Formula question...pre-made or room temp water?

Hi,

I was looking for some advice from you Mom's that have already experienced this and might have a good recommendation as to which way to go with this. My twins are due in a week and I'm struggled with a plan on formula feeding....so with my first, I used room temp water in a pitcher on the counter and when I needed a bottle, I just poured water in, added formula, shook up and fed. I'm thinking that with twins, it might be more efficient if I pre-made formula for the day, in a pitcher and refridgerated it and when I needed it, I'd just have to pour it and warm it a bit (don't want to get the babies too use to warm formula...so I'd just slightly warm in to "room temp") and give to to the babies. Someone once told me that this was was "easier" with twins because it was already pre-made, less bubbles in the mix (no vigerous shaking needed)...but you'd still have to warm it a bit so I'm not sure.

What worked for ya'll?? Any suggestions from your experiences?

Thanks!

 

I started out with premaking it and heating it as needed, but for me personally I found a ton of draw backs for that way. I know a lot of people do this and it works great, just not for me. When they are little, they vary so much in how much they eat at a time. I also only had one warmer, so it took so much longer for me to heat two, than it would just to have made two bottles. I was always going back to make another half ounce or so, because I wanted them to eat as much as I could, and if I had to rewarm it just took even more time. So, for me personally, I prefer just having a pitcher of room temp water on the counter with the formula and bottles and it takes me no time to mix it up. I agree totally with the room temp water. Mine have never had a heated bottle and it's been great!

 

We pre-mixed. Partly this was because they were in daycare starting at 8 weeks, so we needed to make 8 bottles every night for the next day. But it was also just easier for us to make a pitcher every night, even on weekends, rather than having to mess with powdered formula for every bottle.

We didn't use room temperature water because my husband (he's a biologist) was worried about bacteria. We started with cold water, warmed it up till it was warm enough to dissolve the formula more easily, then cooled it off again before pouring bottles and stashing them in the fridge.

To warm them up for feeding, we just ran really hot tap water into a saucepan and set the bottles in it for 5 minutes or so. We had a warmer, but it could only do one at a time and was notoriously upredictable -- the bottles often wound up cold and we'd have to do them again, or really hot and we'd have to cool them back down! So doing two at a time on the stove was just as quick.

 

With all of my kids, I pre-made the bottles with the powder inside, and poured room temp water in and shook. If the bubbles were an issue, I put a couple of drops of Mylicon in the bottles to help get rid of them. GL with your delivery!

 

I make bottles as we go. I keep water in a PUR pitcher on the counter at room temperture. It's water and it was never drank from, so I am not concerned with bacteria. Plus, I clean out the pitcher every night. We tried making them ahead of time and putting them in the fridge, but my girls got terrible stomach aches from the cold milk. Also, we tried the whole warming thing, but bottle warmers take forever and when my girls are hungry they want to eat like right now!

 

I premake and warm both bottles at the same time in the microwave. Cold bottles (even room temp ones) bothered my reflux babies tummy so a little warmer than room temp is what I do.

I hate having to shake them up before feeding them all the time, and the formula never ever dissolves completely and I worry about them not getting all the food they need. When I premix I mix it in a pitcher with a hand held blender, no chunks at all! I put the pitcher in the fridge and fill as needed (or I pre-fill a few bottles to keep in the door of the fridge for babysitters.

 

Hi there,
I use powdered formula and buy the gallons of nursery water ($1.00 for a gallon) and we just make the room temp bottles as we need them. I works really well for us. Super easy, super fast. The bubbles are usually gone within a few minutes of starting the feeding, hasn't really been an issue for us. I have no patience for heating bottles. When you have a crying baby it takes forever, since your not supposed to microwave. Thats my 2 cents, hope it helps.

 

At first I made up a batch of formula and put it in the fridge. Then I would keep a crockpot on warm all day with water in it and warm a bottle in the crockpot when I needed it. At night I used a bottle warmer to avoid leaving a crockpot on unattended. But it got to be a total pain. So I ended up just pouring water into bottles and then adding the powder as needed. I also used Mylicon drops in each bottle to get rid of the bubbles. GL with the rest of your pregnancy.

 

Good luck with your delivery! I am prolly the meanest mom ever but when I was pumping and adding formula for extra calories I felt like I was dumping so much warmed down the drain so I asked the Ped if I could try cold....yup straight from the fridge cold! My babies tolerated it really well and that made it so much easier to premix and just pour from the fridge and not have to worry about warming! Now that they are more predictable I just mix as we go along so its room temp but I just wanted to add that cold cold is tolerated by some babies...or mine are weird

 

I'm another "mean" mommy who gives babies bottles straight from the fridge. They never knew any different.

 

I started out premaking formula in the mornings but I really got tired of warming it all the time. So, I started using room temp water & making bottles as needed. Good luck with your delivery!!

 

I made most bottles with room temp water and powdered formula. Before putting the babies to bed, I lined up several bottles filled with water on their dresser, so I could just come in, mix them up, and feed them as needed at night. If I ever refrigerated bottles, I just fed them right out of the fridge -- no heating.

 

THANKS ALL!!! I'm definitely going to go the filtered water (room temp) route. I think that would be easiest to start with and take it from there! Thank you all again!!!!!!!!!!

 

I didn't read all the replies, so I apologize if I repeat what others have already said!

For the first two week we used the little ready made two ounce bottles from the hospital. We had fabulous nurses that made sure we had plenty to take home. They stay at room temp so you just open and put on a nipple (they sent those home too!). After that, we premade to keep in the fridge and I *gasp* microwaved them for just long enough to take the chill off. I put a dose of Mylicon (actually it was the generic version) in each bottle right before feeding. When they got to a four hour schedule between 5 and 6 mos, I switched to the preparing with room temp water as needed.

 

With my singleton I started out using room-temp bottled water and then mixing it. At some point I decided I wanted him to have warm milk. I decided I see no problem with warming the water in the microwave and then stirring the formula in. The proteins in the formula are not getting zapped, and the stirring is vigorous enough to ensure that there are not any hot pockets of water that would cause a burn.

 

I took the water out of the fridge warmed it in the microwave and then add the formula to it and made the bottles. I was always told to never put formula in the microwave? huh. Anyway, Lia wouldn't take it even slightly cool, the brat lol, so I have to warm them.

 

me three - friends of mine told me if you don't get them used to warm they don't know the difference...I'd mix up a pitcher a day and pour into the bottles so all I had to do was grab one when they were hungry...also my son was a spitter and if the formula was too warm he'd throw up even worse (this started fights with my IL's the likes of which I'd never seen!)

 

With our babies, I keep a Rubbermaid 1qt container of filtered water on the counter then when it gets time to feed, I pour the water into the bottles, heat in the microwave for about 8-10 secs (depending on how much is in the bottle) then add the formula. May just be me, but I think the powdered formula mixes better in warmed water. Then if we go out somewhere, I take a bottle of room temp water with us and they don't seem to have a problem with it even after taking heated bottles at home. My advice is just to "try it out" on your little ones. They'll let you know what they like...Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!! :hug:

 

I do both...call me a lazy momma but I make batches of bottles for the sitters than when I am home I will use up whatever is left then while upstairs in my room I have a gallon of the baby water, fresh bottles and powered formula bedside so I don't have to keep running up and down the stairs.

 

I use the premade bottles of formula and make bottles every day and refridge them and heat them on a pot on the stove before their feeding. I only plan to use the premade formula until they are 6 weeks and then we are moving to powder, it was just easier on us at first. I make 16 bottles of 120 cc which is about 3-4 ozs. 16 bottles last me one day. I feel like all I do is feed babie and make bottles.

I think you just have to find your knack and do what is right for you!
Good Luck!

 

The first three months we were on a formula study and had premade bottles (had to use only these and bm). After that was over my boys were so used to room temp formula that I just prefilled bottles with water and added the powder when I was ready. This worked both day and night.