Going out with a bottle fed newborn...

This weekend we are going to the Sydney Baby Expo. It's going to be our first big outing, as in we'll be out for a few hours & not at someone's house.

Now my question is - what do I do about bottles? There aren't any facilities to heat them up at the Expo, so wondered how I should do it. Do I make up the bottles with HOT water & hope it's cooled enough by the time he needs it? Do I just give him room temperature bottles for the day? Should I make them up with formula or take it seperately?

Any suggestions would be great :)

Hi Sarah,

Olivia was BF so I never had this problem, but many of my Mothers group who bottle-fed did this: take the bottles with boiled water in them. After 2 or 3 hours of being out, the water is cooled enough, mix in the formula, and feed.

The only problem is, some babies are a bit particular about the temp......have you a cup bottle warmer? One of my mothers would just pop a cool bottle of formula in the cup, fill the cup with hot water from a tap (from the loo) and then her baby would take it........

HTH

I also have taken a stubbie holder with me to keep them warmer. I usually would take two bottles and one hot & in the stubbie hold and one at room temp and hope to find somewhere to warm if desperate (most food outlets will let you :) ) I also don't make up the formula ahead & got a formula dispenser because Matilda was on thickened formula I couldn't make it up beforehand.

SIL uses a thermos flask to keep water at about the right temp and puts formula in the bottle then mixes it when she needs it.

They should have something to warm your bottles up at the baby expo.

I can't remember if they did at the Adelaide one when we went but then again it was not something i was looking for.

I took Liam last year to the Baby Expo at Fox Studios and they had a Huggies area set up with FREE huggies for you to change you baby in, as well as lounges to breast feed and microwaves to warm up bottles.

I took Liam to Canberra when he was about three months old, when the time came to feed Liam, I would go to a cafe, order an iced tea, and ask them to place the bottle in a glass/mug of hot water to heat it in. I was very particular for at least 4 months, and wouldnt use the microwave to heat his bottles. I sat down and relaxed with a beverage and so did DS!

Some places might be reluctant to let you warm the bottle up because of fear of being sued if you baby gets burnt (very silly, I know!). At McDonalds once, my friend asked them to heat a bottle or for some boiled water to put the bottle in. They said they would do it but they had to take the bottle and warm it themselves in case she burnt herself. Isn't it silly how careful we have to be these days? When does common sense ever get a shoe in anymore??

Sarah, I just checked the baby expo website and it said that there are bottle heating facilities.

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You’ll find the Pigeon Mag Parenting Room to the right of the main entrance. It’s a quiet, private spot where you can feed and change your baby. It has facilities to warm bottles or food, as well as for washing bottles. There is also a qualified childcare nurse in attendence to answer any questions you might have.

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btw the huggies site had buy one/get one free coupons for the baby expo on it last week.

hi sarah

lani is having half boobie half bottle - when my littlies have bottles i always take the bottle with just the boiled water in it - as soon as water has boiled i put it in the bottle and then put in a bottle bag, i use a formula dispensar to carry the formula seperate. usually when time for bottle the water is just right and i had the formula, if it is too cool either get someone to zap it in the microwave (or if worse comes to worse stick it in my coffee lol)

i am very funny about taking pre made bottles out and about but that is just me and my paranoia lol.

is that expo coming to melbourne? if it is, it's not the same that was at the exhibition buildings in melb last year (mid year i think) i really didn't get much from that, hopefully this is another one and is better.

Thanks for that Dachlostar - I had been to the website & found this

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health regulations mean the catering area cannot heat, cool or otherwise prepare any meals brought in. At all our expos, we make sure there are some child-friendly selections available for purchase.

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Stupid me didn't read the part that you saw!! I was a bit funny about making the bottles in advance, so this is good to know. I'll definately be using that.

Just wondered as well, where did you guys get the divider containers for formula? I didn't even know they existed! I'm going to the shops on Friday to see the ECHN, so will pick one up when I go.

Sarah, I got a Tommee Tippee Formula Dispenser from Big W. You could probably get them at places like K-mart as well.

I put my formula in this and take a bottle of hot water with me and then make it up fresh when Jacob needs it. Alternatively, you can take cold water and then take something to heat the bottles up in yourself. I actually have something for this....it's kind of like a thermos, but not IYKWIM. I bought it from Target. You put boiling water in the thermos part, and then you screw the lid on, and then a cup fits down over the top of it and also screws on. When you need to heat a bottle, you simply pour the water from the thermos part into the cup and sit your bottle in it, just like you would do if you were heating a bottle in a jug of water at home. I often take this with me just in case the water I've already got in his bottle gets too cool. Alternatively, if the water is too hot, you can always just fill the cup up with cold water from a tap to cool the bottle down, so it's a very handy little gadget!!

I know ive seen them in the baby sections of Big W and Target here... as well as maybe some supermarket baby sections.. and none of those are even specialised baby stores.... but i know they definately have them and Big W and Target here...


K

That does sound like a handy gadget Tootie. Is it specifically a baby product, as in do I get it from the baby section or the kitchen section? I think I might get one for future outings as it seems like I won't need it for this one if they have bottle warming facilities.

Yep, it's a baby product and was in the baby section of Target where they have their baby bags, sterolisers and other gadgets. I've really found it exceptionally handy to have on hand for emergencies. At least you know if the bottle is still too hot, you can cool it down, and if it's too cold, you can warm it up!! Too easy!!

Cool thanks for that. I'll check it out on Friday when I go shopping to get my formula divider container.

I saw this contraption when I went to the Baby Expo in Brissie last year and geez, I wish I'd bought it ... it's like a heat pack that you wrap around the bottle and you press this button on it and it magically heats up. It was around $20. Has anyone else seen one of these? You might see it at the expo, Sarah. I hope it comes up here again this year because some of the stuff you can get is great - you don't even realise you need it till you see it!

Yup Beth, it's in Brisbane 22-24 July this year :) Hmmm too many ideas of things to do :-k Might wait til after Saturday to get a bottle warming thing.

Just going back to Deb's story about the heating up thing. I went ot McDonalds once and they wouldn't heat up in the microwave, but gave me a cup of boiling water. Needless to say Jordan bumped the cup back at the table and spilt the water on her leg, luckily it didn't actually Burn her although she was very lucky. You know not one person tried to help me, I had Josh as a little baby crying, Jordan crying and boiling water everywhere. If they had just heated up the bottle it would have avoided all the drama. Since then I have been to McDonalds loads of times and they have heated bottles, I think it depends on who the boss is.
I do take made up bottles out, my nappy bag has 2 thermal pockets to keep bottles either cold or warm, and I haven't ever had problems with my kids being sick cos of a made up bottle.
Cheers Michelle

Beth, I bought one, its crap (dont hold back!). I once had it wrapped around Aidan's bottle for atleast 20mins and the water still wasnt even at room temperature when I unwrapped it. I might use it as a heat pack from now on, may come in handy with pregnancy #2!

After reading all your posts I will be preparing the boiling water and taking it with me, at the moment I am taking cold water in a thermos and somehow warming it when I am out but this seems to be 1 extra step for no good reason?!

Jess

Thanks for the info Jess - I thought it looked too good to be true!

Sweetie, you could take the boiled water and separate sachets of formula, or you can boil it then cool it as if to feed and put it in anthermal bag, they have them in Target which keeps the temp just right, so you wouldnt have a problem. Hope I helped. Good luck angel.xx :heartbeat:

ooopppps sorry my bad!!!!!! #-o