Whether you have decided to breastfeed or Bottle-feed your baby, it’s always a good idea to know how to properly prepare formula. You never know if you will ever need to prepare a bottle for your baby. Even some breastfeeding moms have experienced a time when they needed to supplement and use a little formula. Unfortunately, many people do not prepare formula the proper way and that’s mainly because they just don’t know the correct way! Once you have spoken with your pediatrician and have chosen the right formula for your baby, it’s important to learn these steps to ensure proper nutrition and avoid any issues and illnesses.

Before you get started when you’re purchasing your baby’s formula be sure to look for an expiration date on the formula container. You want to be positive that you are NOT buying or using outdated infant formula. And you also want to check the condition of the formula container. Do NOT buy or use formula from containers with bulges, dents, leaks or rust spots. Formula in a damaged container can be unsafe for your baby.

Also, wash your hands thoroughly when you’re beginning these steps to prepare your baby’s formula. This should be done for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water. Now you are ready to begin!

1. Prepare your baby’s bottle(s)

The first thing that you want to have is a cleaned, sterilized bottle and bottle parts. If you’re not sure how to sterilize them, here are some options:

• Get a large pot and boil the bottle and accessories (nipples, caps, rings) in water for five minutes. Use a pot that’s large enough to hold all of the pieces and submerge them completely with water. Remove the pieces from the water using a clean set of tongs. Allow the pieces to air-dry.
• Use sterilizing bags or sterilizer container to sanitize the bottles and parts. Allow them to air-dry.
• Use your dishwasher. You may also consider getting a dishwasher-safe basket to hold the utensils.

You don’t have to sterilize the bottles and accessories every time after you use them. Once they have been sterilized, wash them with soap and warm water and allow them to air-dry. Bottle and nipple brushes can help you clean those hard to reach nooks and crannies.

Prepare as many bottles that you will use within 24-hours or prepare a glass bottle or a safe blender bottle that has a cap that can hold the day’s worth of feedings. (Since prepared formula is only good for 48-hours in the fridge, I only like to make enough for 24-hours and at the most 48-hours each time.)

2. Preparing the water and formula

If you’re using powdered formula, you’ll need to add water to the bottle. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for how much water to use. Typically it is 2-oz of water per scoop of powdered formula, but, again, check the instructions on the back of the formula can/bottle to be sure. I know that some families try to stretch out their baby’s formula by adding more water than recommended to save money, but I highly discourage this. Adding too little water can tax your baby’s kidneys and cause dehydration. Adding too much water will deprive your baby of the calories and nutrients he needs, and not getting enough calories regularly can cause stunted growth and failure to thrive so make sure that you are adding the correct amount of both.

You can use any type of clean water — tap or bottled — to prepare liquid-concentrate or powdered formula. If you’d like to use tap water but you’re concerned about the safety of your water supply, consider sterilizing the water before adding it to the bottle:

• Use cold tap water.
• Let the cold water run for as long as it takes to get as cold as it gets — up to two minutes. This helps reduce the amount of lead and other contaminants in the water.
• Pour the cold water into a clean pan and boil it for one to two minutes.
• Let the water cool.