Can bottle feeds be made up in advance using sterilised water kept at room temperature?

[Butterfly1mich]

Hi, I was told by a friend recently that her midwife advised her to keep a couple of bottles with sterilised water already in them in a cupboard at room temperature for the day. That way all she had to do was add the formula when her baby needed a feed.

I this correct, can this be done now? Because when I had my first almost 17 years ago now I had to make it from scratch every time.

[Hidden]

That is not advised ! The water has to b hot 2 kill any bugs in the powder milk .

U can keep cooled boiled water to add to fresh boiled water to cool the bottle to a good temp to add the powder, then cool further to feed baby .

Your supposed to make fresh all the time but I found this near impossible! In the books I had it advised that if you were not able to make fresh feeds e.g u were going out for the day or baby went to childminders ect u should make the bottle as directed on the tin , then they needed to b cooled as fast as possible at the back of the fridge , use a cool bag for transporting ( I didn't ) put in fridge if 1 available and heat as required but only once. If u have a fresh made bottle and it cools u can reheat within a reasonable time, if its cooled down enough that baby won't have it so effectively this is what ur doing.

My son is 3 and as we all know the advice changes all the time but this method works best for me and aswell as breastfeeding in the 1st few week I will use this method again.

I know people that put the powder in cooled boiled water then heat to temp to feed baby! To me this method is not killing any bugs that could be in the milk!

I know people that have the powder in tubs separate and take out boiling water so that in effect when the baby's ready the water is the right temp for milk but it might not b hot enough.

The way I did it the thought is that the cooling and heating can cause bugs , but as far as I can tell this is generally the way it's been done for years and if done right shouldn't cause a problem , this is my opinion and as I said worked for me and I will do it again.

I know people that follow no guidelines at all, don't sterilise bottles on a reg basis and feed then milk that has been left at room temperature 4 hrs! I strongly wouldn't advise this but the kids seem no worse for it.

You will b given advice by health professionals, ask them the best method if fresh isn't possible . some will b very strict and not go off the book ! others ( who generally have kids ) will b more realistic and give practical advice and tips.

Work out what's best for you and ur baby, follow ur instincts.

Good luck.

[Butterfly1mich in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much for replying to my question. i found it extremely helpful.

I had my first child nearly 17 years ago and am about to have my second and its all very daunting! So much has changed in that time that i feel like im starting from fresh.

Thank you again.

[belle143]

advise does chnage all the time, when my nephews were born 20yrs ago we made up feeds in advance and cooled as quick as possible, the advise i got with my son 5yrs ago was you could add the boiled water to the steralised bottle cool and store in the fridge then add formula and warm. best advise would be to ask your health visitor about the latest advise. and find a way that works for you.

i think the main thing that is put across is not to keep using a bottle that baby has fed from and been exposed to bacteria.

hope that helps

[Allyemo1985]

who.int/foodsafety/publicat...

Very good PDF I had my last baby 4 years ago completely forgot how to make bottles until I read your post did a google search and this is very simple reading from the world health organisation. Xx

[roselee]

boil the kettle

fill the bottles

leave to cool

tighten lids

store in cupboard

add powder when needed

so long as the water is not left uncovered, for coughs and sneezes and germs

[Butterfly1mich]

Brilliant! Thank you. That's exactly what she was told and i was wondering if it was actually ok. Sounds like a much easier plan than heating and cooling every time you need a feed made. prevents them from getting upset.

Thank you for your help. xx