Is it really necessary?

[Megan Turnidge]

So, big thanks to all your words of support in my COW thread. lol
I've decided to switch my DD to formula. I just can't do this milking thing any more!! I'm done. So I went to Costco to buy formula and the Costco brand was nearly half the price per ounce than Enfamil and seemed exactly the same... then I get home to make her first bottle and the directions say to BOIL THE WATER?!?!?! Ummmm.... no thank you! Is that really necessary?

[brooke22]

Boiling the water takes the bacteria and the bad grubs out of it. So it is pretty essential.
I stopped boiling the water when my DD was 1.
Id recommend boiling the water unless you have a water purifier on your tap.
What I used to do is sterilise a 2 litre jug, then boil water and keep it in the jug, using it whenever you make bottles so you dont have to boil then cool the water.

[tracey]

Yep, it is a precaution to get all the "bad stuff" out of the water. We always bought jugs of Nursery Water to use for mixing formula to avoid having to do that.

[LenaGardner]

I'm not ff, but my Ped recommends using nursery water if I were. It is sterilized and has added flouride...if you use reg. bottled water you miss out on the flouride. Good luck!

[Megan Turnidge]

Wow. See, I've NEVER heard of using boiled water/nursery water! None of my friends or family who formula-fed did.. just used filtered water... but then again, I was so determined to BF I wasn't really interested in researching anything related to formula. lol

[ditzyscrap]

I'm a horrible parent...I did boil the water at first, but then I was like...nahhh...and so I stopped. I just used tap water.

And actually, both of my sisters had their babies on formula this past week when we were camping (they were 9 months and 6 months old, the girls) and they never boiled the water, either...and we were CAMPING (though we were using bottled water for drinking...those big 5G jugs of water). I'm pretty sure my sister with the 9 month old just uses tap water at home, and she lives in the Dominican Republic, where the water can't be that good for you, lol (in fact my sister isn't allowed to drink the water because she's not a native Dominican, she could get really sick from the bacteria/parasites because she's not used to them...she can only drink bottled water that is imported).

[Megan Turnidge]

SO I consulted my "What to Expect the First Year" book and I quote:
"It isn't necessary to sterilize the water used to mix formula by boiling it. If you're unsure about the safety of your tap water or if you use well water that hasn't been purified, ahve your supply tested and, if necessary, purified..."

I like that answer. lol! I think I'll go with purified water.

[lauren grier]

I didn't boil.. I just used the pur filter or whatever I had at the time. If it's safe for me to drink, it's safe for my kid to drink too.

[Shawna]

I've never boiled water for a bottle of formula with any of my 3 kids, although I did use the Nursery brand water for a little bit with Kaylie. Mostly I just used water straight from the tap since our Ped said it was okay to do it that way. Oh and I used the generic/store brands from Target and Walmart most of the time (unless I had a really good coupon for the name brands) and they are just fine and they are SO much cheaper.

[lizzyfizzy]

honestly, i think some people can be a little too cautious. i say if you drink your tap, it's ok for the baby. our water here in the states is by no means purified or perfect...but i say unless you are planning on keeping your child in a plastic bubble their entire lives, tap or bottled water is fine. unless you live in texas...blech...their water is fun-ky!

[KirstieGai]

with each of my 3 kids I used a microwave steriliser for the bottles. Then I'd fill them with boiled water (cooled slightly). Mix in the formula and put them in the refrigerator. Then I'd zap them in the microwave as I needed them. I'd do a days worth.

[brooke22]

Yeah, see where I live in Central Australia we have allot of chlorine and other crap in the water so its important for us to boil it. But if you dont think you need to then dont worry about it.

[schock77]

Originally Posted by lizzyfizzy

honestly, i think some people can be a little too cautious. i say if you drink your tap, it's ok for the baby. our water here in the states is by no means purified or perfect...but i say unless you are planning on keeping your child in a plastic bubble their entire lives, tap or bottled water is fine. unless you live in texas...blech...their water is fun-ky!

Ha ha! Texan here to say Lizzy's right!!! Central Texas isn't AS bad, but I've got to have filtered water- never straight out of the tap!

[Penny Springmann]

I've never heard of boiling the water!?! My boys are 5 and 3 and are doing fine. My guess would be that it's on the can because some people do have nasty water. If I had well water I would probably boil. I'm sure whatever you decide will be fine.

[Jennilyn]

I always boiled the water when I made formula except a few times when I wasn't able to.

[meganmecrazy]

I didn't boil.. I just used the pur filter or whatever I had at the time.

That's what I did too!

[erunginung]

I never boiled the water either.

South GA water is pretty funky too. We lived there for about a year after we got married. Grossness

[Zoe Pearn]

LOL - in Australia it is beaten into us to boil the water and I've never questioned it... We just boil the jug, fill the bottles, and leave them in the fridge for up to 24 hours, so they're there to make the bottle with.

My DS is turning 1 in a couple of week's time and I've only just started giving him tap water... and I'm even terrified of that. I've only just stopped sterilizing his stuff the last couple weeks as well. We are crazy about bugs over here I guess Plus he had dramas with Cow's Milk Protein Allergy, so I was probably a bit more paranoid than most, thinking that everything "bad" I put into him would make him sick - LOL!

So I went to Costco to buy formula and the Costco brand was nearly half the price per ounce than Enfamil and seemed exactly the same...

My only advice, find one brand and stick to it... It messes with their tummies too much if you keep changing all the time. I was like you and determined to breastfeed, but it just never happened for me so I had to put him on the bottle out of frustration... Not to scare you, and every baby is different, but I changed my son's formula about 3 times in the first 6 weeks, because one gave him wind, one didn't fill him up, etc, etc... and it got to the point where he started to bleed from his bowels. The doctors said it was Cow's Milk Protein Allergy (which apparently is very common in babies), but I have my suspicions that it was the swapping and changing the formulas that caused it all.

[robinforman]

Originally Posted by schock77

Ha ha! Texan here to say Lizzy's right!!! Central Texas isn't AS bad, but I've got to have filtered water- never straight out of the tap!

I was flying through Texas one time and our waitress was laughing at us because we were so confused by the water! It SERIOUSLY tasted like dirt, and hubs and I were trying to figure out if our glasses were dirty, etc. She just laughed and said, "Nope, it was the water!" LOL!

[mummytothree]

Ummm....I'm on kid #4 that gets the water right out of the tap!! Grant it I do have a brita filter on my faucet but it's still a long way from being boiled!!!

[aggiefamily]

Originally Posted by robinforman

I was flying through Texas one time and our waitress was laughing at us because we were so confused by the water! It SERIOUSLY tasted like dirt, and hubs and I were trying to figure out if our glasses were dirty, etc. She just laughed and said, "Nope, it was the water!" LOL!

That is what we call mineral water. Of course it tastes fine to me since I grew up on it. But the further south you go the funkier it gets.

[newfiemountiewife]

I didn't make formula often, I EBF my kids, but when I did, I used bottled water, and didn't boil it. Our water here is wretched, I would NEVER even think of mixing a bottle of baby formula with it, it's so bad.

ETA that our tap water does NOT have fluoride, so we're not missing out by using bottled water for them.

[kscwgirl]

I never boiled.. ever. I think maybe I might have used sterilized water w/ Abby but I'm thinking that I didn't even do that. LOL

[stayawake]

I sterilized the bottles, equipment and water by boiling until my chidren started putting everything in the world in their mouth - about four months. After that, I wash the bottles by hand and just let them dry, and about every other day they go in the dishwasher for sterilization. Water was boiled for the first while, now we use our Britta water for him, or bottled when we're out. Our water around here from the tap is very good to begin with, so I don't feel like i need to stress about it.
Since your baby is what, 8 months right? I would use filtered water if you can, but not really stress about boiling water. That's just my opinion. Forumla feeding can be a big hassel with the sterilizing of water, etc.

[cheltzey]

I asked my pediatrician, and she said that tap water was just fine, but filter it if it makes you feel better. If you get well water, then you need to boil it.