Making up bottle feeds.

I know I dont need to explain myself but you feel so guilty for not breastfeeding till your baby is 21 these days - anyway I managed to bf for 3 weeks and have been bottle feeding since then and its going really well.

Now then this is the confusing bit and I wish they covered this at anti-natal classes as much as they try and force breast feeding down your throat!! Anyway I know you cant make up feeds in advance anymore (nearly everyone I know does or if they dont they have the water ready in sterile bottles to put the formula in - and they havent been struck down by lightening yet!!) anyhow can someone tell me if I am doing this right. I cant have my baby crying for 1/2 hour at every feed so i havent been totally making bottles up from scratch and whats the point to a steriliser which can take 6 bottles if you have to sterilise 1 bottle at a time?!? Anyway I sterilise all my bottles and put them in the fridge empty. Then when I need one I have boiling water ready and waiting in a flask which I put in my bottle then add formula then cool down under cold tap. I beleive this is the quickest, safest way without going the whole hog of sterilising 1 bottle in my steriliser, then boiling my kettle and leaving it for 1/2 hour, which I arent sure if we can do that anymore anyway because your water has to be over 70 degrees now to kill any bugs in the formula!! The thing is will my flask need steralising, or is the boiling water sufficient. I thoroughly wash my flask in hot soapy water every day, but do I need to bang it in my steriliser?

Thanks, and I know I know breast is best and I wouldnt have to be doing this if I was breastfeeding, but I had my reasons for stopping and my baby seems very happy being on formula, and its worked well so far. Anway can you tell me how you all make up your feeds. A bit of honest advice needed please.

Thanks so much.

Everyone i know was confused about this as well and made to feel guilty about not making up bottles as they were needed.

Since bottle feeding began there have been different ways of doing it.

I used to make five up in one go as thats how many i can fit in the steriliser then as they are needed they are heated in the microwave to desired temp. These days now that shes on food and only taking 3 oz bottles during the day i only make about three bottles up in one go. This is only because thats the way it goes these days.

I probably could now make them up as i need them but i cant be bothered. Don't feel guilty i dont know anyone whose ever had a sick baby from making up milk in advance. Life is far too short to worry about such trival matters and to be honest i swear they only invent these stupid milk holding gadets to make you spend even more cash that would be better of in your babys account.

Marina:)

I know, I dont know anyone who has had a problem making up bottles in batches, I read on the Tommy Tippee website that it isnt recommended anymore because there have been 50 cases of gastroentritis (or however its spelt) worldwide through making up feeds in advance. Wow a whole 50 out of how many million??

Thanks Marina.

I remember, and this was years ago - that i told a milatant midwife, when asked when i had stopped b/f exclusivley at 10ish weeks, that everytime I came. my boobs leaked - she nearly passed out !!!

I have 2 strapping girlies, bf only for about 4 weeks, mixed for a few more, then botte only.


Do what you want....

I don't make up the bottles fully as I find the formula settles and smells a bit if made up too far in advance***. I sterilise all my bottles in one go each evening, put half the amount of boiled water in for each feed and put in the fridge once cooled. When B needs a bottle, I boil the kettle and fill up to required level, add formula and bottle is ready for her to have. When she was having a night feed, I used to fill a flask and top up the cooled water from the flask to save me boiling the kettle in the night. I didn't sterilise the flask as basically if there is only boiled water in it then it is steam sterilising itself with each use.
ETA *** I don't use one of the regular formulas available from the supermarket, use a specialist one due to a medical problem B had so this may account more for the settling and smell.
I use the cartons when I am out and about but I get them from the cash and carry so a lot cheaper than from a supermarket. If she is due a feed within an hour of us leaving the house, I make up a bottle from scratch using fresh boiled water only and take it with me to give her it when she needs it.

B hasn't had any problems with the above and a number of the Mum's in the baby group I go to do the same thing.

I breastfed for five weeks but it wasn't working out for us as due to a medical problem B needed double fed for most of this and it was just too hard going - my health visitor was very supportive when I wanted to stop and as B was hitting her development points there was no problem.

hiya

Since Am was born ive been sterilising 5 bottles at a time, putting boiling water in, leaving to cool, and i add formula as and when for each feed. I bought some pots from asda that are divided into 3 so you can take formula either out and about or up to bed ready measured.

Luckily Am has her bottles at room temp so never needed to warm them, been doing this for the past 11 weeks and she's fine and putting on plenty of weight!!

Hope this helps

Yup see everyone does it differently.

Marina:)

I do exactly the same with my 3rd child, 5 weeks old and did the same with my second who is 2 and a half and never had any problems. Each time I have a baby the rules seem to change, my HV told me I should be making them up fresh each time with hot water as they reckon now the milk powder is not sterile. But she also said this is the govt 'covering their back' and everyone i know makes them up either the way I do or as milk in advance. HTH.

I do the flask trick and keep boiling water in there, it cools throughout the day so you need to change it but even when its boiling hot and i need a feed i just stick the bottle once its done in cold water for 5 mins and its nice and warm.

I like the idea of doing half the water putting in the fridge and topping up with boiling water when ready to add the formula, sounds like a very sane way of avoiding screaming baby waiting for bottle to be cooled down, it seems to take forever when the little one decides I want my bottle like yesterday!!

Thanks for your tips and I knew I wouldnt be the only one not sticking to the rigid totally un-realistic guidelines handed out by HV's!! We do live in the real world, if a baby needs feeding he isnt going to understand you have to wait for 1/2 hour for a kettle to cool down!! I am sure these guidelines get harder to stick to to make life harder for those of us that have to or decide to bottle feed, just add to the guilt or inadequacy we already feel, as if that hasnt stuck the boot in enough!!

And while I am on my soap box, why arent bottle feeding mums given the same respect as breast feeding mums? And why dont we get taught more about how to correctly bottle feed/steralise etc at parent craft/Anti-natal classes?? Why is it made into such a big deal. When I had my c-section one of the girls on my ward wanted to bottle feed and the midwifes/nurses spoke to her like crap, she was a young girl and not confident enough to answer back, but I could hear the way they spoke to her and I was disgusted. She looked no more than 19/20 and had just had a 10lb baby who was constantly crying to be fed!! Bless her, I think the way midwives are trained to put this pressure on women to breast feed is too much IMO. Anyone with half a brain cell knows its best for baby to be breast fed but it is doesnt come as natural to some as it does others, and we dont need pressure putting on us when we have enough on our plates just getting used to looking after a newborn and finding our feet in our new role as mothers. God I am ranting now, but it really does annoy me.

Thanks for the tips though girls!!

Thanks!

Hey, happy mum = happy baby. If bottle feeding works better, it works better.
I think the problem is, everyone has an opinion on everything when it comes to babies and lots of people aren't afraid to share them whether they're welcome or not! Bottle feeding or breastfeeding, you'll get sh!t either way - I post regularly on a bf forum and the amount of people there who've been told they're disgusting for bfing or get filthy looks from women because they're feeding near their husbands and they think they're flirting with them or something... I've heard of women who've been told their son will grow up gay (WTF?) if they bf or that they'll get an unhealthy obsession with breasts! It's mind boggling! You get it either way because for some reason some people think it's their business.
You're doing what is best for you and your baby. Ignore anyone who says or implies otherwise.

PS I agree that there should be more info on how to make bottle correctly - it's not right that if you don't bf you don't get help with this.

I've just been to Spain and this is what I did when I bottle fed Mia.

I didnt even sterilise the bottles as we dont have a microwave in our house there. I washed everything in boiling hot water first, then filled the bottle up with half cold water (mineral water as I dont drink the tap water there) and the other half with boiling hot water out of a kettle, then I'd add the formula powder to it. That was the exact temperature she'd take it.

When I am feeding Mia a bottle in Holland, I sterilise everything in those ridiculously overpriced contraptions you get , 2 at a time usually, then add cold water from the tap to the bottles in advance. All I need to do is put them in a bottle warmer (which heats up the bottles to exact temperature in 1 minute) then add the powder to the bottle. Will getting a bottle warmer make things go quicker for you?

And who gives a rats ass about whether you breastfeed or not? I dont get why people feel so guilty about not breastfeeding??? It's a time consuming process, Mia is currently needing to be breastfed 10 times a day at least, which sometimes wears me down, but I dont mind plodding on with it. If it isnt for you, dont feel bad about it!!!! have managed to get her to take 2 bottles a day, just to give me a break - and I feel not a shred of guilt. Look girls, your babies are luckier than most, do you think they care where their food comes from? Be it a packet or a boob? I think not.

They also ram breastfeeding down your neck over here (in Holland). My health visitor told MrS NOT to buy bottles or a sterilisation kit because she was so chanelled into me breasfeeding. He went and bought them anyway - in case I couldnt breastfeed her.

And I think definately more could be done to help women breastfeed after they give birth. The girls I've spoke to that gave birth in the UK, were just left to get on and breastfeed with no help whatsoever. Over here, the health visitor and nurses spent time with me getting Mia on the boob. And when the HV came to the house for 4 days after I came home from the hospital, each feed was monitored to ensure that Mia was feeding correctly - something that I really, really appreciated.

I cant believe what some people on forums say about bf either. Shame on them, the ignorant fools.

Some people eh? Your right they should keep their opinions to themselves, its up the Mum to decide whats best for her baby. Your comments about breast feeding and what some poor women have experienced is unbeleivable. For women to say things like that to other women is just plain rude. I was shocked to find out that if you are breastfeeding in a resturaunt or cafe the owner can ask you to leave if any of the other customers feel uncomfortable. Surely this isnt right!! If people feel uncomfortable around a women who is breast feeding - they're just plain weird!!