Milk & Formula

Formula should be used immediately and you must not reheat it - if your baby starts a bottle of formula but doesn’t finish it within an hour, you should dispose of it.

This is because reheating formula can lead to a lot of the essential nutrients being lost.

If your baby is experiencing a lot of reflux, there are a range of formulas available that are designed to fix the problem.

These formulas are thickened to help the milk stay down in your baby’s stomach, managing reflux and regurgitation.

Once you’ve made up your formula, you can use it within 24 hours as long as you’ve stored it in a fridge.

If you store your formula in a cool bag with an ice pack, you should use it within 4 hours, and if you store it at room temperature, you should use it within 2 hours.

While breastfeeding is the most beneficial option for your baby, a combination of formula and breastmilk is a safe option too.

You may wish to combine breastfeeding with formula if you:

• - Are breastfeeding and want to use a bottle to offer your baby some expressed breast milk
• - Want to breastfeed for some of your baby's feeds, but give bottles of formula for 1 or more feeds
• - Are bottle feeding your baby and want to start breastfeeding
• - Need to leave your baby and want to make sure they have some milk while you're away