formula leftovers

Does everyone throw out formula that babies don't eat within an hour of preparing/eating? These are the instructions on the can and I am throwing away a lot of expensive formula...

 

I always threw it out, but I know some people save it and use it the next feeding. What type of formula are they on?

 

they are on enfamil A.R - powder.

 

After they were done, any leftovers went back in the fridge to be combined and fed later on. If they did not finish it then, then I did dump it. I also used leftover tidbits for mixing cereal as they started eating solids.

 

QUOTE(asamac @ May 22 2009, 12:32 PM) [snapback]1324383[/snapback]
they are on enfamil A.R - powder.


Oh bummer, no generics as far as I know.

 

If there are leftovers, I put it in the fridge for the next feeding. If there are leftovers in the feeding, I throw it out.

I agree with you, it sadens me to throw it away. I feel like I am pouring money down the drain.

Jenn

 

When they hit about 4mos I stared saving it for the following feeding but never longer than that. I'd add to it and then if they didn't finish it I'd dump that one. But I'm also one of those horrible moms who nuked the cold formula :woah: in plastic bottles! :shok:

 

If they don't finish it, I offer it in an hour and if they don't finish then I throw it out. Just imagine you drinking a milkshake over an hour after you started consuming it. I know formula is costly and is considered liquid gold But unless it's a large amount leftover I try not to worry too much about it.

I like the idea PP said to use it for a cereal feeding. That way it'll be mixed with other things.

 

We save it for about an hour as well. Sometimes our girls want "dessert", so we'll give it to them within that hour. After that we throw it out. I fix their bottles with about 6 oz b/c they always take at least that much. If they are still hungry after those 6 oz, then I'll warm another 1-2 oz at a time for them to drink. So we really don't end up wasting very much.

 

Ok, I'll admit it...I let her sister have it if she's still hungry. Yes, I pop it right in her mouth without changing the nipple or anything.

 

I just want to mention that putting it back in the fridge for later can cause more germs to multiply in it. After all, it's how lab technician's culture their samples, in a fridge I'm just saying.

If they didn't eat much at all I'll try to feed them again in about 45 mins, if they still don't eat, I throw it away. But if they ate more than 3 oz (I make 6 oz bottles), then they are probably done until the next feeding and I go ahead and rinse everything out.

I also nuke it! So I'm not adverse to some time saving things, but I just can't stand the thought of refridgerating it and then refeeding it to them!

Which, now that I think about it, is strange because I do that with my dd's milk and juice cups every day....hmmmm.... :lol:

 

I threw it away.

 

It depends on if you are giving it to them warm or not. Mine get their formula straight from the fridge so I make 6oz bottles and if they only eat 5oz I put the 1oz back in the fridge for them to eat next time and after they eat that I fill the bottle with 5 for them to finish eating with. I always have a jug made up so I can quickly give them more if they are more hungry as lately they seem to be eating around 7-8oz a feeding. I use leftovers to make cereal too.

 

We bin it, but it pains me to pour it down the sink!!!!!!!!

 

we never heated the formula in the microwave, we just heated it in warm water. Once they were around 6-7 months old, they started taking it cold, and we did returned unfinished formula to the fridge. We did try to remember to change out the nipples

QUOTE(Danibell @ May 22 2009, 10:42 PM) [snapback]1325268[/snapback]
I just want to mention that putting it back in the fridge for later can cause more germs to multiply in it. After all, it's how lab technician's culture their samples, in a fridge I'm just saying.


How does that work?

 

I stick it back in the fridge. And, I serve it cold. Bad bad bad!
OK, I didn't do this when the girls were little because I was all paranoid and stuff. Took till they were about 6-7 months to not ditch the leftovers in bottles.
I started serving Caleb cold formula when he was two weeks old, we were bringing him home from IL, in the car, no way to heat a bottle, what to do? And he lived, didn't seem to care that it was cold, so we just kept it up.

 

QUOTE(TwinsInFL @ May 23 2009, 12:05 AM) [snapback]1325220[/snapback]
Ok, I'll admit it...I let her sister have it if she's still hungry. Yes, I pop it right in her mouth without changing the nipple or anything.


We did that a lot too! For us, it depended on how much they drank. If they only drank a small amount then yes we would put it back and then give it again later. After that we threw it out. We did the same for breastmilk.

QUOTE(akameme @ May 23 2009, 11:25 PM) [snapback]1326080[/snapback]
we never heated the formula in the microwave, we just heated it in warm water. Once they were around 6-7 months old, they started taking it cold, and we did returned unfinished formula to the fridge. We did try to remember to change out the nipples
How does that work?


Something about the saliva gets in it and that is where the bacteria starts. This apparently goes for anything you eat or drink out of. That is why they say not to eat something with a spoon and then put the container back in the fridge. You should scoop out what you need and use a clean spoon each time.

 

I do the same as many others - put it immediately in the fridge and combine it with the next feeding, throw it out after that next feeding. Our pedi has twins and she said that though it is not "recommended," that she sometimes does it, too.

 

QUOTE(adia2007 @ May 23 2009, 11:48 PM) [snapback]1326094[/snapback]
Something about the saliva gets in it and that is where the bacteria starts. This apparently goes for anything you eat or drink out of. That is why they say not to eat something with a spoon and then put the container back in the fridge. You should scoop out what you need and use a clean spoon each time.


Yep, even a tiny amt of salive can get back thru the bottle nipple into the formula or milk. When you culture bacterial samples you smear the sample on a slide and put it in the fridge at a constant temperature for awhile (no idea how long specifically). Take it out and look at the slide under the microscope you can see how the bacteria have multiplied.

Ditto the spoon thing, same with taking a bite out of a sandwich and then putting it in the fridge to eat later, anything that comes in contact with your mouth has the potential for bacteria!

Like I said I love shortcuts and money saving ideas too, but this is one thing my mom beat into my head not to do, and she's a lab tech!

 

I also forgot to add that since they were 5 months old, I often put the leftovers into their sippy cups and let them have it for about the duration of the rest of the "hour" of goodness, then toss the rest.

I was really careful about not reusing it and only giving it a certain amount of use time in their first few months, though.

Thanks for the heads up, Danibell. I'll be more careful with it now, and will probably just stick with the sippy cup use.

 

i use alimentum which isn't milk and isn't soy, but i still tend to toss it an hour after they started the bottle

i keep BM through the next feeding

since we use the RTF, i fill bottles and put them in the stroller bag when we go on outings... i've left them in there for a few hours before using them. i figure it hasn't gone bad because it hasn't touched their lips

 

Actually, you culture bacteria in an incubator, not a refrigerator. The rate of multiplication of bacteria changes depending on temperature. Most bacteria that live in humans, multiply best at body temperature. Too hot or too cold, and the rate of multiplication slows. At a doctor's office, you store a sample in the refrigerator if you can't start the culture right away, to keep the bacteria multiplication to a minimum. And then you usually set the incubator to something between room temperature and body temperature. So, if you are going to reuse the formula, you should put it into the refrigerator immediately and that will help to slow the growth of the bacteria. And in turn, when the body develops a fever in response to an infection, that higher temperature helps decrease the rate of growth of the bacteria. Which is why some say not to treat low grade fevers. Probably the worst thing you could do for the formula, in regards to bacteria growth, is leave it warm or at room temperature for a long time.

 

QUOTE(TwinsInFL @ May 23 2009, 12:05 AM) [snapback]1325220[/snapback]
Ok, I'll admit it...I let her sister have it if she's still hungry. Yes, I pop it right in her mouth without changing the nipple or anything.

Yep, I do this. Way I see it; I don't wash my nipples after each feeding, so what's different about the bottle nipple? I very rarely have more than an oz left, so I dump.

 

I try to throw it away within an hour if they don't eat it, but it's hard!! It's much worse with breastmilk, though; I've actually cried having to throw EBM away.

Usually, I'm able to feed leftovers to another twin (no changing out bottles or nipples here), or save it to mix with cereal after a bottle-feed.