Making up a bottle

Follow the instructions on the formula milk tin carefully. The ratio of powder to water has been carefully calculated to give optimum nutrition. Because powdered infant and follow-on formulas are not sterile they can contain harmful bacteria.

So it is important touse hot water, at 70C, to make up the bottles (use fresh tap water to fill the kettle, boil and leave to cool for no more than half an hour.)

• Gather all the equipment that you need around you
• Pour the hot water into a sterilised feeding bottle, measuring the correct amount
• Use the scoop provided to add the correct amount of powder to the bottle. The powder should fill the scoop without being compressed, and you should level it off with a clean knife
• Put the top on the bottle and shake thoroughly until all the powder has dissolved

Using formula milk that has been made up and stored may increase the chance of your baby becoming ill. It is better to feed your baby freshly made formula milk. If you require a feed for later, keep freshly boiled water in a sealed flask and make up fresh formula milk when needed.

If you are going out you should take hot water in a flask to make up a feed when needed. If this is not possible, you should prepare the feed and cool it in the fridge before transporting it in a cool bag and using it within 4 hours.

You should pay particular attention to distributing the heat in the bottle evenly if you are using a microwave.

Shake it thoroughly before offering it to your baby. Some experts feel that microwave heating causes slight changes in the milk and that babies bottles should not be heated this way, while others consider it to be quite safe