Mixing formula vs ready to eat

[egishere]

Not bad at all considering how much cheaper it is than ready to eat and I had A LOT of bottles to make! We used a Dr Brown's formula mixing pitcher and later on a blender. We would make the bottles for the whole day using these methods.

[dcrunnergirl]

Not a hassle AT ALL. We mixed every bottle on demand and used Dr. Brown's bottles, which I also didn't find a pain, and we hand-washed everything. To make it even easier, we could have mixed a pitcher for the day, but we never felt it was necessary.

[birdmom]

Hardly any work at all. We did it by bottle, whenever he was ready to eat. Also, the ready to eat formula stains clothes pretty badly (at least in my experience).

[vanillacourage]

If you don't supplement often I wouldn't buy ready-to-eat, it's more expensive and expires much sooner.

We mix bottles on-demand and it's never been a hassle. Plus, you can say "hmm, I bet he'd only want 4 oz this time, I'll make a smaller bottle" whereas the ready-to-eat comes in pre-determined sizes and once you've opened the jar you have to use or throw out the full amount ($$$).

[UnderProtest]

Definitely not a hassle compared to the price difference. I premeasured the powder into bottles and just added water as they ate.

[dragonfly08]

Very easy to use powdered formula, IMO. I'd make up the entire day's worth of formula in a pitcher that morning, then portion it into bottles leaving a little in the pitcher in case DD was extra hungry during a feeding...I could use that instead of starting a new bottle and having to pitch it due to bacteria. And for travel, I measured out the water into the bottle and the powder into a little container made for that purpose (got it at BRU). Then I just put the powder into the bottle, shook it up, and we were ready to go. It helped that my kids took their bottles at any temp, including right from the fridge, so I never had to worry about warming the water.

[sewpinkgal]

Much easier than I was expecting. Once we started supplementing more than 4oz a day, I used the Dr. Brown's pitcher and made up enough for a 24 hr period.

[satama]

We supplement and I just measure the powder into the bottles and leave them on the counter. Then when I need one I just add water and shake it up. Not hard or time consuming at all.

[SusanBAnthony]

I FF dd from 8 months on. I bought one of those formula dispensers, and pre measured formula. Then I put the water in the bottles. That way all I had to do was shake the powder in, and shake up the bottle. We also used the planted drop ins so all we had to wash was nipples. She always drank room temp formula so it was pretty easy to mix half asleep nit bottles (although rolling over and letting my boob flop near her mouth was still a bazillion times easier).

[starlily]

Dec 17, 2012 15:50:33 GMT -5 @msstarry said:

great to know thanks! Sounds like ready to eat isn't really neccessary for daily use - maybe just if you are out and about.

Even out and about it was pretty easy to mix as needed. Unless you have a medical recommendation for RTF (like having a preemie) I wouldn't bother with it at all.

[Deleted]

We buy the powdered stuff and mix it. It's not time consuming at all. It takes maybe ten-fifteen minutes at most to clean and fill the day's bottles.

We use a Dr. Brown's mixer to make 28 oz. at once and a food scale to weigh it.

[dumbledore826]

Ditto to what everyone else has said about it being super easy to mix. DS (and many other kiddos I know of) had a much easier time with the powder. It seemed the ready to use was much harsher on their tummies.

[froggy76]

You put the powder and the water in a bottle and shake it. Seriously, that's all there is to it.

[Deleted]

DS was ff from 2 days on. We used the Dr. Brown's jug. mixed up 32 ounces and portioned it as needed. On the Go, we just brought the can and measured. Only once did it look like a Lindsay Lohan visited the back seat of my car ( DH hit the brakes hard while I was measuring)

[sometimesrunner]

We've never used ready to eat. It really takes no time at all to use powdered formula. We found that the medela bottles that came with my pump are the perfect size for pouring powder into our wide-mouth bottles. Along our counter are already measured bottles full of water and little bottles full of powder. These are the medela bottles I'm talking about:
www.amazon.com/Medela-150-Storage-Bottle-Case/dp/B003DXX4DQ/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1355796084&sr=8-7&keywords=medela+bottles

[everam01]

The Dr Browns pitcher is awesome. When we supplemented I would make a pitcher, fill up bottles and leave them in the fridge. My boys liked it cold anyway.

[hannamaren]

We use the concentrated liquid. You just add water. It is slightly more $$ than the powder and was less work and dishes.

[froggy76]

Apparently, I did something wrong because all of these responses sound so complicated.

[UnderProtest]

We didn't use the ready to eat stuff even when we were out. Either I measured the powder into the bottle and brought a bottle of water to add or I put water in the bottle and had the premeasured powder in a separate container.

Also a couple bottle manufacturers have lids that hold the powder. I know similac has a lid and I think Tommie tippee does too.

[starlily]

Dec 17, 2012 22:59:22 GMT -5 froggy76 said:

Apparently, I did something wrong because all of these responses sound so complicated.

Lol! I did the same thing you did - no pitchers or dispensers, just pour and shake.

[dcrunnergirl]

Dec 17, 2012 23:35:20 GMT -5 starlily said:

Dec 17, 2012 22:59:22 GMT -5 froggy76 said:

Apparently, I did something wrong because all of these responses sound so complicated.

Lol! I did the same thing you did - no pitchers or dispensers, just pour and shake.

I totally agree. Even when we were out, I just had one of those formula dispensers, put it into the bottles, and filled with tap water. Easy.

[jessnpaul]

Our formula (Enfamil Enfacare - it's for preemies) only comes in powder form. It's not a hassle at all to make it!

[hannamaren]

Mrs starry, I work at the pharmacy at the hospital where a lot of babies are delivered. Several parents have bought the ready to feed as their backup at home in case they need it. I dont know if this is silly, but I guess they figure that if they suddenly need it (would it be a sudden need?) they dont have to learn how to mix on the spot.
I usually try to convince them the powder is easier but since they are only buying one time (they think) they dont care about price.

[galaxy8227]

I would keep some ready to eat bottles in the diaper bag with me (incase we ever got stranded or something) but otherwise we did powder form. Used Dr. Brown's and never had a problem. I didn't find it a big deal

[Deleted]

It wasn't hard at all, especially since I mixed formula for the day in a Dr. Brown's pitcher and refrigerated until needed. We also used Dr. Brown bottles that allowed me to mix on site if I necessary. I used one of those plastic containers with dividers and scooped the appropriate amount per bottle in each section.

[Saudade]

Dec 18, 2012 11:17:19 GMT -5 hannamaren said:

Mrs starry, I work at the pharmacy at the hospital where a lot of babies are delivered. Several parents have bought the ready to feed as their backup at home in case they need it. I dont know if this is silly, but I guess they figure that if they suddenly need it (would it be a sudden need?) they dont have to learn how to mix on the spot.
I usually try to convince them the powder is easier but since they are only buying one time (they think) they dont care about price.

Our hospital sent us home with a 4 pack sample of ready to eat. We did need it suddenly because DS was having problems latching and I had spiked a 103* fever and couldn't breathe. Obviously there probably would have been time to make a bottle but my DH and parents were freaking out as I was loosing consciousness. I realize this isn't the norm though.

[starlily]

Dec 18, 2012 10:31:25 GMT -5 @msstarry said:

I am curious who is buying all this ready to eat stuff then!

DD was born 5 weeks early, so we did RTF, as they did in NICU, until we got the ok for powder from her pedi at her 2 month appt. The thought is that RTF has less of a risk of being unsanitary, so less of a risk for underdeveloped immune systems.

[starlily]

Dec 18, 2012 11:20:52 GMT -5 @msstarry said:

thanks hanna. I got some ready to eat for free at the hospital and in the mail but they also gave me two small canisters. Yay USA!

I'm still bitter that my "baby friendly" hospital sent us home without any formula, even though that's all DD had been getting during her NICU stay since my milk still hadn't come in by the time she was discharged.

[jessnpaul]

Dec 18, 2012 10:31:25 GMT -5 @msstarry said:

I am curious who is buying all this ready to eat stuff then!

A friend of mine who had her baby last month will only buy ready to eat. I mean, yes, it's easier, but powder isn't hard to make at all!

She's also a girl who never seems to worry about money... so there's that.