handy tips on formula feeding

[shambhala13]

i am looking for some practical everyday tips on how to formula feed a babe. i have previously breastfeed my two sons & have never even used a bottle with them, but due to my health issues i do not have that option.  as my partner is going to be doing a lot of the preparation & caregiving of our two preschool sons i would like to get some ideas now before baby comes.  some of our main questions are:

• what type of water do you use to mix with the formula - must it be boiled or distilled?
• we will be using our dishwasher as the sterilizer - do other people do this?
• do you pre-mix all of your bottles for the day & store them in the fridge?
• what do you use to warm bottles at home & when you are on outings?
• do you bring mixed bottles with you when going out for a few hours or mix them as needed?
• what do you do at nightime?? the thought of getting up through the night several times to do this procedure seems rather daunting.

thanks for your help,

claudia

 

 

[GoBecGo]

Originally Posted by shambhala13 

i am looking for some practical everyday tips on how to formula feed a babe. i have previously breastfeed my two sons & have never even used a bottle with them, but due to my health issues i do not have that option.  as my partner is going to be doing a lot of the preparation & caregiving of our two preschool sons i would like to get some ideas now before baby comes.  some of our main questions are:

• what type of water do you use to mix with the formula - must it be boiled or distilled? Boiled.
• we will be using our dishwasher as the sterilizer - do other people do this? Yes, provided you don't use a cooler wash option (sometimes called ecowash).
• do you pre-mix all of your bottles for the day & store them in the fridge? No, it says on most cans not to - you can sterilise the bottles and put the boiled water in them and put them in the fridge but add the powder at the last minute.
• what do you use to warm bottles at home & when you are on outings? When i had to FF i got DD used to room temp bottles.  If i HAD to warm i did it in hot water in a jug (take a thermos or try to be somewhere where that can be an option).  When at home you can use a bottle warmer or the same old jug and warm water.  Just make sure you're checking the temp before offering it.
• do you bring mixed bottles with you when going out for a few hours or mix them as needed?  Yep, they sell little stacking tubs you can load with 1 bottle's worth of powder in each section.
• what do you do at nightime?? the thought of getting up through the night several times to do this procedure seems rather daunting.  Honestly?  I got up.  I only had to add the powder, shake and warm it up and it totally sucked each and every time.  Sorry.  I had to mix feedings from 4 months and FF totally from 7 months due to a thyroid problem after #1.  I am BFing #2 successfully.  It would suck massively if i had to FF again!

thanks for your help,

claudia

 

 

Hope that helps.

[CallMeMommy]

I've never formula-fed but my sister did, and the one thing I remember as being "genius" is pre-mixing all of the formula for a day in a pitcher and pouring it into bottles as needed.  I wouldn't use tap water, I'd buy distilled.  And I always thought if I had to formula-feed at night I'd get the bottles ready with just the water in them, keep them in the bedroom (or wherever baby gets fed) and dump in the powder when the baby wakes up.  HTH!

[bec]

I never formula fed, but had to bottle feed my cleft palate baby.  Lucky for me, she had no problem with milk straight out of the fridge.  That made night feedings SO much easier.  I would leave a couple of bottles in a cooler with ice packs on my night stand.  When babe was hungry, I'd get a bottle out and feed her lying down (we co-slept).  If she had needed it warmed, I would be tempted to use one of those bottle warmers near the bed.  I don't see why this wouldn't work with formula as well.  Or, maybe keeping bottles of water in the warmer, and then dumping in the powder at the last second to mix it up?  Seems like less work than getting up, and going through the whole process in the middle of the night!

[TheGirls]

Originally Posted by shambhala13 

i am looking for some practical everyday tips on how to formula feed a babe. i have previously breastfeed my two sons & have never even used a bottle with them, but due to my health issues i do not have that option.  as my partner is going to be doing a lot of the preparation & caregiving of our two preschool sons i would like to get some ideas now before baby comes.  some of our main questions are:

• what type of water do you use to mix with the formula - must it be boiled or distilled? We used ready to feed for the first few weeks because they were preemies, then switched to powder mixed with tap water. Their ped did not think sterilizing the water was necessary at all.
• we will be using our dishwasher as the sterilizer - do other people do this? yup
• do you pre-mix all of your bottles for the day & store them in the fridge? we've done this or mixed formula in a pitcher and poured off one bottle at a time, depending on which was more convenient.   We've used three brands of formula and all three had instructions for how to do this on the cans.  I've never heard of any issue, as long as you keep it refrigerated and use it within 24hrs.
• what do you use to warm bottles at home & when you are on outings? We don't.  We give bottles straight from the fridge.  The boys have never complained, even when they were partially breastfed.  some babies are pickier nno matter what you do, but I recommend NOT heating the bottles unless the baby insists.  There's no point in getting them used to warm milk if they don't care about it otherwise.
• do you bring mixed bottles with you when going out for a few hours or mix them as needed?  Usually both, depending on the outing.  I keep a canister with 3 bottles worth of formula in the diaper bag, and usually travel with a small cooler and two pre-mixed bottles on ice (I have two babies, so one bottle each).   If they finish the bottles and want another, I rinse and re-fill with water (tap or bottled, whatever I have) to make more bottles.  If I'm going somewhere without good access to water I bring my own. For a singleton, I'd get a diaper bag with an insulated bottle pocket, and stick a bottle and an ice pack in there.  My diaper bag has one, but it's only enough for one bottle.
• what do you do at nightime?? the thought of getting up through the night several times to do this procedure seems rather daunting.  I bring a cooler to bed with pre mixed bottles.  For the first 6 months we co-slept full time, so we'd just grab a bottle from the cooler (kept by the head of the bed) and put it in the hungry baby's mouth.   Around 6 months the boys started preferring to start the night without us (on a mattress on the floor in another room). So they start there, and when they wake up for the first time (if they do - sometimes they sleep through) we bring them into our bed and feed them there.  This method does sometimes result in formula on the sheets because mama fell asleep while feeding, but honestly I don't have it in me to get up and mix bottles multiple times a night for twins. 

thanks for your help,

claudia

 

 

Hope that helps!

Edited by TheGirls - 6/9/11 at 8:43am

[TheGirls]

Oh and for formula mixing, I recommend this:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Browns-Formula-Mixing-Pitcher/dp/B0010L98DI  (link is to Amazon  but it's a lot cheaper at Target)

For dishwasher use, get a dishwasher caddy to put your nipples, rings, etc in.  Very handy.  Pretty much any store that sells formula sells them.

[QuestionGal]

Originally Posted by shambhala13 

i am looking for some practical everyday tips on how to formula feed a babe. i have previously breastfeed my two sons & have never even used a bottle with them, but due to my health issues i do not have that option.  as my partner is going to be doing a lot of the preparation & caregiving of our two preschool sons i would like to get some ideas now before baby comes.  some of our main questions are:

• what type of water do you use to mix with the formula - must it be boiled or distilled?
• we will be using our dishwasher as the sterilizer - do other people do this?
• do you pre-mix all of your bottles for the day & store them in the fridge?
• what do you use to warm bottles at home & when you are on outings?
• do you bring mixed bottles with you when going out for a few hours or mix them as needed?
• what do you do at nightime?? the thought of getting up through the night several times to do this procedure seems rather daunting.

thanks for your help,

claudia

 

 

I exclusively pump (for now) so I'll skip over some of the questions and answer the ones that are more bottle related 

• what type of water do you use to mix with the formula - must it be boiled or distilled? - don't know enough to give an informed answer
• we will be using our dishwasher as the sterilizer - do other people do this?- We do. I believe it's okay with a healthy, full term infant. If you have a preemie the answer might be different. Maybe for the first few days/week use a sterilizer as a pre-caution?

​        Rinse the bottles with soapy water then load into dishwasher, run as usual. (If I don't "pre-rinse" the bottles they don't get all the way clean, the milk leaves an oily film) to Pre-rinse I put in a squirt of soap, add some tap water put the top back on and shake. Leave until ready to load into dishwasher. 

• do you pre-mix all of your bottles for the day & store them in the fridge? Yes, I do one day's worth of bottles at a time. I think formula has to be used within about 24 hours (not sure) or it spoils. there are Formula mixing pitchers out there too. Plus if you mix early the air bubbles will settle out. 
• what do you use to warm bottles at home & when you are on outings?  go through a drive through and ask for a cup of HOT water filled halfway. Bottle will be warm in a minute.  Now that DD is older she prefers cool bottles so it's not an issue (ie, having a bottle the "right temp" is a short term consideration"). 
• do you bring mixed bottles with you when going out for a few hours or mix them as needed? You can do either, I think it depends on the amount of time you'll be out (b/c the formula may spoil if left too long). There are pre-measured formula dispensing containers and then have some bottled water on hand. 
• what do you do at nightime?? the thought of getting up through the night several times to do this procedure seems rather daunting.- Bottles are pre-made, just grab one from the fridge. When DD woke multiple times at night we would use the "First Years Night & Day warmer" It has a chiller that keeps bottles cool for 8 hours and then pre--measured water things for the warmer. We kept it in our room and when she woke up we would warm the bottle while changing her diaper.  

Other Bottle Tips:

an insulated bottle pod or lunch bag is great for being out of the house. We put a couple ice packs in the lunch bag to keep the bottles cold if she won't be hungry for a few hours or if we need to bring multiple bottles. If she'll be hungry soon then I put one in the bottle pod (attached to the diaper bag).  Since you'll be using formula that's probably not an issue since you can just bring the powder and bottled water and mix as needed. 

I think one of the best things is that DD prefers a cool bottle (not cold and definitely not warm).  This makes it *much* easier to feed her on the go. I'm guessing that happened when she was about 2-3 months? 

Congratulations on your little one on the way!!

[Strong Mama]

Queen of formula feeding here: with twins.lol

I have an electric tea kettle: I boil the water in that, pour into the bottles and make enough bottles to last 24 hours.

I wash my bottles by hand in hot soapy water and then I put them in a microwave steliser(advent makes a good one) for 7 minutes.

On outings I just put powder in the bottles and take a bottle of sterised water with me, mix as needed.

I warm up my 8 oz bottles in microwave, for 50 secs., 4 oz was 25 secs. Perfect temp. If they have been in the fridge.

If it is room temp, I do not warm it up.

When they had nighttime feedings, we had fridge/micro in room. It was easier that way. They havent eaten in the night since 8 weeks old though.

[nktigger99]

Originally Posted by shambhala13 

i am looking for some practical everyday tips on how to formula feed a babe. i have previously breastfeed my two sons & have never even used a bottle with them, but due to my health issues i do not have that option.  as my partner is going to be doing a lot of the preparation & caregiving of our two preschool sons i would like to get some ideas now before baby comes.  some of our main questions are:

• what type of water do you use to mix with the formula - must it be boiled or distilled?  Depends on your water...I will use bottled water for the first few months or boil tap water..we do have issues with our water though.
• we will be using our dishwasher as the sterilizer - do other people do this?  I know a LOT of people who do this...but our dishwasher sucks...so handwashing is what we have to do.  I do not sterilize bottles after the first few months anyway.
• do you pre-mix all of your bottles for the day & store them in the fridge?  I am going to try this with the twins...I never did it with my son...i never felt I needed it...I did buy one of the formula pitchers listed above...if it works out I will buy a second one(one dirty, one clean).
• what do you use to warm bottles at home & when you are on outings? I always used room temp water with my son...this time I am going to try cold bottles and see how the kids do...I think this is really dependent on the child...Some really like it a certain temps other could careless....they just want food!!
• do you bring mixed bottles with you when going out for a few hours or mix them as needed?  I mix as needed when out and about...I bring a bottled water and keep it in the car...and a small bottle in the diaper bag.  Then I carry one of the formula dispensers with formula to mix on the go. 
• what do you do at nightime?? the thought of getting up through the night several times to do this procedure seems rather daunting.  I would add the water to the bottles before bed...then just needed to add the formula and shake...I did get up...my son was a pretty bad sleeper so sleep was pretty sparce for a long time with him...lol   This time I am just going to play it by ear.

thanks for your help,

claudia

 

 

Honestly....so much of this is just finding out what works for you and your LO.  Some babies are super picky...other could careless as long as they are getting food.  I found some things didn't work for me at first but then as my son got older I was able to start doing something a little different...so like anything with kids it may change with time.  Don't make to many plans or anything...Just keep an open mind and you will soon find what works. 

Oh and I also BF my daughter exclusively...never even one bottle...but I am 100% FFing my twins when they get here next week...I am having some major health issues and I know that this is the right choice for my whole family!

[Ola_]

• what type of water do you use to mix with the formula - must it be boiled or distilled? We use boiled tap water.  DH drinks a lot of tea so at the end of the day there is typically water left in the kettle (he's got a 3L one) that's been boiled but not used.  I transfer this to a big glass jar (just cause that's what we had on hand, I think one of those big glass juice bottles would be great to reuse for this) and use it for the next 24 hrs.  You could keep it in the fridge but I just have it on the counter beside the formula can and bottles.  I use a funnel to pour in the water from the jar, scoop the formula, and shake.  Eventually I plan to go to either tap or filtered (i.e. Brita) water since our water is fine here, from what I've read 4 or 6 months should be a good time for that.  We're just using the boiled while she's tiny.
• we will be using our dishwasher as the sterilizer - do other people do this? We use the dishwasher every other day (not on sanitize setting, just regular hot wash) and wash with hot soapy water (and those bottle brushes) every other day.  At first I rinsed the washed bottles with hot boiling water for peace of mind but as she gets older I've relaxed about it as I figure she can handle more stuff now.
• do you pre-mix all of your bottles for the day & store them in the fridge? No, I mix as we go with the pre-boiled water I have set aside, scoop formula, and shake.  Easy peasy.  Sometimes I pour the water into a bunch of bottles We did use ready-to-feed formula exclusively at the beginning when we were still nursing/pumping since the amount she was getting varied depending on how much breastmilk I was able to make.  I've read that some recommend to use this type at the early stage because it's sterilized by the manufacturer.  We still have some on hand that we sometimes use while we're out.
• what do you use to warm bottles at home & when you are on outings? We don't warm, DD had no problems with room temp (pumped) breastmilk so that's how we gave her formula at first too and she's had no complaints.  So we don't warm.  We feed room temperature and since we keep the water at room temp that keeps things simple.
• do you bring mixed bottles with you when going out for a few hours or mix them as needed? We either use the ready-to-feed formula (we use the Kirkland brand from Costco and it comes in little 8oz bottles so I can re-close it unlike the cans) or bring measured water in the bottles and the formula measured in one of those three compartment dispensers (mix as needed).
• what do you do at nightime?? the thought of getting up through the night several times to do this procedure seems rather daunting. Ok, so I know this is against the "rules" but I mix the bottles before I go to bed and set them on the nightstand ready to go.  At first I used the ready-to-feed stuff at night time but I've started doing the powder now and it seems to work just fine.  DD and I are bed-sharing so when she wakes up I just grab a bottle, feed her, and snuggle back to sleep.  She doesn't seem to need burping after night feedings, at least she seems to do fine without them (no apparent discomfort and no spitting up).  I put a waterproof pad under her just in case but this way neither of us has to get up at night (since we've started putting more absorbency in her diaper, she no longer poops during the night).  My DD is 3 months old btw.

Hope that helps!

 

 

[TheGirls]

Oh and I thought I'd add - we do boil new bottle parts to sterilize (just in a pot on the stove).   And every few weeks we boil the nipples and plastic rings.  We use glass bottles and they get extremely clean with no pre-rinsing in our crappy old dishwasher.   We also have some plastic bottles and they are more of pain in the neck to get clean, so I feel like I have to boil them more often because they get icky.  I prefer the glass, for a lot of reasons.  We have never sterilized after each use, though, even when they were just home from the NICU.  Soap & hot water is plenty. 

[motherhendoula]

Hi - I am searching for the link but i was always told that powdered formula for infants under 3 months is not recommended.  trying to find the link....

we used the liquid - boiled water in the tea pot, when it cooled made up bottles for one day - that was pretty much the end of the can.  Travelling with baby was nightmare if baby needed a warm bottle - this part would of course be easier with the powdered stuff.....- my one FF baby never woke up at night....

dont heat bottles in the microwave -  if baby doesnt finish the bottle - you are supposed to throw the formula away - dont put it back in the fridge.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/110/4/833.full

this isnt the link i was thinking of - ill see if i can find it.....

[TheGirls]

Originally Posted by motherhendoula 

Hi - I am searching for the link but i was always told that powdered formula for infants under 3 months is not recommended.

Interesting.  When our boys were being discharged from the NICU we spoke to the NICU nurses, the NICU ped, and our own ped.  All said that the powdered was fine, even for preemies, unless they had a seriously compromised immune system.  It is true though, that the powdered is not sterile, while the liquid is.  We used the liquid until the boys needed to be put on the special high-calorie preemie formula due to lack of weight gain.  It was only available in powder, so we used that.  When we went back to regular formula we stuck with powder. 

The link you used was only about feeding and formula handling processes in NICUs, btw, which is a different situation than feeding at home for a presumably healthy full-term infant.  

[mommy212]

I have baby sat a lot of formula fed kids, so here is my two cents worth:

-as for the water, you can either boil it, or buy "nursery water" from places like babies r us or a well-stocked baby section in a supermarket. 

-I have used a microwave sterilizer before, and must say I found it very annoying. The dishwasher sounds great to me.

-you shouldn't pre-mix them, but you can buy these handy gadgets that are divided into either 3 or 6 sections where you measure the formula powder into, and you turn the top to one of the sections and dump the pre-measured powder into the bottle at the last minute. Saves a lot of time and clean up getting the can out and measuring into the bottle etc. You can keep these in the diaper bag, nursery, where ever.

- at home I have used a steam warmer and the microwave, which you are not really supposed to do. The steam warmer was nice but made the bottle hot, especially if it's glass. The microwave trick is really just to shake a lot after you get it out, but again, this is not recommended anymore. On outings I usually gave room temperature bottles, with pre-sterilized water in a bottle and the powder dumped in at the last minute. You can also buy car bottle warmers that plug into your cigarette lighter but they tend to be very slow.

[new2this]

Originally Posted by shambhala13 

i am looking for some practical everyday tips on how to formula feed a babe. i have previously breastfeed my two sons & have never even used a bottle with them, but due to my health issues i do not have that option.  as my partner is going to be doing a lot of the preparation & caregiving of our two preschool sons i would like to get some ideas now before baby comes.  some of our main questions are:

• what type of water do you use to mix with the formula - must it be boiled or distilled? DD was breastfed first so when we did the switch to formula I went straight to tap water or bottled water. 
• we will be using our dishwasher as the sterilizer - do other people do this? we use playtex drop ins so the bottles and nipples went into the dishwasher. 
• do you pre-mix all of your bottles for the day & store them in the fridge? I make them as needed. 
• what do you use to warm bottles at home & when you are on outings? either room temp if using bottled water. or warm tap water. Now since we are cutting expenses I no longer by water. So I fill her bottle with the water and I have a travel container for 3 bottles that will hold to formula so I just fill the bottle with the water toss in bag and away we go. 
• do you bring mixed bottles with you when going out for a few hours or mix them as needed? mix as needed just in case she don't need it. I generally will feed her before we head out. 
• what do you do at nightime?? the thought of getting up through the night several times to do this procedure seems rather daunting. I hated this part..lol luckily it only lasted about 2 weeks before she dropped all feedings unless going through a growth spurt. Anyways our rooms are upstairs kitchen on main floor. So I filled a bottle with water and the travel container with the formula and set in her room. Never premade it because I never knew is she would actually wake up or not so I would hate to waste it. 

thanks for your help,

claudia

 

 

[Megan73]

My LC said two months but according to the European Food Standards Agency says babies under one month should only get ready-to-serve formula because of the risk of potentially fatal contamination with bacteria including Salmonella in powdered formula. You can also find ready-to-serve in glass bottles if you're worried about BPA in can linings.

[SeattleRain]

Originally Posted by shambhala13 

i am looking for some practical everyday tips on how to formula feed a babe. i have previously breastfeed my two sons & have never even used a bottle with them, but due to my health issues i do not have that option.  as my partner is going to be doing a lot of the preparation & caregiving of our two preschool sons i would like to get some ideas now before baby comes.  some of our main questions are:

• what type of water do you use to mix with the formula - must it be boiled or distilled? I am obviously a bad mother but I just used tap water. Not filtered, just straight from the tap. I live in Seattle, and everyone drinks the tap water. If you live somewhere that the water has a lot of deposits in it or you wouldn't drink the water, then I'd go with boiled water.
• we will be using our dishwasher as the sterilizer - do other people do this? Plenty of people do this.
• do you pre-mix all of your bottles for the day & store them in the fridge? I did when Daniel was 0-6 months. Then he started just having bottles at certain times of the day and it started to be not a big deal to make them all at once.
• what do you use to warm bottles at home & when you are on outings? I don't really. I use warm tap water.
• do you bring mixed bottles with you when going out for a few hours or mix them as needed? I did when Daniel was younger, like 0-6 months. Then I started to bring the water and a formula caddy to put the premeasured formula.
• what do you do at nightime?? the thought of getting up through the night several times to do this procedure seems rather daunting. I did the cooler method described above. I mixed two bottles and put them in the cooler.

thanks for your help,

claudia

 

 

[jezebelle]

I didn't read the other responses before I answered, so forgive me if this has all been covered.

• what type of water do you use to mix with the formula - must it be boiled or distilled?

We use gallons of distilled.  Not nursery, as it is more expensive and usually has fluoride added.

• we will be using our dishwasher as the sterilizer - do other people do this?

We do this.

• do you pre-mix all of your bottles for the day & store them in the fridge?

Nope, we make them as needed.  [see below]

• what do you use to warm bottles at home & when you are on outings?

We don't warm them at all, ever.  We keep the distilled water on the kitchen counter, and take a reusable water bottle with us when we go out.  This way the bottles are never cold and always room temperature, and little J has no problem with this. 

• do you bring mixed bottles with you when going out for a few hours or mix them as needed?

We have a formula dispenser, and we also use those packets of pre-measured formula.  Just dump one in a bottle, add water, mix, and serve. I don't use pre-mixed because they don't "keep" very long.

• what do you do at nightime?? the thought of getting up through the night several times to do this procedure seems rather daunting.

I keep however many bottles I need for the night (usually four-five, depending on when my bedtime happens to be) on the nightstand, and that same reusable water bottle.  I also keep a canister of formula in the bedroom, and refill it when it gets low.  I leave the empties (or not-so-empties, sometimes!) on the nightstand and rinse/wash them in the morning.  Because of this system, and the fact that J takes room temperature bottles, there isn't a need to leave the room; I just slide out of bed into the floor (my nightstand is very low) and make a bottle by lamplight.

[newmamalizzy]

I'm having a vague memory from high school that you're not supposed to drink distilled water because it is completely pure and therefore likes to leach certain minerals out of the body (just as it usually does from the rocks, etc., which is why these minerals are present in water in the first place).  So, don't quote me on that, but I would be more comfortable with boiled tap or bottled water. 

[jezebelle]

Oh!  You don't mention which kind of formula you use, or if you did, I missed it, but be wary of those reusable tubs from Enfamil.  I don't know if it was the tub or my mistake, but we found one of those flour-bugs in our formula the other day, had to throw the whole tub out.    We now keep our refill packs in an airtight canister.