reusing formula

Stellasmom

Whats wrong with refeeding formula as long as its kept cool between uses?

I generally don't, but sometimes DS will pass out beyond revival during his bedtime bottle and I'll stick it in the fridge because I know he'll probably wake up in a couple of hours wanting the rest of it.

Mrs.Provost

This was answered back in the OP, but formula is designed to be easily broken down by baby's saliva. So after the baby's mouth has touched the bottle, the formula has about an hour before it begins breaking down.

Has nothing to do with being kept cool in between, as far as I've ever been told.

sarahtx57

nope supposed to, bacteria from the first feeding saliva can make it go bad.

wow. I have never known anyone to do this.

 

msabol2077

Personally I don't think there is anything wrong with this. My LO falls aslepp a lot while getting a bottle. I am not going to throw out a perfectly fine 6oz bottle. We refridgerate milk that we drink and its fine. I would never give him a bottle after it has sat out longer than an hour tho.

MegGary

breaking down? What does that mean? Really how much saliva is getting into the bottle through that tiny hole?

If DD starts a bottle & only drinks 1oz out of 6 you bet your butt it's going in the fridge for later.

When she was a newborn sure I wasn't so flippent about it. Now I'm not as worried.

sarahtx57

nope....I still don't do this. I would rather waste 6 oz of formula than risk the very slight chance it could make ds sick. not worth it to me.

 

Stellasmom

sarahtx57:

nope supposed to, bacteria from the first feeding saliva can make it go bad.

wow. I have never known anyone to do this.

 

Was the "wow" supposed to be a dig? "snort".

I don't understand why the fridge wouldn't slow down this bacteria in a way similar to how it slows down the bacteria in/on food.

cuwife

How could it make the baby sick? Just wondering, I never would waste BM or formula. I have 2 that I have done that with and they are perfectly healthy, heck I've even reused the bottle from the night before if they fall asleep before finishing it.

janinekrause

i have gotten way more lax on this than i used to. I use it within 2 hours if she starts on a bottle and doesnt eat much- sometimes refrigerated sometimes not. Obviously if it was warm out, i wouldn't do this. If i didn't, i would waste whole bottles all the time. i have thrown out a lot.

when she was really little, i was so strict on the 1 hour deadline that i threw it out right then. that's a little crazy.

but once she starts eating, i never have put it in fridge and for example, used it 4 hours later.

most guidelines are for the lowest common denominator. Meaning- they say one hour because it is probably ok for way more.

just my opinion.

Smores730

MegGary:

breaking down? What does that mean? Really how much saliva is getting into the bottle through that tiny hole?

If DD starts a bottle & only drinks 1oz out of 6 you bet your butt it's going in the fridge for later.

When she was a newborn sure I wasn't so flippent about it. Now I'm not as worried.

ditto. My DD consistantly drinks 2-3 times from bottles during the day because she'll only want a few ounces.

laur1120

sarahtx57:

nope....I still don't do this. I would rather waste 6 oz of formula than risk the very slight chance it could make ds sick. not worth it to me.

I don't do it either.  This is one thing I'm not lax on.  I've poured out plenty of formula because of this.  Now it's easier to gauge how much she'll eat. and when in doubt I make less if i don't think she'll eat it all. 

mrskadams

Yes, I know we're not supposed to do it, but sometimes I do anyway.  All of my children are more than healthy, and I have no job so if it's almost full then I save it.

funchicken

MegGary:

breaking down? What does that mean? Really how much saliva is getting into the bottle through that tiny hole?

If DD starts a bottle & only drinks 1oz out of 6 you bet your butt it's going in the fridge for later.

When she was a newborn sure I wasn't so flippent about it. Now I'm not as worried.

My thoughts exactly.

Mrs.Provost

The most I'd go is a few hours - MAYBE. But drinking formula from the night before? I'm sorry but that's just gross.

cuwife

How is it gross? I also give my DS the sippy of milk he had at dinner and didn't finish either. It's in a sealed container in the refrigerator. I don't get it.

kim1730

from infantformula.org:

"Once a baby has nursed from a bottle, microorganisms from the baby's mouth are introduced into the formula. If any unused portion of formula is refrigerated and reheated, these microorganisms will have the opportunity to multiply. Neither refrigeration nor reheating will prevent this growth. Therefore, you should fill each bottle with only the amount of formula needed for one feeding. After feeding, if any formula remains unused in the bottle, it should be discarded."

since i'm not educated in microbiology, i think i'll play it safe and go with the recommendations on this one...
 

Mrs.Provost

cuwife:

How is it gross? I also give my DS the sippy of milk he had at dinner and didn't finish either. It's in a sealed container in the refrigerator. I don't get it.

Like the PP, I'll trust the microbiologists.

 

Stellasmom

Hmm...well, I'll probably still do the nightime bottle thing, but I won't start leaving any bottles overnight and using them.

Janimal

I am crazy strict about this rule.

We use Alimentum and it is so expensive.  But I'd rather waste the formula than give stuff that isn't fresh and the best for her.

*blondiem*

I also re-feed formula, and I did it w/ BM for 6 months too.

OH THE HORRORS!! 

PS I will continue doing it, because I am a shiitastic mother

Janimal

Actually, it is safe to refeed BM, right?  BM Is hearty stuff, and you can keep it out at room temp.

Formula just isn't as durable. 

Of course, like anything else, we all make decisions we can live with based on the information available.  And I don't think any of us have heard of a baby being severely hurt from refeeding formula.  But that doesn't mean it is ok - or not ok. 

For me, I am going with the microbiologists and I will keep pouring formula down the drain after an hour.  I'm personally freaked out about it breaking down fast.  Have you seen a bottle of Alimentum at room temp after a couple hours?  It looks disgusting.

JollyGreenGoat

I only keep it in the refrigerator for about 1-2 hours after she's had a drink from the bottle. After that and it gets tossed out.

However, I don't judge anyone that goes longer and I certainly don't think anyone's a bad mother for it. A bad mother is someone that beats their kids until they're bloody and bruised. This board needs some fraking perspective, STAT.

mrskadams

JollyGreenGoat:

However, I don't judge anyone that goes longer and I certainly don't think anyone's a bad mother for it. A bad mother is someone that beats their kids until they're bloody and bruised. This board needs some fraking perspective, STAT.

Ljd425

I just started feeding DD formula so this post was actually a little helpful..I knew it wasn't safe to reuse formula and if she doesn't finish the bottle within an hour it goes down the drain.  Basically, I know I wouldn't drink some milk out of a glass or bottle of my own and then put it in the fridge and drink the rest later..maybe I'm weird, but the thought that bacteria can grow and what not freaks me out.  I won't even drink out of the same open water bottle the next day.  So yeah, if she doesn't finish then she gets fresh stuff the next time.  My opinion.

Mrs.Provost

JollyGreenGoat:

I only keep it in the refrigerator for about 1-2 hours after she's had a drink from the bottle. After that and it gets tossed out.

However, I don't judge anyone that goes longer and I certainly don't think anyone's a bad mother for it. A bad mother is someone that beats their kids until they're bloody and bruised. This board needs some fraking perspective, STAT.

Oh give me a flippin' break. No one (to my recollection anyway) has said it's abusive or the most horrible thing ever. You're being a little dramatic, no? 

Someone asked why it's a bad idea, and some of us shared why we don't do it. The worst I said was that it was gross to reuse the same bottle of formula from the night before. JMO. 

JollyGreenGoat

The other thread, from which this spun off, is being overly judgemental and flat-out accusing people of being bad mothers for doing X, Y, or Z. None of the stuff mentioned in that thread really qualifies as being a bad parent.

Try being raised by a paranoid schizophrenic that threw you against the walls whenever you did something wrong, then we'll talk about bad parenting

Mrs.Provost

JollyGreenGoat:

The other thread, from which this spun off, is being overly judgemental and flat-out accusing people of being bad mothers for doing X, Y, or Z. None of the stuff mentioned in that thread really qualifies as being a bad parent.

Try being raised by a paranoid schizophrenic that threw you against the walls whenever you did something wrong, then we'll talk about bad parenting

I haven't gone back to the other thread in a little while. I thought you were saying that someone in this post here was saying it was a "bad mom" thing to do. 

The other thread started out talking about safety issues that bugged us, and kind of went into a few other things. 

I don't think refeeding formula makes one a bad mother, I just don't know why someone would do it. 

sassysally1

To me it's the same as all the carseat posts...read the can.  It states on your formula can how long it is good.

JollyGreenGoat

Mrs.Provost:

I haven't gone back to the other thread in a little while. I thought you were saying that someone in this post here was saying it was a "bad mom" thing to do.

Nah, if someone said it here, I would have called that person out

I haven't responded to the other thread, because it's like shooting fish in a bucket.

BecauseICan

This is so interesting to me, b/c I saw awhile back a special about 'backwashing'--I can't remember where it was, but anyway they did some tests to find out if the theories about people backwashing were true...and they were not.  So if ppl don't actually backwash into a glass, I find it even less likely that a child could backwash into a bottle.

That being said, I throw out formula, but I did reuse my bm.  But I find that formula gets funky a lot quicker, and it makes me nervous.  I hate throwing it out, but I just kind of follow the same rules with her formula that I would follow for myself with cow's milk.  I wouldn't warm milk and then put it back in the fridge to drink later for myself either.

 

Kentuckychick_8201

I have been refrigerating formula since DD was a newborn and have had no problems I just follow 2 general rules, 1 it has to go in the fridge as soon as she's done with it, 2 it has to be drank within 24 hours of going in the fridge.