formula again

[bednobs]

now that Phoebe has reached her due date (yay!) she's allowed powdered formula. I have NEVER done it before. On the pack it says to add the powder to the water then put cap it off then shake it up, then put the teat on. The bottles that i have dont have a cap - is there any reason you cant add powder, put the teat on then shake it up?

[Ratty2E]

It's a long time since I did bottles but I would think if you shook it up with just a teat on the milk would spray out also you might get bits of unmixed powder caight in the teat. Our bottles used to have blanking caps that went in place of the teat for mixing/storage etc.

[Ratty2E]

should have said 'caught in the teat'.

[andrew1707]

Don't you have any caps to put over the teats. These are very good for keeping the teats as near to sterilised as it is possible (and stops milk spraying when you shake them )

Try swilling them around instead of shaking them. This still mixes without the violent spurting.

[AliceTickband]

'tis going back a good while since I mixed baby formula but I mixed up a whole day's feeds in a sterilised jug and poured it into the separate bottles and kept them in the fridge till needed within 24 hours. All children grown up now, so it worked for me, but I would check to see if advice has since changed.

[rockyracoon]

The cap is only there to stop the powder clumping in the teat, do as ndrew says so that most of the powder has been dissolved, then give it a good shake with the teat on. I found that warming the water beore adding the milk worked better than the the way round.

[bednobs]

thanks all - i have the big overall lids but not end caps.
Current thinking is you are supposed to make up bottles with at least 70 degree water, and you are not supposed to make up any in advance, just as you need them.

[rockyracoon]

Gosh, it all changes! It's anyones wonder how and babies survived.

[rockyracoon]

Sorr that sounded sarcastic, it wasn't meant to be.

[bednobs]

lol i know - it's a crock of **** -you are supposed to boil the kettle every time and let it cool for 30 mins - imagine doing that in the middle of the night while you have a baby screaming for food. I don't mind her crying for a bit but 1/2 an hour - jesus!

[rowanwitch]

how about ready made formula? I know they have it in maternity units would that be a possibility all you do is put a teat on the bottles

[bednobs]

we've been using the ready made stuff (as the hospital advised) untill her due date. it's expensive though.

[rowanwitch]

the only thing I can think of is using a bit of clingfilm over the neck they use it on burns so it think it would be near enough sterile if you unroll on layer before taking some off the roll

[bednobs]

well 2sp - you know! tired doesn't quite cover it. I always feel under enourmous pressure to "enjoy" everything despite the fact there are many aspects of looking after a newborn that aren't all that enjoyable (for example, when did taking a shower become a luxury rather than a necessity?) People seem to think that everything is "ok" now because i have what i wanted - what they don't seem to realise is i don't have what i want - i want Heather AND William AND Phoebe, and in fact being with phoebe makes me think about the others much more, and all her firsts are bittersweet because i never got to do them with the others. I didn't realise you could buy ready made in 1 litre bottles - we've been using cartons (200mls), I do have lids that go over the teat, but the packet seems to suggest there should be a lid to the bottle to cap it off for mixing up, but i don't have any

[sherrardk]

Bendobs - you can just put the top and hold it tightly when you shake the bottle. From what I remember, you are not supposed to make the feeds up too much in advance but you can get little pots with a turnable lid and you can measure out the powder and just pour one compartment's worth out at a time ( Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation ).

On the first three, I was really mean and gave them room tempreature bottles in the middle of the night (far too much hassle to be warming up water, etc).

So glad to hear that Phoebe is making good progress but do appreciate that you have so many conflicting emotions, x

[bednobs]

ok so thanks for all your help. I used the advice of swirling it then shaking and it's going ok. The making it up as you go is just ridiculous - it takes a good 3/4 of an hour to cool down enough even with running it under cold water so i made an executive halfway house decision of half filling the sterilised bottles with boiled water, doing them up and putting them in the fridge, then when it's food time adding just boiled water then the powder. It makes it about the right temp then, and i haven't made them up in advance like they kept going on about at the hospital

[erin-x]

At the nursery we have to boil the kettle and leave it for the half hour before making bottles. Realistically though, we make them up and have to sit them in the cool water to cool down. They don't actually take that long. We don't make any bottles in advance but some parents do, we just have to sit them in boiling water to warm up.

Tbh... I think all the precise instructions are a bit much. Babies have been surviving for millions of years.. What's that different now? Lol!

[tigwig]

I wouldnt pay too much advice to the guidelines. You will find your own way of doing things that suits you. With both mine I made feeds up in advance most of the time and always through the night and warmed them up in a bottle warmer to avoid going downstairs. They were kept in a cool bag next to the bed too. My kids were fine from doing this.

[pizza]

Hi bednobs x don't ever feel guilty about enjoying Phoebe or having to take her into consideration before having a shower or a pee it's natural. lol
Before having a baby no one tells you about the little things we take for granted, the things we now have to plan with military precision, days out OMG the stuff that's needed can almost spoil a nice sunny outing.
What you have to remember is you now have this little miracle ! your Daughter x
Life is a mysterious thing as is death and for whatever reason we have a built in mechanism to cope x
You will never forget Heather and William and they will always be watching over you all.
Don't ever feel selfish for what could have been, be thankful for what is now x