Formula!

Former Member

Seasoned bottle feeders, throw me a bone here!

I'm in the process of weaning Superbaby onto formula because I go back to work soon (boo hoo) and am finding the whole process of preparing it a gigantic ballache. I refuse to believe that everyone boils the kettle then waits 30 mins, etc, etc for every feed because you'd end up just not having any life, so help me out. Which shortcuts are safe to take and which aren't?

Thanking you kindly

littlemissy

We didn't boil each time we needed a bottle. We would prepare the bottles in the evening - enough for one day, cool them quickly in a basin of cold water and place them in the fridge and then use when needed. We never kept them for longer than 24 hours and we would only use the bottle for a 2 hour window (ie when we take it out and use the milk we would only use it for a max of 2 hours afterwards).

Niamhy is still alive and never suffered from any tummy issues or anything like that.

Former Member

Prepare a batch at a time and keep them in the fridge then basically what she said ^^^

Did that with all three of ours and you just need to warm them up as you need them

Former Member

MoK wrote: »

you just need to warm them up as you need them

We were mean and never warmed the bottles up. Niamh was fine with that. Of course if your baby is used to warm breast milk she may not take to having fridge cold milk instead

Former Member

Actually one of you drank better when it was cold.

That's the one that likes a cold beer these days

Former Member

when i worked at the nursery we were not allowed to make up formula, even if parents brought it in premeasured to just add the boiling water to. All the parents had to bring in the bottle premade, in a thermal control bag, precooled with a cold block in to be stored straight in the fridge. I'm sure loads of people must make up batches to use as and when, although obviously you have to be careful how long you keep it for. Do you want your milk to dry up completely for your return to work? i just wondered coz i found out recently you can freeze breast milk and serve it in a bottle so could that be an option?

Former Member

Thank you! A day's batch sounds much more do-able.

**Summer-Raindrops** wrote:

Do you want your milk to dry up completely for your return to work? i just wondered coz i found out recently you can freeze breast milk and serve it in a bottle so could that be an option?

Yeah, I've had the 'you know you don't NEED to stop feeding' lecture from the HV this week! I've thought about it lots, but I'm not a good expresser, and it takes 25 minutes to get enough milk for half a feed, and atm she'd eat around 3 times while I was at work, so the idea of spending the best part of 3 hours a day expressing makes me feel a bit :crazyeyes

Not to mention that I have heard stories about other babies who hold out the whole day while their mum is away, and then make up for it with a mammoth feed when they get in. Only Superbaby doesn't do mammoth feeds, she's a grazer, so I think she'd go all day without and then have me up every 2 hours in the night to top up.

I've fed her for over 7 months now, I'm happy with that, and once she stops giving me the death stare when I get the bottles out I think from this point we'll both be happy on formula

Former Member

Kaff wrote: »

Thank you! A day's batch sounds much more do-able.



Yeah, I've had the 'you know you don't NEED to stop feeding' lecture from the HV this week! I've thought about it lots, but I'm not a good expresser, and it takes 25 minutes to get enough milk for half a feed, and atm she'd eat around 3 times while I was at work, so the idea of spending the best part of 3 hours a day expressing makes me feel a bit :crazyeyes

Not to mention that I have heard stories about other babies who hold out the whole day while their mum is away, and then make up for it with a mammoth feed when they get in. Only Superbaby doesn't do mammoth feeds, she's a grazer, so I think she'd go all day without and then have me up every 2 hours in the night to top up.

I've fed her for over 7 months now, I'm happy with that, and once she stops giving me the death stare when I get the bottles out I think from this point we'll both be happy on formula

that does sound like expressing would be hassle! i didn't realise it could take so long - but then the only experience ive had of breast feeding is one of our mums marching into nursery, taking her boob out halfway across the room for all to see then walking round with it out til she found her baby in the cot and then feeding. that and seeing the milking machines on the cows at the farm which fill up quite quickly! i'm sure she will get used to formula after a bit and stop the deathstares!

Former Member

**Summer-Raindrops** wrote: »

that and seeing the milking machines on the cows at the farm which fill up quite quickly!

I doubt that Kath would want to be attached up to one of those, though, somehow.


As an aside, our nursery was the opposite, we gave them the formula powder and bottles and they made it up on site. I'd not have been very happy supplying pre-made, I don't think.

Former Member

Mist wrote: »

I doubt that Kath would want to be attached up to one of those, though, somehow.


As an aside, our nursery was the opposite, we gave them the formula powder and bottles and they made it up on site. I'd not have been very happy supplying pre-made, I don't think.

our nursery was a bit stupid to be honest - their logic was that we could potentially contaminate the milk in the making up of it and thus make the child sick, then they thought it was ok to only have the carpets cleaned once a year with children being sick on them, having diahorrea that sometimes got on them, wet themselves etc etc, you get the picture. oxymorons.

Former Member

Some people can express really quickly, but I'm not one of them! These days Superbaby can drain a boob in 5-10 minutes, but my breast pump is nowhere near as efficient. I think my nips know the difference

She's been very resistant to the change, but we're getting there now. It's just not what she's used to. In an ideal world I'd like to feed her till she's one, but then in an ideal world I wouldn't have to go back to work, so just got to work with how things are.

Btw your breastfeeding mum sounds nuts. I love her!

Former Member

Oh, and the milking machine are not a million miles from the truth!

Former Member

youve done brilliantly.

i used to fill bottles with boiled water and leave them on the side, then mix in the powder as it was needed, then its already room temperature and you dont need to heat it up and you havent got a million bottles taking up your whole fridge

Former Member

As a slight aside point my friend went back to work recently (her son is 9 months) and still breastfeeds in the morning and evening but doesn't give him formula in the day insted he just has lots of other dairy stuff*

*I am not sure how adviseable that is as it probably depends on each child.

Former Member

after 6mths old, im sure you can just make the formula up with tap water too

Former Member

SuzyCreamcheese wrote: »

after 6mths old, im sure you can just make the formula up with tap water too

Probably, but they do recommend water to be hot when it's mixed to kill of bacteria, 'cos the powder isn't sterile.

Former Member

yeah for tiny babies, but after 6mths, its not as important.
I stopped sterilising after 6 months

Former Member

some people do it for a year though. I am slummy mummy

Former Member

SuzyCreamcheese wrote: »

some people do it for a year though. I am slummy mummy

We carried on sterlising (the milk bottles) until she stopped with the formula, but that was probably me being overcautious.

Former Member

Kaff wrote: »

Some people can express really quickly, but I'm not one of them! These days Superbaby can drain a boob in 5-10 minutes, but my breast pump is nowhere near as efficient. I think my nips know the difference

One of the midwives at the hospital told me that handmilking usually yields more than pumping so it's not illogical that a baby is even more efficient.

Former Member

Our HV told us after six months that it was perfectly OK to stop sterilising the bottles, providing the teats and bottles were washed properly. However we were told to keep making the powder using hot water, because the powder isn't sterile and can potentially have some really nasty bugs in it.

We no longer sterilise the bottles and Sod Baby's on cow's milk now anyway.

Former Member

I don't sterilise her sippy cups or bowls and she drinks tap water now and hasn't keeled over yet, so she'd probably be ok without sterilised bottles. The breastflow ones are a PITA to sterilise anyway, cause they feel really crappy quality and seem to warp in the steam steriliser :grump:

Former Member

no point starting all that sterilising faff now.

I did usually use pre-boiled water from the kettle if i had some and it was cool, but if i didnt, i used tap water, and none of my kids died, or got ill, in fact theyve got super immune systems

Former Member

It isn't necessarily the water that needs to be sterilised, it's the formula powder. There have been instances of some pretty nasty bugs being found in the actual powder, so if the powder's not made up with hot water then the bugs in the powder don't get killed.

Former Member

some of them cant be made up with hot water though.

The advice about how to make it up varies from health visitor to health visitor, and its mainly important when baby is tiny and hasnt got a proper immune system yet. After 6mths its really not so important. Theres nasty bugs everywhere, and at an age when baby is picking crap off the floor and putting it in their mouths at every opportunity, sterilising or using boiling water becomes a bit pointless. Basic cleanliness is enough

Former Member

Other than the making up faff, how's the boob-to-bottle transfer going?

Former Member

Slowly! It's taking a lot of patience, but we're up to 2 bottles a day now. She'll only have about 4oz at a time, but that's a vast improvement!

I'm looking like some kind of slightly lopsided Lolo Ferrari at the moment, though! Hoping my milk supply calms itself down soon.

Former Member

Both with my two babies I make a match of 6 up at night, pop them in the fridge then when baby needs feeding add the formula in then warm up:) Wont use them after 24 hours (theres none left anyway!)

Do same when I'm out and about too.