How To Prepare a Formula Feed
There’s always so much information about breastfeeding but never much guidance for formula feeding. This is just a general idea of what’s involved, you should always read the instructions on the tin.
1. Read the back of the tin it gives clear directions and measurements.
2. Take a sterilized bottle and fill with cooled boiled water.
3. Measure out the powder formula with the scoop provided, level off with the back of a clean knife.
4. Add formula to water, replace cap and shake until you have smooth milk.
5. Heat to the required temperature in a water bath or bottle heating gadget.
Contrary to popular belief you don’t have to spend a fortune on bottle feeding.
* You could buy second hand bottles and just replace the teats.
* You can use a water bath (a tub/bowl filled with boiled water – just stand the bottle in) instead of a bottle warmer, although my warmer cost under £10 on ebay new.
* You can use a large tub with lid as a sterilizer, although, again my standard sterilizer cost under £10 on ebay new.
The main cost is in the milk itself, which costs about £6 a tin, and they are never ‘on offer’. We averaged about a tin a week once Erin’s feeding was well established, so about £6 a week.
I’m neither here to encourage or discourage bottle-feeding, I just think we need a bit more equality in the provision of information.
I've been blogging for four years and write about anything and everything that takes my fancy.
Above is me with my beloved Ernie in Port Aventura and left with our love child in Florida.
Themocracy
Thougth the latest guidelines were to use hot water, not more than half an hour since it was boiled, add in the formula, mix (whilst being careful not to scald yourself
) and leave to cool until a nice comfortably warm temp? Something to do with a bacteria that can grow in the formula within a day or two of opening the can, which aparently should now be kept in the fridge, not out on the counter like I used to, although I can’t find the reference to that (was on a forum a while ago) Tehre’s a PDF here (with a really cute baby pic near the end – you know one of those with the really scrummy chubby legs!) that is aparently the latest wise words from the health dept
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4123619
Going back to when Aprilia was small enough to need milk, I used to get cheaper formula via the health centre as part of our Tax Credits. I’m not sure that happens any more though
Thanks T-bird, it seems the guidelines change on a regular basis, hence my warning to read the instructions. Interesting that the powder should be kept in the fridge, we used to keep it in the cupboard.
The rules changed on not keeping made up bottles in the fridge when we had Erin, but we refrigerated bottles and she’s ok…
hey, I did all sorts of “absolutely not recomended” things and she lived to tell the tale! Typically it was a not quite properly fried egg on holiday that gave the pair of us salmonella not a bottle of made up too long milk! I figure she had enough antibodies in the breast feeds she got along side teh formula to protect her from any dodgy hygeine on my part.
Yea, too many people take it things for granted like germs and illnesses. I will say that sometimes it seems that there are many things that they go overboard with. My neice had to drink sugar water a lot when she was younger, because she couldn’t keep any formula down. We tried every formula imaginable. From cheap to most expensive and all the special formulas that are made to help the baby keep the formula down. So against the doctors and books we used brown sugar and water and it really helped at keeping her stomach calm. This is just an example of one of the many things you are not supposed to do, but as you see we used it as a last alternative. If you do the things that they say you shouldn’t do anymore just be very cautious, as not to cause harm to your baby. A little common sense helps to.