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Storing formula milk

Advice on the current health and safety regulations on storing and freezing formula milk

Current guidelines suggest that you should not store formula milk for any length of time as it may be unsafe. This is because formula milk power is not sterile and when mixed into a solution may allow bacteria to grow if not consumed immediately.

Instead it is advisable to carry a seperate thermos flask containing boiled water and only mix the milk powder with the water just before a feed. Additionally, you should dispose of any surplus milk after a feed as it is not safe to use again.

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My baby is 5months old and bottle fed,i make my feeds up in advance and put in the fridge to heat up when needed.i do not store them longer than 12 hours.At first i was getting in such a state over all this being told to make a fresh bottle every time for each feed,as by the time i had boiled the kettle and cooled the bottle down,my baby was so hysterical and passed herself that she wouldn't have her milk,and i was very stressed out and upset too,so i just resorted to doing what i did with my first baby,making them up in advance and storing in the fridge.as this was what i was told to do 5 years ago ! what has changed since then god knows ! I get the feeling in another couple of years there will be a new way,we are told to make bottles,and NOT to make them up as we are told now.My way was fine for my first child he has never had any problems,it is working for me this time round.Nearly all my friends that have babies all do the same as me.

by sarahlou00

2nd Feb 2011, 8:45am

I have been told that formula milk no longer contains the preservatives required so it can be stored like we used to. Is this right?
by nickywilky	14th May 2010, 5:38pm

Im a new mum to a 2 week old baby, I started to breast feed but it wasn't working for me & the baby as I was still on a come down from a c section, & he just couldn't latch on, so I decided to combine breastfeeding and formula (not in the same bottle of course)
I agree with all these comments about preparing bottles in advance, my mum used to do it with me, my partners mum with him & his brother etc etc etc!!!!! their running out of things to pick at so their finding stupid petty things to stop now!!!

by xMummytoBenjaminx

14th May 2010, 5:23pm

I am so glad I looked on this forum as I am so confused about what is right and wrong. I make up feeds and store them in the fridge and warm thm to room temp when needed but I was worried i was a bad paent and doing it wrong, so seeing the rest of the comments posed I feel much better. The nursery that I looked at to send my little girl to also makes up the feeds and puts them in the fridge until needed, therfore if it's good enough for them, then I would say it's good enough for anyone. When I did it the right way my daughter screamed so much and got so worked up that she could hardly drink her milk and it took ages to calm her down.

by CASRED

12th Nov 2009, 4:21pm

My baby is on 6oz - I boil my water, pour 4oz into 3 or 4 bottles at a time and put these in the fridge. When my little one needs a bottle I just get one out of the fridge and top it up with 2oz of fresh boiled water then I add my formula milk. This works really well for me. Its the right temp for him and fresh. If the water has already been boiled and is in the fridge no germs can really grow in there. When i go out i take a cooler bag with me with an ice pack to keep all my bottles in.

by xxjussiexx

23rd Sep 2009, 5:22pm

i make al bottles up and store them in the fridge for the next day
by sarahmad1988	18th May 2009, 9:40am

i am a mother of 2 girls 10 yrs and 8 yrs old someone told me about this thing with making baby milk up as required i have had many arguments with specific people on the matter.my friend has just had a baby and tried this method and the baby ended up stressed and so did she,so she has resorted to mwking bottles up for the full 24 hrs and refrigerating them just as i am going to do ,this worked 10 and 8 yrs ago and i had no problems with my children as other people have who are doing the make when needed method,it is rediculous nothing has changed and the supermarkets can sell ready made so why cant us mums do the same girls stick to what you know old school .to many rules and regulations now with babies and being pregnant.

by nic30

18th May 2009, 9:39am

My little boy is 4 weeks old and when he was first born I stuck rigorously to all the guidelines. I fed him how and when they told me to, going against all my instincts to ensure that the healthcare professionals didn't think I was an awful mother. In the end, he had problems anyway - I had an oversupply of breastmilk, which meant he was gagging and choking at every feed; he was diagnosed with acid reflux, which caused him to projectile vomit; he was colicky and had transient lactose intolerance which caused him terrible stomach pains as he tried to digest his milk. By the time I came to switch him to Easy Digest formula milk, I was at my wits' end and simply not prepared to force my baby to wait 30 minutes for me to prepare his feed while he screamed the roof down.

Now I make up his feeds with boiling water so that all the powder dissolves, cool it to body temperature in a cold water bath, add his Colief drops for his lactose intolerance, and refrigerate it. This way I can make up at least a couple of feeds in advance and not only does my baby not have to wait for his food, it also gives the Colief time to work (apparently it has to be in there for at least 30 minutes - or FOUR HOURS for refrigerated feeds).

Incidentally, if we aren't allowed to refrigerate ANY formula, why does the leaflet enclosed with Colief instruct you on how to administer the medication into "feeds made up in advance"????

Do what you feel is right for you and your baby; I bet the people who wrote these guidelines have never had children!!
xox

by Beckifer

6th Mar 2009, 9:09am

My son is 10 weeks and I have been making up the bottles in batches of four (only as the steriliser comfortably does four bottles at a time with a few dummies too) then keeping them in the fridge until required. then boling water and heating up the bottle,whilst we change his bum and then get comfy for a feed and it's ready. I agree with microwaving the bottles too although don't as my microvave only works in minutes and I'd lose count if I had to count seconds.
This has had no reflection on his feeding habits or growth, he is feeding fab and even dropped the 2am feed about two weeks ago. Infact he slept through for the first time last night and I had to wake him at 8:30am as it was 12 + 1/2 hrs since his last feed!!

by rlclarke

15th Jan 2009, 5:34pm

i have just had twins and i'm finding it difficult to make up bottles on demand and co-ordinating this with the steralising guidelines! This just doesnt seem feasible. If you can put boiled water in a flask then surely putting the correct amount of water into the steralised bottles and then adding formula when required would seem better?? Both my sisters used to steralise the 6 bottles, make up the formula and refridgerate for use through the day and never had problems and that wasnt that many years ago!

by VickyH

19th Dec 2008, 10:05am

This is my first baby and he is now 17wks and I have been making up his bottles and storing them in the fridge till needed. I dont store them for longer than 24hours mind. When I need them I heat them up in the microwave and this is alot better for me and baby as I dont have to go through the ordeal of making 1 bottle up a time and he dosent have to wait 15mins while I make them up. I dispose of any milk upto an hour after feeding if left over. Some people dont agree with bottles being heated in a microwave, my sister-in-law being one and her reason was you dont get a consistant temperature in the bottle, but I explained surely if you shake the bottle its all the same temperature. She thought about it and is now heating her bottles up in the microwave instead of boiling the kettle for each feed.

by bmwbaby

8th Dec 2008, 8:34am

i boil the water, bring down the temperature a bit and then store it in a flask till needed.it has worked till now though there have been episodes when my baby girl has screamed and screamed till the feed was ready.and jh28, i really wish that i had my girl during our moms' days.babycare was much simpler then-less pressure of breast feeding,u could massage your baby with oil/lotion which docs in india forbid now and u could also give them water to drink even before the 6 mth deadline.like you i too wonder that our mothers did all this and yet we turned out just fine,then why these restrictions now?

by sudarshana

11th Nov 2008, 9:52am

boiling water is exhausting, my baby's doctor advice me to use distilled water. so what i do i store water in all the bottles and milk in the dispenser. when she's hungry i just mix it up.
by chek	10th Nov 2008, 9:51am

i am a new mum and it is stressing me out wot to do i have been making feeds up has and when my son is hungry like the guidelines suggest but its very hard waking at 3 in morning having to make up a fresh feed everytime waiting for the kettle to boil then making it and then having to let it cool it takes too long and my son just cries and cries till he gets his food, so i am going to try making a couple letting them cool store them in the fridge and then warm them when needed in a bottle warmer because isn't that what a bottle warmer is for? my mum fed me like that and i was ok so why do they say not to make feeds up like that anymore?

by JayneRiley

10th Nov 2008, 9:50am

Im a first time mum to. When I started bottle feeding I was making up the feeds fresh. Not good at 3 in the morning! Then my Mum talked me into making up the feeds and storing them in the fridge and warming when needed, after all this is what women were at one time advised to do. This worked well. Then someone told me to boil the water, leave to cool for half hour, abd then fill bottles. I then add the formula when needed. As my boy will take his formula at room temp, I don't even have to warm the bottle. This has worked brilliantly for me. I also brought a powder dispenser, so when I go out, I just fill the dispenser, take how many bottles of water I need, and away we go! Its so easy!. I don't think I know anyone who actually prepares them fresh each time. And ask yourself this, why are there so many bottle warmers on the market if you are not meant to advance prepare.....aha! Its just not practicle to prepare fresh each time.

by Jotait

25th Jun 2008, 8:46am

i think all this different advice is more &more confusing for all mums esp 1st time. i used to work as a midwife -have two sons ,& i do wonder if this is yet another attempt to pressurise mums into breast feeding. i did breast feed both my babies but at the same time respect that it is the mothers choice as to the method of feeding. i undrstand that most hospitals now do not even supply milk to new mothers/babies but they would to a child admitted from home! Inbtween babies are hungry & crying which again is very stressfull. i wonder how other mums feel?

by relaxer

4th Jun 2008, 9:06am

Well i boil the water put in in the bottle untill i need it then put in the milk and give it room temp or warm it up again is this wrong then ? this is my 3rd and im a bit confused my frist i made them up + put them in the fridge i don't understand how now u can not do this ?
by vicc2002	3rd Jun 2008, 11:55am

I am a new mum and am completely overwhelmed by this bottle feeding advice.

Do parents really make up feeds as they are needed? If using powdered milk this would mean boiling the kettle, making up the fresh feed, then cooling it down enough to give to your baby. I have done this and it took over 15 mins, in the meantime my little one was screaming the house down!

I thought this was far too longwinded and so bought some ready made formula, but this is working out much more expensive.

What do other mums out there do? Please help!

by beetie

3rd Jun 2008, 8:54am

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