How do I make up my baby’s feed when I am out or at night?
It is no longer recommended that you make up your bottles for the day and store them in the fridge - you are advised to make a fresh feed up each time. This is not always practical, and using the ready made formula can be expensive. The Food Standards Agency advises that you prepare some freshly boiled water and put it in to a vacuum flask, ready for when it is needed. You can then use it to prepare your baby’s feed, cooling it down as usual before you feed your baby. Using milk powder dispensers can also help by having the formula powder available in measured amounts ready to be added.
How do I clean and sterilise the milk powder dispensers?
Milk powder dispensers should be washed and sterilised just like your bottles. You can then leave them to air dry, or use a clean piece of kitchen paper or a clean tea towel, as the formula milk powder is not sterile.
The most important think to remember when making up your formula is that you use freshly boiled water that has been allowed to cool for about 30minutes.
Can I keep prepared bottles of cooled boiled water in the fridge ready to add formula milk powder?
No. The most important thing when making up your formula milk is to make it up with freshly boiled water that has been allowed to cool slightly to 70 degrees.
Once I’ve sterilised my bottles, how long will they remain sterile?
Ideally your feeding equipment should be used as soon as it is sterilised because technically speaking once out of the steriliser it is no longer sterile. Sterilising a bottle and sealing it up if it is not to be used straight away is fine, but I would advise that you use it as soon as you possibly can. The most important thing when making up your formula milk is to make it up with freshly boiled water that has been allowed to cool for about 30 minutes.
If you don’t open the steriliser after the sterilisation cycle has finished, the bottles inside will remain sterile for 3 hours.
At what age do I need to stop sterilising my baby’s feeding equipment?
It is advised that you sterilise all of your baby’s feeding equipment for the first 12 months. Even though they are crawling around and putting everything else into their mouth, their immune system is still developing.
How do I know when my baby needs the next size teat?
The difference in the teats is down to the flow rate. Slow flow / size 1 ideal for a newborn baby, medium/size 2 and fast/ size 3 are faster flowing teats and are ideal for those babies who can cope with the milk coming quicker.
The sizes of teats have a recommended age on them to guide you. However, sometimes a baby can be ready for a faster flowing teat a little earlier or later than recommended, or occasionally they are fine with slow / size 1 all the way through.
Signs that you need to move up to the next teat include - being frustrated during feeds, taking a few sucks and then pulling away and trying again, and taking too long over a feed.
My baby has a thicker formula – what sort of teat should I use?
If you are using a thicker formula, then this needs to be given with a fast flow teat or, for babies over 6 months, a special thicker formula teat like Tommee Tippee Thick Feed Teats (http://www.tommeetippee.co.uk/product/thick-feed-teat-y-cut/)
How often should I change the bottle teats?
Teats, like all of your baby’s feeding equipment should be inspected regularly for wear and tear, and changed if there is any sign of damage, for example by biting.
Last Updated: September 15, 2008
