Making night feeds

[tiggy]

Hi ladies

I hope you and your lo's are all well. I am looking for a bit of advice please on making up formula feeds during the night as everyone I speak to (midwifed included) tell me something different. Basically how do you make your feeds up during the night? When Charlie wakes up during the night he immediately screams and if I have to go downstairs boil the kettle, make the feed and let it cool it's a good 10 minutes or so by which point the oh and dogs have been woken up and all hell breaks loose. One midwife told me to boil the kettle and put the boiling water into the bottles before bed and take them to bed with us then just add the powder and warm the bottle before feeding. Another midwife said to keep boiled water in a flask and use this during the night to make the feeds with. What do you all do and what seems to be the quickest and easiest way of making night feeds? Xx

 

[Alexandra84]

The second midwife is right. It's better to keep hot boiling water in a flask than make it up with cooled water. The reason that the manufacturer's instructions say to make it up with boiling water is that powdered formula is not a sterile product (it has some bacterial contamination) and the boiling water essentially sterilises it making it less likely that the baby will get an upset stomach or food poisoning. There is a good leaflet about this from the NHS. I think you can add formula to cooled water but it's not as safe as making it up with hot water (more convenient though). Carton formula is sterile, so you could always use that for the night?

In case you're wondering why I bothered to look it up, I did lots of research before LO arrived just in case I had to give her formula for any reason .

 

[Lilelephant]

I make up 3 feeds completely and put then in the fridgeand warm them up for lo

 

[niknaks]

We have 2 flasks. One with boiling hot waterb one with coo led boiled water then mix them to get the right temp. Xxx

 

[Rachaellius]

I make up Phoebe's feeds throughout the day and refridgerate them. She currently has 6oz feeds, but I make the feeds up to 3oz and stick them in the fridge and then when she wants one, all I have to do is boil the kettle and fill up the remainder 3oz. And shake well lol, it's always just the right temperature and all I have to wait for is the kettle to boil.
Before bed though I take one out the fridge and add the water and put it in a thermos bag and take it upstairs with me, as I find it wakes Phoebe up to much if I have to take her downstairs xx

 

[don-don]

I make up bottles with boiled water, and leave them on the side with lids /teats on.. Then add the formula when he requires a feed and shake. I don't warm them. That's how i do it for day and night feeds (when he used to have them). The other ways just seem like such a faff. But I must add this isn't the recommened way for doing them xxxxx

 

[beanster]

When Holly was waking through the night we used cartons cos it was a lot easier. Now her feeds are more predictable I make up the bottles completely during the day and put them in the fridge then warm them in warm water when needed.