How do you organise your formula for the day?

We have been using formula now for 5 weeks but as I bf all my other kids I have some questions. Do you make up all of your bottles and keep them in the fridge for the day? I have been making each bottle as I go but a friend suggested I just do them all at the same time. I wasn't sure if you could prepare them earlier. And do any of you use the microwave to heat bottles? Is it safe? Does it change the formula using this way of heating? And finally, how do you organise your bottles and heat them when you are out and about? I need expert advice and you guys are the ones with that!!! Thanks

 

I tried making big batches for the day once or twice, and it wasn't my thing. But there is no reason why you can't do it. I preferred to make it as I went along. I had one of these handheld formula mixers and it made bottle preparation so much faster and easier.

I do know that you are not supposed to microwave formula as it can denature the proteins or something like that in the formula. I would heat up the water in the microwave, and then add the formula. I would either use warm water from a faucet, or wouldn't heat it at all when we were out and about. HTH!

 

We started making up batches of formula for our boys very early on and pre-filling their bottles, that way all we had to do was grab a bottle from the fridge and warm it for a couple of minutes and we were ready to go. I didn't like the idea of adding water and shaking a bottle right before feeding our babies, because they had horrible gas problems as it was and there are so many bubbles created from shaking (though gas drops help with that). When our boys were little and only taking 2-3 oz at a time we just made up a 32 oz of formula at night after they went to bed and poured up bottles. When they started taking 4-5 oz a bottle then we started making 64 oz batches of formula (15 scoops of formula plus 30 oz of water = about 64 oz mixed). I couldn't stand counting out all of those scoops then it dawned on me that we had a digital scale so I calculated how many grams 15 scoops were (per scoop details are on the back of the formula can). After that we started pre-measuring out 15 scoops worth of formula (or 155g in our case, for example), and then when it was time to actually make a batch it was as simple as dumping 2 of those pre-measured containers into a big 2 quart batter bowl and adding the water. Depending on the formula you may be able to easily mix your formula with a simple whisk (Enfamil Premium was good for that). But generic formulas and formulas with rice starch tend to clump a LOT, so we used a stick/immersion blender which works great.

As for warming, I would not heat a bottle in the microwave because it heats unevenly and the formula could burn your babies' mouths. Instead I would heat 2 glasses of water in the microwave (for about a minute) then drop the bottles in each glass for a couple of minutes. Another option is to keep a crock pot plugged in on warm/low (the water still gets really hot so it only takes 1-2 minutes). Most day care centers around here warm their bottles with a crock pot.

As for heating when out and about...I usually would just get them out of the cooler about 15 minutes or so before I planned to feed them. And honestly, when our boys were around 5 or 6 months I stopped heating altogether and they had NO issues! When I gave them a cold bottle when they were like 2 months old they made a grimace, so I felt I had to always warm their bottles. But once they were older they really just didn't care. Now they always get a bottle straight out of the fridge and they don't mind it at all! Sure made our lives a lot easier too.

 

Same here. I always make the bottles for the day and store them in the refridgerator. I warm the water up and stick the bottles for a few minutes in them before feeding. It's been working very well for me.

 

I also made up our formula for the day in the morning. I did not use the microwave to heat it up, I just used warm water in a small pot and let the bottles sit in there for a couple of minutes.

 

I totally vote for one big batch of formula made per day. I do it in the evenings. I have a formula pitcher from Pampered Chef, right now I do 7 cups water, 28 scoops formula and that gets us through a day or so. It is fine premade like that for 24 hours, I think it says on the can. Then, I fill all the bottles, and line em up in the fridge. I just grab one, fill a cup w/ warm water in the kitchen sink, let it sit in there for a couple minutes, and ready to serve. It is SO much easier than measuring, scooping, filling, screwing the cap on, then warming every time.

When I am out and about, I will just bring a bottle of room temp water and the formula pre measured into bottles. Just add water and serve. Or, you can take premade ones w/ a cooler/freezer pack. They sell a little bottle warmer for your car lighter adapter, or you can find hot water to run the bottle under. Either way.

 

I still make them as I go. We don't warm the formula and now, if it is "too" warm, they refuse to eat it. I pour all the water into the bottles in the morning and just add formula when they need it.

 

I prepour all their bottles for the day the night before, and they are labelled by twin. I heat them up using hot tap water in a bucket and putting the bottles in there for about 5 or 10 minutes minutes ahead of the feeding.

 

Now that they're down to 1-3 bottles a day I just make them as I go. When they were first home, they took different amounts so I lined them up in the fridge (with EBM) for the day and warmed them in a cup of hot water, but they were only taking about 1-2 oz so it didn't take long at all. The time in between all of this, I premade the formula for the entire day and poured as I went. I did, however, heat them up (and still do if their bottles happen to be premade) in the microwave. I know you're not supposed to, but I've done it with every child I have. I don't recommend it because it is against the rules, but it's what we've always done.

 

When my two were really young (and taking a bottle every 3 hours), I would pour out the water into each bottle for 24 hours the night before, and have all 16 bottles lined up on the counter. I bought several of those travel formula dispensers and used those to pre-measure enough powdered formula for the day (Munchkin sells four section powdered containers that work well). So all I would have to do is unscrew two bottle rings/nipples and dump in the pre-measured powder into each bottle. No heating required since the bottles were already room temp.

ETA- when out and about, I would be able to just grab a couple of the bottles already full of water, and grab a travel powder container or two (already measured out). Made it easier to get out the door when I just had to grab the bottles and formula containers off of the counter and throw in the diaper bag.

Good luck! You'll find a system that works well for you!

 

Like many others - I pre-make all the bottles. It's actually a fun activity with my boys - I'll put them in their bouncy seats on the counter - we have a big island and they both fit great. We sing songs and play while I make the bottles.

So, I have enough bottles to last 24 hours (and a couple extra). I'll wash them all in the dishwasher and then make them either in the morning or at night... depending how it all works out.

I also have a bottle warmer which makes warming each bottle before feeding really easy. Once you start doing this - you'll get into a groove and it becomes really easy!

 

I mixed up a big batch (72 oz at the height of formula feeding) in a pitcher and put it in the fridge, and filled bottles as needed. I however DID use the microwave to warm them up, as i did with my older kids. I'm not heating them to boiling and none of my kids suffered You gotta do what you gotta do.

What worked best for being out and about, was to preheat water and put it in a thermos to take with us, with 2 bottles with the powder already in them. I always took an extra water bottle in case the water was still too warm in the thermos so I could add cold water to cool it off, or in case we needed more than 2 bottles when we were out. If I could find a restaurant with a microwave that also worked, or I would get the hottest water they had in the biggest cup they had and put the bottle into it to warm up.

 

The way we've found that works best for us mixing up a batch for the day in a pitcher in the morning with an immersion blender (we have this one). Then when it's feeding time I just pour two bottles from the pitcher and put them in large measuring cups which I then fill up with boiled water from the kettle. That heats them up quite quickly - I feel safer doing that then heating them up in the microwave which can cause hot spots in the bottle. When you're out you can use the same principle - if you have access to a kettle (or are near a coffee shop) and bring along two cups you can warm them up that way. We also have two bottle warmers that work well although you have to activate them about 15-20 minutes before the bottles are needed.

ETA: typos

 

Sorry for the terse answer....must take advantage of both napping at once!

1. On good days: Rubbermaid Mixermate 1 quart bottles. mixermate. 24 ounces of water + 12 scoops. These bottles are premarked to show 24 ounces so I can just pour the water right in to the 24 ounce marking. One bottle for each kid marked with pink and blue markers (2 different formulas). Give it a good shake and it is ready. Pour into color coded bottles as we go along--I always try to have the next two feedings prepared but it doesn't always work that way.

2. On bad days: I used premixed bottles. This costs us about an extra $5 a day. I figure my sanity is worth $5!!

3. Serve cold from fridge--they like it and I haven't been heating their bottles since about 3 months actual or so. When it was the middle of winter, I did heat their bottles by plaing into a bowl of warm tap water.

4. I always use bottled distilled water. We have a well, and so do my parents and many of my friends, and well water is not recommended for babies. I'm not sure at what age we can switch to well water.

5. For traveling, fill bottles with water and put powder into munchkin dispensers (pink for DD; blue or green for DS). Mix when they want to eat.

6. For emergencies, Similac Ready Right Now bottles for DD with disposable nipples we bought from similac.com. Still trying to figure out what to do for DS since his formula doesn't come in these bottles. When we had to stay in a hotel during a massive power outage, we fed her first, rinsed the bottle, filled it with premixed formula from him and then fed him, and then tossed the bottle.

I HATE scooping formula...I'm going to try to do it by weight. What a great idea!

 

I got that digital scale pre-pregnancy when I thought I would be all healthy and keep track of portions better...needless to say I rarely used it for that! Most scales can be "zeroed out" too, meaning we put an empty tupperware bowl on the scale, zero it out, then use a 1/3 measuring cup to start scooping formula until it reaches the right weight in grams. It is soooo much faster than counting out 15 scoops twice!! On days that we don't have to make formula (every 3 days or so due to formula leftovers accumulating), we pre-measure out some containers of formula so that on formula making days we just dump two containers to mix up. Works great for us. I think those digital scales can be found for as little as $20-$30.

 

When they were really small, I just made them as I went. But once they got older and on a predictable formula schedule I just premade them the night before and then the next day I could just take out bottles and feed. I didnt even bother to warm them up.

 

We've been making them as we go but we've found recently that it may easier to make them up ahead of time. We buy jugs of spring water and let them out on the counter so they've gotten room temperature formula since birth. This was easier and quicker for us than heating them up out of the fridge each time a baby was crying.

We keep a bottle of water and a travel formula dispenser in the diaper bag. Sometimes I prefill the bottles with room temperature water when we leave just to have extra water on hand.

 

Something else I found was that 1 measuring cup of formula powder was equal to 11 scoops of formula. Took me a LOT of searching to find that out, but I double checked it and it worked.

So if I needed 24 scoops of formula I used 2 measuring cups plus 2 scoops. Went much faster that way

 

We used to make double strength formula (It's been so long I don't remember the mixture amount) but double strength goes in a pitcher in the fridge.

When it was time, we would turn on the electric kettle, get the bottles ready, pour cold refrigerated double strength formula halfway, then top off with the (now) boiling water from the electric kettle. This was great because if they were still hungry afterwards, the water was still hot and you could easily make another 2 or 4 oz.

 

We made one big pitcher in the morning. For some reason making a ton of bottles before hand never worked for me. I know my sister did that and it worked great for her. For me, it was too frustrating so we made the pitcher and just poured as needed.

 

I guess I am lazy. We just dump the scoops into the bottle when it's time to eat, then add tap water and shake. To me, it's easy, no need to refrigerate, reheat, etc etc. My kids are used to room temp water, and maybe there are a few bubbles in the formula, but it's never been something that has bothered my babies! They are 8.5 months now and we've been doing that since the beginning with no issues!

 

Well I have been trying premade as most of you seem to be pretty positive doing it that way. MUCH EASIER!!! After reading your post becasquared I tried your system and it works great. I now have a fridge fill of bottle almost ready to go with a quick top up of boiling water. Very quick and easy. DH would like to know where to fit his beers now that the fridge is fill of formula! We even managed a trip to the zoo and tried using a thermos as suggested. Great idea. I feel so much more organised. Now I just need a full nights sleep. Thank you for all your suggestions. It is very appreciated

 

Hahaha tell your husband that I have plenty of room in MY fridge for his beer. I'm glad it worked for you. One of my old coworkers that had triplets let me in on that secret right after she gave me her cribs.