Making formula when you are going out

Making formula ahead of time

• Take a bottle with cooled boiled water and add the infant formula milk powder when you need to feed your baby. 
• It's best to make one bottle of formula at a time, right before you need to feed your baby.
• If you need to make formula ahead of time, put it in the fridge within 1 hour of making it. Use the made up formula within 24 hours.
• Store the made up formula in the back of the fridge of the top shelf where it is coldest. Do not store in the fridge door because it is the warmest part of the fridge. 
• If you can't keep it cold, throw it away after 1 hour at room temperature.
• You can also use "ready to drink" formula if you can't make it ahead of time.

Carrying formula milk when out

• The safest way to carry formula milk is to take cooled boiled water in a bottle and the amount of formula powder you need in a separate container.
• If you are carrying made-up bottles, make sure they are kept very cold.
• Carry in a cooler bag with ice packs. Use within 2 hours.
• You can put it back in the fridge if it has been used less than 2 hours. Use within 24 hours of first making it. Throw away if baby has started to feed and not finished it after 1 hour. 
• Throw away any made-up formula not used or put back in fridge within 2 hours.

Warming and cooling formula

• No need to warm chilled or "ready to drink" formula. Cold is fine if your baby does not mind and will drink this.
• Many babies like formula warmed a little, because this is what they are used to.
• The safest way to warm a bottle is to put the bottle in a bowl of warm water. Don't leave it for more than 10 minutes.
• Bottle warmers with a thermostat are safe. Don't leave it more than 10 minutes.
• After warming, gently swirl or shake the bottle around to mix the formula. 
• Test the temperature of the formula milk on wrist before feeding your baby.
• If the milk is too hot, hold the bottle under cold running water or place in cold water. Retest the temperature on your wrist before feeding. Don't put it back in the fridge after.

❌ Do not heat a bottle in a microwave. This can heat the formula milk unevenly and burn your baby's mouth and throat.