I'm not sure if things have changed in 3 years and I'm really confused. When I had my little boy in 2007, I used to boil a kettle and sterilise his bottles. 1/2 later, I would put the required amount of water in each bottle, put on lids etc and then put in the fridge. When I needed them I would take 1 out put in formula powder, shake, warm and feed. I would never use a bottle that had been in there for longer than 24 hours.
However, it seems that now the advice is to make it up just before the feed. Is this right...I am so confused!

Thanks girls. X

The milk powder isn't sterile so you need to add the powder to boiling water, which is why they recommend making it ready to use.

What I do is I have an extra kettle (cheapy Tesco one) and in the morning I boil up a batch of water then leave it to cool. Then when I make up a feed, I add the powder to the sterilised bottle (which has been washed in v. hot soapy water, then sterilised in our steriliser), boil the other kettle and add an ounce or so of boiling water then top up with the cold boiled water from the other kettle.

It makes the feeds up fresh in just a minute or two and makes them sterile. Lots of people don't bother and just make them up with cooled boiled water but I'm a bit of a worry wart and like to do them properly.

I sterilise all the bottles in the evening once my daughters gone to bed, then just put the bottles together ready for the next day. xx

Following the guidelines, it's boil the kettle, wait half an hour so the water is arounf 70 degrees, add the powder, cool further then use.

There are a few ways to do it, and it really depends what you are happy with.

You can make all the bottles up and put them in the fridge, and use them within 24 hours. (What I have always done, and have never had any problems)
Put some of the water int the bottles in the fridge, top up with hot water when adding the powder, then use.
Put the whole amount of water in the fridge, add powder and heat. (But you'd have to heat to 70 degrees, and allow to cool again...not sure you can guage 70 degrees to kill the powder 'bugs')

Hope I haven't confused you more. My steriliser only keeps bottles sterile for 3 hours if used in the microwave. But cold water sterilising for 24 hours. The way you describe, you are not killing off the potential bugs, and it really wouldn't matter how long the kettle cooled for as the water isn't being used there and then? xx

I make up a few at a time. I boil kettle wait half an hour then make up bottles. I normally make 2 up at a time although if I am going out I may do more depending on where I am going etc. But I haven't had any problems doing this at all and LO has been fine.

i did exactly the same as you except i'd put the bottles in the fridge with 1 or 2oz (depending on amount) less than needed and then top it up with boiling water when needed and add the powder so it wasn't too cold i'm sure nothing has changed with the powders since you had your LO so if it worked for you then, there's no reason why you can't do it now...if i had another baby now i'd do it that way too! x

I sterilise the bottles while kettle is boiling then add the full amount to the bottles and leave at room temperature as this is how baby prefers her milk.
I add the powder at each feed.
Aleia is 15 days old and we've not had any probs.

When I had my son 6 years ago we used to make the full feeds up milk and all and put in the fridge and he was fine!! How times have changed.

I think you find what works for you and as long as baby is ok it'll be fine!

Xx

I'm in the minority tbh as I make them up from scratch (only really because by the time LO started having bottles I knew when she'd need them, she had a routine by then, so it wasn't such a hassle).

If you do choose this, I've found that after putting the boiling water / powder in the bottle, if I sit them in a big bowlful of cold water they cool down within a few minutes so you're not hanging around waiting.

xxxx

I steralise all of my bottles, boil the kettle and put boiled water in all bottles up to 3/4oz and leave on the side at room tempreture. When DS has a bottle, I boil kettle, fill the bottle up ro 6oz then add powder for 6oz, and I usually find it's the right temp for him to have it straight away. I've had no problems doing this and finds this works for the night feeds too, but instead of boiling the kettle each time, we take a plask of boiling water to bed so he isn't waiting for the kettle to boil, meaning he doesn't wake up too much and goes back to sleep more or less straight after his feed, (most of the time :lol: )

xxx

same as mummyjc with ds, and will do same with dd if and when she goes on to ff....it's when the powder touches the water that bacteria starts to breed, which is why they say to make up fresh, and i found the tt milk powder dispensers invaluable for days out...

http://www.tommeetippee.co.uk/product/closer_to_nature_milk_powder_dispensers_pack_of_6_/

Ds2 is on 7oz bottles so I sterilise bottles and put 2.5oz of boiling water in then keep them in the fridge. When he wants a feed I top up with boiling water and add the powder, it only takes a few minutes to cool in a jug of cold water. There's no way I could brung myself to make them in advance or make with cold/room temp water, but it's each to their own. You also have 2 hours to use the feed after making it so if you know roughly when baby will be ready for a feed you could make it up a bit earlier and then it's done when they're ready. When we go out we just use the cartons, tho he has just been put on Wysoy which isn't available in cartons

Xxxxx