Hello all,
Some infromation please. I'm formula feding my child. How long can you keep a bottle that an infant began to drink from? I've heard different things, some say you can't go back, other things I've read say 2 hours. What is the common practice? Also has anyone used the playtex drop in liners that you're supposed to rip the tab off of? Someone bought them for me by mistake, they seem impossible to use. Is there an easy way to rip off the tab?
Hi,
Thank you all for your responses. It gives me a better idea on what to do, if she doesn't finish the bottle in one feeding. My formula is Nestles Good Start Eseentials, you can only buy it on-line. It's what they used in Ethiopia. My can says you can make the bottles and keep them up to 24 hrs in the refirgerator, which I do for convenince.
L.,
Never used the drop ins but a friend tried... didnt work..... as for the formula 2 hrs is good..... i never went past that time so dont know for sure but ...... would u drink milk that was out more???
good luck and way to gooooo on the adoption!!!!!!!
good luck
T.
Hi L.,
I haven't had a chance to read any of the other responses yet,so if your question was already answered, I'm sorry for the repeat! Anyway...
Formula, once mixed, can be left unrefrigerated for up to 2 hours. However, once that bottle touches your baby's lips, the formula is only good for 1 hour...it has to do with bacteria. I give my daughter room temperature bottles. I set up a few bottles of water (room temperature), and if she starts waking up and I think she is going to eat soon, I add formula to one of the bottles. I'm glad the bottle is good for 2 hours after that, because sometimes I'm wrong and she goes right back to sleep!
If you warm your bottle (and your little one ends up going back to sleep or whatever), you are not supposed to re-refrigerate OR re-warm the bottle later on. Once in a while I will read online that this is okay to do once, but according to my doc, that is not a good idea. Anyway, why chance it? I'd rather lose a little bit of money than to have my baby get sick!
Sorry, I don't know much about the drop ins with the rip-off tabs. I used to work at a daycare center years ago and we used those, but I really can't remember anything about them! Congratulations on becoming a mother...You are going to love it!!
Formula is only good for 1 hour after the baby starts to drink out of it. The tab for the liners are suppose to stay on. But it is a lot easier just to get the new drop ins. they come with a rim and everything.. I wouldn't worry about the tab the bottle will seal just fine.
Hi L. -
I have used the liners with the tabs (though the others are much easier!). If you pull the perforation down just below where you screw the bottle ring on and then screw the top on, it makes the tabs easier to pull off. If it gets too cumbersome, I have left them on. I know they say it is a suffocation hazard, but if you turn the tabs away from baby's face and never leave them alone with the bottle, they will be fine!
Hi L.~
I work in a Drs office and there is a ped. in our group. I often snag the formula I need for my baby from their supply...which they are happy to let me do. Don't be afraid to ask your ped if they have samples...they are free to the office and free to you. The drug companies will restock them as fast as they can give them out! It may help, if they stock the kind that you use. Also, they can specifically ask the Good Start rep for the kind you use. I happen to know that Nestle lets each rep pick up two families per year to supply free formula to. It's worth it to check out. I would be happy to get the contact info for you next week when I'm in the office...I'll send it to you in a message. Even if you are financially set, formula gets expensive!! :) I also noticed that Nestle now makes a formula with the probiotics for baby's digestive tract...may be a good thing for a baby who didn't get the best start in life.
~L.
L.,
Congratulations on your new baby!! I'm not sure about how long formula is good for because I never used it, but I did use the regular liners for the playtex bottles (generic ones, though). I didn't bother tearing the tabs off until my daughter was old enough to feed herself...then I would cut them off with scissors...it was just easier for me. If you really don't like them, you could always donate them to a women's shelter or something. They are usually willing to take any kind of baby stuff to help the women and kids there.
Good luck!
L.
The bottle is good for 1 hour after baby eats off of but 2 hours after being made if not eaten off!! It says on the side of most cans of formula also. What type of formula do you use??
L., congratulations on your baby, If i were you I would dispose after about two hours. When she gets older and grows acustomed to fighting bacteria then I would not worry so much. also she is fragile, coming from such a different enviorment. goodluck!!
