Yep, posts two days in a row. It turns out that I simply cannot get enough of talking about mahself to the Internet!But at least today, I am going to try to help someone by talking about myself. I like to think that makes it just a bit less narcissistic.
But. Let's not forget about me! ME! ME! ME! You can be a fan of Maybe If You Just Relax by clicking here.
But. Let's not forget about me! ME! ME! ME! You can be a fan of Maybe If You Just Relax by clicking here.
Kristine asked me this question on the Facebook Fan Page:
I have an unrelated question for you....it seems like ALL my freakin friends have only breastfed but I need to start supplementing so was wondering if I could ask you a bottle feeding question? Do you only make enough formula for the day in one big container- or several bottles AND do you throw out everything she doesn't drink within 24 hours? My husband thinks it's a scam so we buy more product but I don't know. It all smells gross to me and I can't tell if it's gone 'bad'....moral of the story...I gotta get out of this house and join a mommy group or something because right when I have things figured out. I don't.
Formula smells like garbage. Literally. And, have you tasted it? Because I have, and I almost had to resort to licking the sidewalk to get the taste out of my mouth.
We've done different things with preparing formula. We started out making a big jug and filling bottles as we needed. Then, we switched to just making bottles. And then this week, I just started making a jug again. So I am really helpful as per usual. And indecisive. I have a lot of good qualities like that.
I really think it is personal preference. If you have a pretty good idea how much formula she will eat during the day, it would be really easy to make a jug and just fill up a bottle when you need it. If you're still trying to figure out exactly how much you need to supplement, it might be easier to make one bottle at a time.
We don't throw out formula after 24 hours. I don't think it's a scam, I think it's a Cover Your Big Rich Corporate Ass situation. A few times a week, we end up with a bottle that probably goes an extra 10 hours.And do you know what else? We put formula back in the fridge if there is more than two ounces left in the bottle. And we let her have her sippy if the formula has been out more than two hours. Sometimes? TWO AND A HALF! And we miiiiiiiiiicrowaaaaaaaavvvve it - muwahahahahahaha!
* insert collective gasp here *
So - help Kristine out with your intelligent yet nonjudgmental comments. What do you do at home?
50 comments:
Hi, Kristine & Jen! We made each bottle as needed but didn't act like it was a biohazard if left out of the fridge for a few hours and we did put remaining formula in the fridge (sometimes for many hours!). I kind of treated it like cow's milk which isn't as 'fragile' as people think. Also, you may want to purchase an electric formula mixer. BEST THING EVER!!! About $5 at Babies-R-Us.
I probably get awful Mommy of the year for things I'm about to write BUT I'll write anyway...
I make one bottle at a time at home. I do fill the bottles with tap water and put them on the counter so that's done already...then I make the bottle and nuc it for 30 seconds. I put oatmeal in all my bottles too so the oatmeal is in another formula container with oatmeal written all over it in case I forget what it looks like at 4am. We do 3 formula scoops of oatmeal in an 8 oz bottle.
When she was a newborn, she drank bottles that sat out for 3-4 hours if it was more than 2 oz. :-0 I always put more than 2 oz in the fridge for later...I never dump a bottle after 24 hrs.
For daycare I have to premake the bottles and put them in the fridge there but I hate looking at them in the fridge at home so I make each bottle when I need it here. Oh, and the water sits on the counter for probably WAY longer than it should.
We use generic formula too. Costco sells 2 cans for $20...CVS is $14...Target is $11...I've never used the real deal except at the hospital (I didn't breadtfeed either of my girls).
And no I don't have constantly sick babies...my oldest is 2.5 and she's been sick once and that was 2 wks ago. My youngest is 5 months. The oldest is 95th percentile in height and weight. The little one is 75th for weight 50th for height. (She actually gained a pound in 2 weeks...huh?!?!)
And one last lazy mom trick...I put baby food in my bottles...stage ones and twos work (you have to cut the nipple a little between that and the oatmeal but no biggie for me!).
Love you Jen!!! Usually a silent follower but I felt like showing off my "Does she seriously do that?!" skills. ;)
We made a jug sometimes and microwaved it. But I found it was easier to make by the bottle it we're out and about, because you can use warm water and dry formula and you don't have to warm it.
We did one bottle at a time. Usually filled the bottles with water after they were washed & left them on the counter until it was time to use them, then added the formula.
We never heated bottles. He took them fine as they were, I saw no reason to add an extra step just because. I've even heard of some babies that prefer cold bottles. Never tried it though.
We were also guilty of using a bottle longer than an hour after it had been made in room temperature. One bad night, I realized I gave my baby a bottle that I'd made like 5 hours before. No issues, though one day I figure he'll need therapy over it, along with the fact that mommy didn't nurse him.
If there was alot left of a bottle, we'd also put it back in the fridge.
Also used the generic stuff. Used name brand for a few months, then decided to try Sam's Club brand formula, Members Mark. An insanely large, I believe 54oz of powder, can was under $20.
We're rebels around here, let me tell you.
I have determined that the more specialized your formula is, the more it smells like assholes. My child uses Gentlease, which smells far worse than boring regular formula, and not as bad as Alimentum.
We are probably the worst parents ever. We have 9 bottles. We make all 9 at one time, take out what the kiddo needs and warm it and KEEP THE REST IN THE FRIDGE OMG WE ARE SO AWFUL! But that way, when I pack up my son's bag for day care in the morning, I just grab some bottles and toss them in. Easy. Or I might be lazy.
I don't use formula but I confess to letting breastmilk sit out for 8 hours before (they recommend 4-5) in the middle of the night. Also, I do not own a bottle sterilizer and just wash things by hand. Furthermore, I allow my twins to roll around on the bare carpet. No baby blankets! Quick, call CPS!
I didn't breastfeed either of my kids. When they were little and drinking a small amount every 24 hours, we just made it by the bottle, but once they got older and were drinking around the 26-32 oz/day mark we made it in a big pitcher and kept in in the fridge. We at most made 32/oz a day but decrease it as they drank less.
My pediatrician says its good for 24-48 hours so I never dumped it right at the 24 hour mark, but I try not to feed it to them if it's been sitting out for over an hour because of the bacteria concern.
We've always been on regular formula and I've never noticed a smell, the taste though is terrible!
We mix formula per bottle but with our first child we did a big jug because we knew how much she would drink and she typically drank and odd number (which means you if you do it by the bottle you have a 1/2 scoop you need to measure which is just a pain). We throw formula out after an hour past when he started to drink it. Simply because bacteria can start forming but really I don't think it's all that terrible. We've used a microwave as well... just shake it really well to get out hot spots. Never had a problem and we have bottlefed 3 babies (our third being strictly breastfed for 3 months). Generic formula is the way to go. Has the same ingredients and is a heck of a lot cheaper (we actually use Target brand).
We make a jug to fill 4 bottles at one time. Then I fill the 4 bottles and put them in the fridge. If he has less than an ounce left we put it back in the fridge... but that rarely happens (my boy likes to eat). We swtiched to a jug because making one botle at a time was 1) making way too many bubbles in each bottle for our baby, and 2) making the baby wait too long. When he is hungry he is ready so I usually start to thaw out the bottle in warm water around 30 minutes before I think he will eat. We don't microwave it simply because the bottle doesn't fit. Good luck!
I heard a nasty little rumor that they now make single serve formula pouches, like the Crystal Lite packs.
Don't ask me who makes them or where you can buy them!
I breastfeed but we also supplement. We make bottles as-needed since we don't really have it figured out how much she drinks during the day. A lot of the time if I'm trying to "top her off" before a nap, I'll make 2 oz at a time so I don't waste it. We just use warm tap water. We don't micro it because maybe we're gullable pansies but we read that microwaving it kills nutrients. We once got a packet of formula and made it all at once but we ended up having to throw a lot of it out.
I always just made up each bottle as she needed it, and as an added bonus our daycare let us drop off a big container of formula powder so they just made each bottle as she needed it too. We always put the leftovers back in the fridge (as long as it hadn't been sitting out for more than 2-3 hours) and we used to use a steam bottle warmer, but then switched to 30 seconds in the microwave with glass bottles. Even today at 2 1/2 she insists on her milk being warmed up (can we get a collective "eww gross" ). This next one I am going to try to eliminate heating up and use room temp tap water.
Kendall- I know Similac makes the single serve packets, I used them 2 years ago (I think they sent me samples before they were available in stores). I've seen them at Wal-Mart, Target and BRU.
Yes, they make single (2oz) serve packets. Which are PERFECT for going out. Bring just a bottle of water and a few packets and make a bottle if you need it.
I always just make them as I go. Mostly due to lack of room in the fridge. My daughter drinks milk cold or room temp, so she doesn't care. At first I freaked if there was any left, but I did the math once and realized on a bad day I wasted like twenty cents.
If she starts the bottle, but doesn't really mean it, I'll put it back in the fridge. If it's sitting out for a while though, I probably won't give it back to her. I mean, I don't like to drink from a cup I forgot about hours ago either.
We've always done one bottle at a time. It never even occurred to me to make one big jug (yum!).
But we do try to keep to the guidelines...loosely. If he's started drinking from the bottle, we use the rest of it within 2-3 hours or dump it. Many times after a small break, he'd end up drinking the rest anyway.
I breastfed....for 4 days! Then it was on to the bottles. We ended up on Nutramigen and the only way it wouldn't constipate him (TMI?) was if it was the premixed crap at $9 a can and he drank a can per day. Hence, we poured it up by the bottle. Microwaved it to take the cold edge off and didn't ever really pay attention to how long it sat out. I had a mommy instinct if it was 6:00 in the evening and that bottle was from 6:00 this morning then I threw it out. And we didn't throw anything out from the fridge unless it was 48 hours old.
OMG, almost fell out of my chair laughing -- thanks for perking up my Friday afternoon and for admitting to what so many of us surely do!
For what it's worth, I do it bottle by bottle. At first, because I was mostly breastfeeding, I didn't know how much he was likely to drink. Even now that he's been in daycare for a few months he's not entirely consistent and I just find it easier to do one at a time. Plus then I don't have to keep track of when a bottle was made and is it time to toss... Good luck.
We used Enfamil Lipil with both our kids. Well after the hospital supply ran out, we used the Target version. I didn't think it smelled too bad and I thought it tasted GOOD! It's sweet. :-) At first we made a day's worth and kept it in the fridge, as needed, we poured a bottle and heated it up by running it under hot water. I never microwaved it - I'm a rule follower! LOL. By the second kid, we just made each bottle as needed. We always used filtered water, it just seemed cleaner. We would throw formula away after about 3 hours, btw. My kids still love milk, so I never had any oz. left over to re-refrigerate.
Enfamil makes the single packets too, they're more expensive, but can be so convenient to have on hand at times. I've seen them at Target and some grocery stores.
We use Good Start. Usually make up the bottles for the next day before I go to bed - at least 1 for the am and the daycare bottles. It takes a while to dissolve so I hate mixing it up as I go. Plus it's easier to get ready in the morning - just grab the bottles and throw them in the daycare bag. We nuke it for about 15 sec (8 oz formula) to take the chill off but its still pretty cold. If she has more than an oz left, I put it in the fridge for later, but she usually drinks all but 1-1/2 oz so I just throw it out.
We did bottle by bottle, mostly because we don't have room in the fridge for more. I'd put a partially eaten bottle back in the fridge if that had existed in my world. But my baby drank bottles cold once we were making formula bottles (he was breastfed for about 10 months) because at 2 a.m. with a screaming baby I am NOT waiting for even a microwave. He didn't even blink to transition to a cold bottle from warm breast milk.
We use the Similac Sensitive...and make one bottle at a time, though we do fill the bottles with water and leave on the counter. And I've micro'd bottles (GASP)
We also use the "Ready Right Now" bottles that Similac makes. They are 8oz and perfect to take when we go out.
I bottle fed my first and when she was a new baby we would make up bottles and put them in the fridge. When she got a little bit older, I would make a pitcher and then pour out what I needed. At about 5-6 months I started making 1 bottle at a time. I filled the bottle with warm tap water and used the powdered formula to make a bottle. If we did have some in the fridge we'd warm them in the microwave. They say you're not supposed to because it creates hot spots...but I figured that if you shake it up it would even things out =)
I also don't and never have owned a bottle sterilizer, I just washed them by hand.
Never threw it away after 24 hours and I certainly allowed her to carry her bottle around for a few hours.
Oh, and I let her take a bottle until she was 2. I should stop admitting things while I'm still ahead!
I did things old school.
I made all the formula in a sterilizer (which I'm not sure anyone even sells anymore) in six of these cheapie plastic bottles with the crappy nipples. I used those to store the formula in the fridge, and then poured what I needed into the "good" bottles.
I never, ever threw formula out.
At night, I'd pack up an insulated lunch box with all the bottles she'd eat during the night and set it on my dresser. They stayed cold, and I'd warm it up in a bottle warmer plugged in beside the bed when needed.
This time I'm giving breast feeding a shot, and I'm scared. I have no idea what to do.
My boy is 5.5 mo old now, and we're lazy. I make the formula a bottle at a time, and I just run warm tap water to make it with. When he was little bitty, I made several bottles at a time and kept them in the fridge, then warmed them up in the bottle warmer. I have been known to nuke it too. As for leftovers - what are those? There is never any left. We also use the generic formula that is $11.88 a can at Wal-Mart. We started him on the Similac, but he was always constipated and would go 3 days without pooping. The generic leveled things out, and now he poops once a day, like clockwork. Everybody I talk to is like, "OMG, you give your baby generic formula AND use tap water AND you don't sterilize the bottles? That's awful!" but he likes it just fine. I started him off on the fancy breastflow bottles while I was attempting to breastfeed, but when that turned out to be a dismal failure, I switched to the cheapie Wal-Mart bottles. I don't feel bad about running those through the dishwasher. I weighed him this morning and he was 18 lbs, so I think he's doing ok. Oh, and I do have some of the pre-measured packets for emergencies when we're out of the house. They're expensive, but handy.
Hi Ladies, my twin boys are 7 months old and, in the first few months, I bought into the hype of "don't microwave, don't give your baby the formula if it's more than 24 hours old" etc.
Now, the boys get microwaved bottles & like you Jen, if they don't finish a bottle, I stick that bad boy back in the fridge and give it to 'em again when they're ready.
Since I have two, I make a big batch at night so that I don't have to make it during the day.
We started supplementing at about 5 months and just recently made the switch to 100% formula. I wanted to give her organic formula, and because Parent's Choice Organic is hard to find, we give her Bright Beginnings Organic, which is exactly the same thing. Made by the same company. If you call the company and ask for coupons, they ask you if you want PC or BB. BB costs literally twice as much. I think it tastes and smells like Coffeemate, which I think is vile. Once I ran out of water bottles for myself and was in a hurry and filled a baby bottle with water. (Just the bottle--not the whole apparatus. I'm not a total weirdo). The formula taste in the plastic made me feel sick to my stomach.
We make it by the bottle because we don't have a pitcher that doesn't make a huge mess when you shake it. I do keep religiously to the advised time limits tho. We waste a lot of formula, but I am not willing to chance it. But then, I'm like that with my own food too...following every FDA guideline and not eating a hamburger unless it is a smouldering lump of carbon.
I secretly admire people who break the rules.
You ladies are such a breath of fresh air...and hilarious!
I always made it by the bottle...filling up the bottles with water in the morning and lining them up on the counter and then mixing the formula when needed. I don't remember my daughter ever not drinking an entire bottle because she was a pig so I'm not sure if I ever had left overs!
Generic formula is awesome. Target brand (now called up and up) is actually made by Enfamil and it is 1/2 the cost.
Rather than the travel packets that are super expensive, they make little tupperware containers (I have the Munchkin brand) that have divided compartments that I filled up with formula - they hold 3-4 bottles worth.
Thanks for the laughs ladies!
I fill all of our bottles with water ahead of time. Then I measure formula into those little containers from target made by munchkin that have the three little sections. (That makes it really easy for daycare, night time feedings and any other time really...) Then when DS gets hungry all we have to do is pour the formula from the divider-thingamajig into a bottle and shake it all up. We don't warm his bottles, never have. Since they only have water in them until right before he eats we just leave them in his bag or on the counter or wherever they land...(not the floor ofcourse but you get my point)
i'm leaving anonymous because i don't want anyone to think i am saying anything "bad" about the way they do things ..... promise.
just sharing my routine....as asked above.
I don't get pre-filling your bottles with water or pre-making a whole jug of formula......I don't think that is any eaiser at all.
I just run my tap water to warm....fill the bottle...add my scoops of formula and shake it up....then feed.....i think it is WAY easier than taking the time to pre-mix and pre-fill and microwave....etc.
even when mah beebee was teenie tiny and ate every 2 hours....i would just scoop the right amount of formula into dry bottles....take like 4 of them upstairs at night....take an extra bottle for measuring and i would fill up however many ounces needed of warm tap water, add it to the bottle with the formula already premeasured out and shake up and feed....pretty easy.
however.....i am a total wiener and am afraid and buy into the whole "don't use after 2 hours" thing.....and I NEVER reuse formula that is left over in the bottle.....i always throw out the leftovers....
but....i am also a total wiener about believing that different formulas are better than others too....(i am sure they are not....but i feel like my baby is only little once so i better take advantage of the best formula)....i will only use enfamil premium...i have a ton of regular enfamil in the basement that i won't use because somehow...in my twisted mind...i feel like the enfamil premium MUST be better....
yes...i am a marketers dream.....
i can't help it though.....
ok....i am ready....start the stone throw!!!!!!!!
12 week old twin boys on Gentlease since 1 month. Accidentally used leftover powdered regular Enfamil and it was Pukefest 2010. Gives me chills just thinking about that day.
We use the blender to make a big batch every night. Twin B is on higher calorie bottles so we make them up right then and there. Saves us from having to do math in the middle of the night or when someone is screaming. We store them in a mini-fridge in the master bedroom. Makes 3am feedings a piece of cake. We also keep snacks for me in there too.
And, like most it seems, we keep for longer than 24 hours and reuse half eaten bottles.
My older daughter was exclusively formula fed for 8 months.
I just made one bottle at a time as I needed it. It was way easier than messing with a big jog in the morning.
big jug even...(although my fat ass could use a big JOG) :)
I too make a jug of it and pour out as many bottles as needed for the day and always have extra. Never have I thrown it out unless I have let it sit out for longer than 4 or 5 hours. and I also put leftover formula not eaten back in the fridge and I too MICROWAVE. Hello, has anyone heard of hot spots? That's why you shake it afterwards. It's never too hot, and if it is because my lazy ass isn't paying attention, I throw an ice cube in it and stir it around. Cool and ready to drank.
I also don't steam clean my bottles, hot water and soap do just as well and my daughter hasn't once been sick since she was born. So there. hehe... :-)
I am the worst mother ever...of twins no less! I tried to breastfeed them, when they were eating 64 ounces a day I called it quits! We make a jug and refrigerate it; and keep a stash of filled bottles in the fridge too. I have been known to give them bottles that have sat out, and to "top off" I had to switch to Target brand b/c similac was causing us to go broke! But you know what these are the chubbiest, happiest preemies you ever saw!
My son only breastfed for about 5 weeks before I called it quits. We were sort of like Jen, never really had any rhyme or reason to bottle preparation. I did find that it was easier to go a bottle at a time because he never drank it all when I would make it in big jugs, and then I would be annoyed that I wasted all that formula.
We also microwaved his bottles.
Which is perfectly fine if you shake it up a little so there are no hot spots inside the bottle.
We tried not to let them sit out for more than an hour, and after he was a few months old those bottles with more than a few ounces went back in the fridge.
I breastfed and supplemented until my son was about 5 months and this is what we did:
- we pre-filled bottles with water and left them on the counter
- made bottles with formula from the tub as needed
My baby always took a room temp bottle so I never worried about warming it since it was at room temp. We used filtered water and I'm such a wiener that I follow all the rules: toss within 1 hour from start of feeding... etc. Now that my son's about 7 months, I might give him the rest of a bottle if it's been like, 2 hours or so, but today alone, we've thrown away 4 oz of formula. (I tended to bend the rules a LOT more with breastmilk as it was you know, difficult to get).
Now that we exclusively bottle feed, we still make his bottles as needed. Daycare does the same. We just shake it up in the bottle and he gets it right there. I never thought about the excess bubbles and that maybe causing some extra gas (?), but if your baby is sensitive to that, you might consider pre-making. It's harder, of course, to know how much you'll need if you're supplementing because daily formula intake will vary.
We used to buy earth's best but it smelled awful and his spit ups were disgusting. Now we use similac advance early shield and like it just fine. I'd consider switching to generic if it weren't for the fact that I love the ready-to-feed bottles (8oz) size ones which we use when we travel and even when we go out for the day. The powder sticks come in handy too and I like to keep him on one brand of formula consistently (don't know why, just have it in my head that I should).
PS - I do think that the formula can go "bad" if it sits out too long. At the end of the day, when I empty out my son's bottles and put them into the dishwasher, the leftover formula from the morning bottles always smells completely heinous. But they've been sitting out at room temp for 4+ hours by then. "Freshly made" bottles don't smell (at least not to me). I don't know where the line between good and bad is and I don't want to risk it - also, my husband would probably forget how long something has been sitting out and forget to "check" it, so heaven help us, he'd give my son a 9 hour old bottle if we didn't have some rules in place.
We used water that sat on the counter, and made them one by one- only becuase then we didn't have to heat them- both my boys took them @ room tem with no problems- I've NO problems cutting corners! As far as when I threw them out, I can't help ya, been too long- but I'd have to say I probably used and "old" bottle more than once! ;)
Yeah. Wow. My daughter is over 10 months old and it has NEVER occurred to me until JUST NOW to make a daily jug in advance. Because that would be easy. And I am dumb. And didn't think of it.
PS: We only started making all the bottles in advance two months ago. Otherwise, it was, "hey, baby's crying, better start mixing some scoops."
PSS: Omigod, Kristine, please do whatever is easiest for you, you will thank yourself for it.
Triplets here...so on top of the formula thing. And this information is "off the record".
We started out, way back in the early days (ie, one year ago), letting the girls drink from their bottles for 1 hour. What wasn't consumed went into the trash. Now, at 15 months old, we still have one on Neocate formula. We fill her 5oz bottle and let her have it for about 4 hours (GASP! OH THE HORROR!). If we mix a jug, we let it sit in the fridge for 2 days before we toss it. We have never had to go longer than 2 days b/c we only make 20oz at a time, anyway.
And here's the worst part. She goes to bed with a bottle (yes, we have good reasons) and sometimes when we walk into her room in the morning, she's sucking down fluid from 11 hours ago. Total yuck, but she hasn't gotten sick, so WHATEVUH!
Point is, be somewhat diligent, but don't throw away perfectly good formula. And, we also microwave and re-refrigerate.
3 babies. That's just the way it goes.
Triplets here...so on top of the formula thing. And this information is "off the record".
We started out, way back in the early days (ie, one year ago), letting the girls drink from their bottles for 1 hour. What wasn't consumed went into the trash. Now, at 15 months old, we still have one on Neocate formula. We fill her 5oz bottle and let her have it for about 4 hours (GASP! OH THE HORROR!). If we mix a jug, we let it sit in the fridge for 2 days before we toss it. We have never had to go longer than 2 days b/c we only make 20oz at a time, anyway.
And here's the worst part. She goes to bed with a bottle (yes, we have good reasons) and sometimes when we walk into her room in the morning, she's sucking down fluid from 11 hours ago. Total yuck, but she hasn't gotten sick, so WHATEVUH!
Point is, be somewhat diligent, but don't throw away perfectly good formula. And, we also microwave and re-refrigerate.
3 babies. That's just the way it goes.
I have twins so you need to be very organized to stay sane. I have enough bottles to last the day so every night I make up the formula and fill up the bottles for the next day. When the babies were drinking bottles in the middle of the night I would take out a cold bottle before bed then keep it out until they were ready to eat letting it come up to room temperature on it's own. During the day I would take the bottles out of the fridge early and let them come to room temperature (or close) then it would be quicker to warm them in a bowl of hot water. I occasionally microwave them then make sure I swish the formula around to get rid of any potential hot spots.
I would also put formula back in the fridge if they didn't drink much! I also let formula sit in the fridge for more than 24 hours! In fact I pretty much ignore everything they say we should do! Bad mommy.
Back when I had to make formula, I made a big jug in the morning and filled her bottles from there. But, she was also in daycare, so I could just fill the bottles she'd need for daycare, and have the rest for when we were all home. Big timesaver for us.
I also microwaved bottles. Just be sure to shake out any hotspots (but she'd also take bottles that were *barely* warm. lol).
Oh, and I never really had the problem of having formula left over in a bottle - she's always eaten like a hog. hahahaha.
I had to switch around formulas until we found one that she didn't have projectile-type massive spitups with. We ended up with Good Start. I never tried a generic brand since I was freaked by the spitups (and the amount of laundry that it generated) and basically quit while I was ahead. :)
Good luck!
I tried the big jug method and it just didn't work for me. So now I do the bottle by bottle method. And also, formula smells disgusting!
So...they sell premade formula in to-go bottles (which we love and keep in our diaper bags). They last like 3 or 4 months. So why wouldn't their other powdered crap last longer than one hour??
I read somewhere that your baby will know if the formula has "gone bad" and will refuse to drink it. My beebs is 22 lbs and 7 months. She hasn't missed too many meals :)
isn't warm/hot tap water bad since it has higher concentration of lead and other undesirables? that's what I've always been told
Our son is breastfed when I'm home, and formula fed when I'm at work. I pump at work and save it in the fridge or freezer for mixing cereal, thinning solid food (like if I make mashed potatoes from dinner and want to thin them to give some to him).
I don't know about warm or hot tap water being bad because of higher concentrations, but it's what we use. We hand wash bottles, air dry on the counter, fill with powdered formula, and add warm tap water or room temp bottled water as needed. (Obviously, tap water at home, bottled water when we're out and about.) We used a bottle sterilizer when he was a newborn, and then packed it away in the cabinet after the first few months. Now I only get it out if he's been suspected of being sick, or if I think his nipples and rings are really, really grungy with invisible bacteria.
We do throw away formula that's been sitting out over the recommended time. I'm like that about all food, though. I throw away leftovers after a certain amount of days, I throw away food that's been sitting on the stove for too long while we talk and goof off during dinner, I throw away half-eaten family-size bags of chips if they aren't closed up with a tie or clip before being put back in the cabinet. I'm crazy like that.
Now that he's on solid food also, we use hot tap water sometimes to mix his cereal and powdered formula if we're out of expressed breastmilk.
When I have to work night shifts, hubby take a ton of bottles with powdered formula and a couple of bottles of water to the bedroom at night, and he doesn't have to get up, fix a bottle, heat it up..... He pours some water into the bottle and shakes it, all while laying in bed.
We also co-sleep and lots of other bad, horrible, awful things. My little butterball (7 months old) weighs in at 20 pounds, and he's 28 inches tall. He was born at 6lb 5 oz and 19.5 inches, 9 days before my due date. (His older sister was born 9 days before EDD, and she only weighed 6.5 lbs exactly. I birth small babies that make up for their birth weight quickly, evidently.) I think we're doing pretty good.
Am I the only mommy who thinks that formula smells and tastes like a yummy vanilla milkshake?? I actually breastfeed my baby but had to use formula for a short period while I was on some incompatible medicine - during that time I did a taste test and imho formula is WAY yummier than breast milk!
Oh my god I know these posts are old but I so wish I found this 4 months ago! I'm a first time mum and paranoid at just about everything!! I just woke up for a night feed (for the boy not me..) I thought it was midnight not 4am so grabbed the bottle on the side I thought had been there an hour! Didn't realise until he had finished it then started panicking!! Lol he's asleep now after giggling at me for half hour so I'm sure he's ok!! Never laughed so much reading comments before! Thanks for unintentionally making me calm down lol xxx
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