Formula wastage

Technically I don't think you're allowed to keep any as once baby is fed from the bottle it only lasts an hour until it should be thrown. If they haven't drunk from it and it's mad it's 2hrs out the fridge and then made up in the fridge is 24hrs before it should be thrown. Unless your formula is different x

@Emily ahh yeah thank you. The top up bottle we keep in the fridge is a fresh bottle we make in the morning which we use to pour a bit into each feed with over 24 hours. I just wondered, especially with it getting warmer if there was a way people were taking bottles out and keeping them cool. If I was to make up half a bottle of formula and take it out there would be less wasted. I will double check on the formula tin and see what it says though thank you! X

I make formula milk in bottles and store them in the fridge. Also, if the baby has taken half milk of the bottle 🍼 I usually keep the rest in the fridge too. After 3 hours I then feed her from the half left bottle. Is that okay?

@Kira If you’re just using the formula by pouring it into the bottles as top ups and baby isn’t drinking directly from the bottle then that is absolutely fine☺️x

@Huma No you can’t do that as once baby has drank from it you have an hour to use it up. Otherwise bacteria start growing in it which can lead to baby being unwell x

I have no idea if you’re “allowed” to do this, but we used to make a feed up in a sterilised thermos flask to keep the temperature and then pour it into an empty sterilised bottle as needed when we were out and about for longer periods

If you are regularly having to top up the bottle I’d just add the extra ounce for each feed. We take a flask of hot water and a rapid cool out with us to make up a feed. What milk are you using? We are on nutramigen which is on an amber alert. We were told by 3 chain pharmacies (boots, asda and tesco) that they couldn’t guarantee when it would arrive. It may be 3 days 3 weeks or 3 months. We found an independent pharmacist who can get it on a 24 hour delivery!

I just take a flask of hot water out with me and a nuby cooler and make it up when she wants it. I use the nuby cooler as a hot spot method as my little one is on prescription milk to so can’t just buy pre-made for out and about which is annoying. She’s only on four bottles a day one at 8:30/9 one at 11:30 one at 15:30 and her bedtime one at 18:30/19:00. So if I’m going out I’ll tend to leave my house around 10 make one bottle up for her before leaving give it her usually we’re home before her next one but if we’re not I just make it up when out. Shes never drank more then 5oz so I always do 6oz just incase

I take out a milk storage bottle with 170ml cold boiled water, so when we’re out I just have to get 40ml boiling water to mix the formula then top it up with the cold water. A lot of people recommend the rapid cool, but my girl only likes milk cold not warm x

@Tia my little one only has cold milk to the cooler you just got to leave it in a little longer and it goes colder

We had this - we stock piled it so we always had 2 spare tubs in the cupboard. They always got used within the sell by date. I used to hide on in the house as our emergency tub 😂😂 You will soon get to know the ml he takes - just make it with the right ml to water ratio. I used to make a bottle up and put it hot in an insulated bag just before I left to go out. You could buy a couple more smaller bottles and make smaller feeds and keep them insulated then that way you always have a “clean” bottle that baby hasn’t drunk from. I loved my nuby rapid cool - this works if you know you will be near a cafe for hot water

I get ten tins a month and my pharmacy is always able to get it. I have four in my cupboard now the big tins to when I get down to 2 I’ll reorder it.

@Ceri-Ann We use the Nuby Rapid Cool & a thermos to make bottles up whilst we are out. It’s tricky though as my son is on a higher concentrate of formula of 4 scoops per 90ml which makes it harder to make smaller amounts of milk. The smallest we can make is 2 scoops for 45ml which is why we currently have a top up bottle as he’s not taking enough per feed to just make bigger bottles. He’s on Aptamil Pepti Junior which only recently had a national shortage of. I rang around I don’t know how many pharmacies in my area to get it and eventually his dietician ended up sourcing some so we’re good for a while. The shortage lasted a couple of weeks so he had to go onto a different formula which was just horrible as he didn’t tolerate it. It’s a nightmare isn’t it!

You can keep a made untouched bottle of formula in a cool bag with ice packs for 4 hours. I know it’s still not all day but it’s a little longer.