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Babies: 0 - 3 Months
formula feeders come in
I am switching from breast milk to formula. I have a bunch of questions.
- what type of formula do u use
- do u always use the same kind of bottled water
- do u refrigerate the water after opening
- do u warm bottle or serve at room temp or chilled
- if u warm how do u warm the bottle
- how many bottles do u have on supply
Thanks
This discussion has been closed.
Re: formula feeders come in
That is a lot of questions, we use Costco store brand formula, looked into it a LOT and found that it was as close to Similac as you can get, and it uber-cheaper than the name brand. No problems at all with it, no clumping etc.
I use nursery water for now (bought a bunch at BRU) but plan to get a filtered pitcher and use water that way b/c its crazy to keep buying gallons of water (and very wasteful).
I have about 14 bottles, use Born Free.
You do not need to refrigerate the water, it's just water.
For mixing, until yesterday I had been mixing each bottle as we went and she drank it room temperature. But... I got lazy and asked around about microwaving formula, I had always heard that it would cause hot spots and deplete the nutrients, but I don't believe that it does. Yesterday I started making a whole batch of formula in a pitcher and filling/refrigerating bottles and nuking them for about 15 seconds to knock the chill off... and it's SOOOO much easier. If she needed them warm or if I had an old microwave I wouldn't do it, but seriously to knock the chill off I don't see how it can get hot spots. I also shake it very well to ensure there aren't any.
I have to say, that was pretty snarky. Just saying, if you don't want to answer all the questions, skip the post.
I only use bottled water when we are going out. Otherwise I use our tap water and fill a pitcher. I refill every 24hrs. It stays out so it's room temperature.
If you use bottled water I would refrigerate after opening to avoid bacteria growth or I would only leave out for 24 hrs.
We serve at room temperature. If I have to warm I get a tea cup full off hot water and let the bottle sit to take the chill off.
We have 9 bottles. Anything more would just clutter our house.
Praying for Baby Camryn
Praying for Baby Scarlett
Remembering Baby Adam
I use Enfamil Nutramigen. It's all my daughter seems to handle well. It has probiotics to help with her bowel movements and it's extremely broken down so her little body doesn't have to work so hard to do it (which she needs).
I use Gerber Pure Water. You can get it at toys r us, Babies-r-us, walmart, etc. It's only 1 dollar per gallon. I don't use nursery water because it has fluoride in it which isn't good for babies and I don't use tap water because all of the chemicals in it isn't good for babies either. Actually, even though I did the research myself, my pedi also said to use bottled water without fluoride.
I refrigerate the water after opening to keep it sterile. It says to right on the bottle.
I warm the bottle. I found a very cheap way to do it is to use a crock pot. I keep a small crock pot that I paid 10 dollars for, on low at all times. When it comes time to make a bottle, I pop it in there for a few seconds and it's warm. Easy and convenient.
I have 10 bottles at the time. That's enough for us to get through a 24 hour period without having to wash constantly. I plan to get more though.
Also, I have a Dr, Browns formula pitcher. They are available online, babies-r-us, etc. The measurements are exact on them and I found that not even measuring cups are right. I make enough formula for a 24 hour period and refrigerate it so keep it sterile. During the day, I pour the bottles as needed because sometimes she doesn't eat as much. But at night, I pre-pour the bottles so its not such a hassle with blurry eyes in the middle of the night.
We have used Target's Up&Up formula (comparable to Enfamil) with both girls. With DD1 we used Nursery Water and it does not need to be refrigerated. With DD2 we are using filtered tap water. Either one is fine.
I premake enough for 24 hours using the Dr. Brown's formula pitcher and keep it refrigerated. We serve it straight from the fridge, maybe let it sit out for 3-5 minutes if she's not too upset. She will take it cold or room temp.
We use Playtex VentAire Wide bottles and have 6 in the 6-oz size. Right now it's enough to get us through about 20-24 hours. With DD1 I only had 4 and just washed them all once mid-day and once in the evening.
DD1 Feb 2010
DD2 Sept 2011
We use Good Start Gentle, we tried Similac first with both kids and neither tolerated it. With DD we tried a couple formulas (including Alimentum, which she did well on but with our high deductible was too expensive). Someone recommended trying Good Start and it's worked great with both kids. No need for gripe water or gas drops or any other problems.
I use bottled water until around the 6 month mark. Pedi says you don't have to but I feel better about it. We don't always use the same water. We don't refridgerate water after we open it - it water. As long as no one drinks from the bottle its fine. We serve him bottles at room temp, I try to let them settle for a few minutes before we give it so there are less bubbles. When we warmed we just warmed in a cup of hot water. We have 12, we really use only 6-7 though. He takes 5 a day and we stay on top of washing them. I don't like to wash them in the dishwasher because I found there is a residue left on them and we end up rinsing them and all the parts off anyway after they cycle through. We found this after we pre-filled some bottles for DD on a trip once. They were swishing around in the diaper bag and the clear water had turned cloudy from the soap residue. Gross.
I'm surprised that so many of you guys think it's necessary to refrigerate bottled water... I'm not saying you can't or shouldn't, but am just surprised is all. We use the 2.5 gallon from BRU with the spout that you pull, can't imagine how it would get germs in it?
We used Gerber Good Start Soy, DS seems to handle the soy better than the milk based formulas. We use tap water, the same thing we drink. If I were to use bottled water, I'm sure we'd refrigerate it simply because I always put open containers in the fridge.
I serve his bottles at room temperature; he'll eat it at any temperature, really.
We have four bottles that I regularly use (Playtex Ventaire Advanced) and I have three Tommee Tippee bottles that I use from time to time if I haven't gotten around to washing the others.
IMO picking a formula brand is a matter of personal preference. All formula is FDA approved to have the same nutrients in it. With that said, I chose to start LO on Similac Advance because that's what I had the most samples of. After my samples were gone I started using UP & UP (Target's generic brand of Similac Advance), even with coupons/sales/formula checks, the store brand still works out to be a better savings and she hasn't had any problems with it.
Right now I use water straight from the tap. When she was first born i used bottled water just because I wasn't sure if it was ok to use plain tap without boiling it first. My pedi said if I think my tap water is safe to drink, then it's ok for LO (she said boiling is usually for people with unsafe water).
I don't warm bottles, i serve them room temperature. I have a rotation of about 6-7 bottles and i fill them all up with the right amount of water, then i leave them on the counter. Once it's time for her to eat, I pour in my powder. Shake. And serve. No warming necessary (which is a huge help because a)we use drop-ins b)no need to go to the kitchen in the middle of the night)
Good luck!!
With formula, I feel that you have to start with one, see how your baby tolerates it, and go from there.
For us, it's been a little roller coaster finding one that works for our baby. Started with Enfamil for infants, he was very fussy and gassy. Switched to Similac for Fussiness and Gas for a few weeks with no improvement, and only a poop every other day. He was miserable most of the time. Finally, now, after much grief, we think we found our match for him. It's Similac Alimentum. It's very broken down and easy to digest, and he poops every single day now! Very pricey, and very stinky! But we have a brand new baby for the past two weeks now and I don't care how much it costs.
We use nursery water, leave it on the counter. We make the bottles as we go. We use Doctor Browns bottles, good for less air. If you have to chill a bottle, for storage, see how your baby likes it chilled. Some do, some don't I guess. Ours doesn't care either way.
It's a lot of trial and error finding the right formula and figuring out how to prepare. Once you start doing it, you will switch it up, change your methods, and find what works for you.
We only have two bottles since we make it as we go. Get more if you want to prepare a 24 hour supply.
Good luck.