby bottled spring water as our mains water is rain water from a well/tank.  Do you think that the fresh water boiled is safe.  Many neighbours have told me they brought their children on up the water from the tap and they were always fine.  It looks really clean when it comes out, and i use it to make tea/coffee, so cant see why it would hurt the baby if it was boiled ?

Thanks, Louise x

[Mom2katiebug]

Louise - I would ask your pediatrician.

Lisa - We found some distilled water that is steam distilled - does this mean it's boiled?  Seem to recall from my chem classes that you can get steam without reaching the full boil temperature...but am not sure.....

[lisamichel]

Mom2katiebug -  Being steam distilled should be ok too.   It doesn't get it up to the boiling point but the steam is still a high enough temperature to kill the organism's.    Like I say,  I use the water out of the tap,  but Im not on a well or anything,  its city water so being chlorinated and everything,  it is just fine.   So even working in the field of microbiology I still just use  the tap. 

[Andie6294]

Do any of you using tap water make formula in bulk or just by bottle as needed?  I find it easier to make it for the day all at once.  Read somewhere that you'd probaby want to boil if you're making in bulk, but one bottle being used right away should be OK. I'm not brave enough to make a batch with just tap water yet!

[**Clare**]

I always made mine at each feed, heard it was better than making a batch, but i always boiled the water even then as this is what was reccomended! Something i find strange is that you boil there water for drinks but at 6 months you can stop?! Then why do we have to boil water for formula till they are a year!!??

[lisamichel]

I make my up in bulk in the morning using tap water,   I have to make it up for the day for the daycare I take my daughter to.   But we have been doing that since she was 3 months old and she is almost 7 months old now.    If there is any leftover from daycare I use it when I get home but after she goes to bed I get rid of any that is left that she didnt drink.    So I guess it is only around for about 12 hours of so, since I make it first thing in the morning.   But havent had any problems at all with doing it that way,  and I think it says on the canister that if you make it up in bulk to just use it within 24 hours.   

[Andie6294]

Interesting.  I guess we all do it differently and our babies are none the worse for it.