6 ms·

This is awesome. Less dramatically, when I lived in Germany, where I had radiators for heat, I stored baby bottles of water on top of the kitchen radiator. It

This is awesome. Less dramatically, when I lived in Germany, where I had radiators for heat, I stored baby bottles of water on top of the kitchen radiator. It kept the water the perfect temperature for my infant with zero risk of it being too hot, so zero risk of scalding. All I had to do was add powdered formula when he got hungry.

lostlogin 4y ago
We took an approach that served us well but got unlimited judgement from others - cold bottles. Took almost no time to train and a tap is usually available.
- sycren 4y ago
  What is the argument for and against it?
  - cjrp 4y ago
    For: you don’t have to heat anything up. Against: Nothing really, I guess the baby might not drink it (in theory they’re expecting warm breast milk). It’s not recommended to use straight tap water here, only filtered, due to bacteria which is harmless to older children/adults but could be a problem for a newborn.
    - VBprogrammer 4y ago
      Our first child didn't care. Our second child though will spill most of a cold bottle down his chin (we use premix or formula made ahead of time).
    - krisoft 4y ago
      > It’s not recommended to use straight tap water here, only filtered, due to bacteria which is harmless to older children/adults but could be a problem for a newborn. I’m very currious about the filter you mention. How do you filter bacteria out in a household setting? How do you keep the filter itself clean and how do you QA your solution? I find it likely that any filtering done by average people is more likely to add bacteria than to remove it. But maybe there is some magical method I don’t know about yet.
      - germinalphrase 4y ago
        Why expect that a charcoal filter, changed at the recommended interval, would add more bacteria than it removes?
        krisoft 4y ago
        Because of two reasons together: charcoal filters don’t remove bacteria[1][2], that is the reason why I don’t expect it to reduce bacterial count. And then any user error (less than pristine pitcher, filter not replaced at the recomended interval) would increase the count. But there is also a different reasoning. A more philosophical, heuristic based one: The water where I live is treated by professionals with professional grade equipment. They also take regular samples and try to grow the bacteria to be able to tell if they are doing their job right or not. And the quality, at least where I live, is generally good. To improve something from good to excelent you often need to put in as much work as it was already put in to move it from mediocre to good. It is possible of course, but I would expect the process to be either energy intensive, or fiddly, or resource intensive, or require even more specialised equipment. Most likely all four at once. A simple, easy to use, and convenient filter doesn’t pass my sniff test. Like if it is that easy why wouldn’t the pros just do it at the water treatment facility? Now of course this is just a heuristic, it can go wrong many different ways. And I admit I can be wrong of course. This is very far from my expertise. But this is how I was thinking about the question. 1: https://www.livestrong.com/article/193977-what-do-carbon-filters-remove-from-water/ https://www.livestrong.com/article/193977-what-do-carbon-fil... 2: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC242697/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC242697/
      - cjrp 4y ago
        To be clear, it's not my recommendation but the NHS' - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/weaning-and-feeding/drinks-and-cups-for-babies-and-young-children/ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/weaning-and-feeding/drink... The filters are things like this https://www.tommeetippee.com/en-gb/product/perfect-prep-replacement-filters#526=136 https://www.tommeetippee.com/en-gb/product/perfect-prep-repl...
        4y ago
- DoreenMichele 4y ago
  "Hell is other people."
  - Der_Einzige 4y ago
    "Hell is other people's code"
olivermuty 4y ago
For infants this is not food safe. The powder should be mixed with water that is at least 70C to kill bacteria that might be present in the powder. For older babies (6+) then maybe not so important. In the weaning period when I took over with a night bottle and the wife shut down her boobs I would just sleep with a pre-mixed (not from powder) formula pack next to my body. It would be more or less body temperature and the kiddo would like it :D
- DoreenMichele 4y ago
  This is not what the CDC says. It says you may want to take precautions in some cases, such as with a premature infant. https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/InfantandToddlerNutrition/formula-feeding/infant-formula-preparation-and-storage.html https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/InfantandToddlerNutrition/form... Edit: This also seems like a recent development. My children are grown. https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2022/timeline-chronobacter-illnesses-linked-to-infant-formula/ https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2022/timeline-chronobacter...
  - floodle 4y ago
    There is some debate about whether or not to prepare formula with 70C/160F water. The NHS in the UK for example, says to do so (under "Reducing the risk of infection"): https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/breastfeeding-and-bottle-feeding/bottle-feeding/making-up-baby-formula/ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/breastfeeding-and-bottle-... However some, in particular Emily Oster, argue that the risk is negligible and that having an overly complicated set of steps for tired parents to follow is counter-productive: https://archive.is/c5lC5 https://archive.is/c5lC5 From my understanding the current general advice from public health authorities is to use 70C/160F water.
    - DoreenMichele 4y ago
      I'm not trying to argue it. I left my original comment as a fun anecdote in response to another fun anecdote. In reality, I think it's probably not a good idea to cook food in hot asphalt but didn't feel that really needed to be said, so didn't say it. (How many people are even going to have the opportunity to try that?) Now I am feeling like perhaps it does need to be said and cringing in anticipation of people hating on me for saying it and thereby raining on their party. I looked up the info rather than go "citation needed." My children are grown. They have already survived whatever mistakes I made in raising them and life has changed, so some of what I did worked just fine at the time but is no longer a good idea. I provided citations and accurate information to the best of my ability and as neutrally as I knew how in the interest of promoting food safety for people currently or in the future in need of actually feeding babies.
astura 4y ago
I have decorative boxes covering up my radiators. Incidentally, the boxes heat up to the perfect temperature for my cats, who love sitting on them in the winter.
- DoreenMichele 4y ago
  I thought it was super cool at the time because I had never before had radiant heat. German apartments were different in myriad ways from my experience of American housing. I think America could learn a lot from other cultures about improving quality of life just in terms of housing practices.
  - astura 4y ago
    Radiators are extremely common in the Northeast USA, where I live. Mostly in prewar homes.
    - DoreenMichele 4y ago
      Yeah, the US is not a monolith by any stretch wrt heating type. I don't mean to conflate this one type of heating with my generally positive experience of housing in Germany just being overall better in myriad ways.

lostlogin 4y ago

We took an approach that served us well but got unlimited judgement from others - cold bottles. Took almost no time to train and a tap is usually available.

sycren 4y ago
What is the argument for and against it?
- cjrp 4y ago
  For: you don’t have to heat anything up. Against: Nothing really, I guess the baby might not drink it (in theory they’re expecting warm breast milk). It’s not recommended to use straight tap water here, only filtered, due to bacteria which is harmless to older children/adults but could be a problem for a newborn.
  - VBprogrammer 4y ago
    Our first child didn't care. Our second child though will spill most of a cold bottle down his chin (we use premix or formula made ahead of time).
  - krisoft 4y ago
    > It’s not recommended to use straight tap water here, only filtered, due to bacteria which is harmless to older children/adults but could be a problem for a newborn. I’m very currious about the filter you mention. How do you filter bacteria out in a household setting? How do you keep the filter itself clean and how do you QA your solution? I find it likely that any filtering done by average people is more likely to add bacteria than to remove it. But maybe there is some magical method I don’t know about yet.
    - germinalphrase 4y ago
      Why expect that a charcoal filter, changed at the recommended interval, would add more bacteria than it removes?
      - krisoft 4y ago
        Because of two reasons together: charcoal filters don’t remove bacteria[1][2], that is the reason why I don’t expect it to reduce bacterial count. And then any user error (less than pristine pitcher, filter not replaced at the recomended interval) would increase the count. But there is also a different reasoning. A more philosophical, heuristic based one: The water where I live is treated by professionals with professional grade equipment. They also take regular samples and try to grow the bacteria to be able to tell if they are doing their job right or not. And the quality, at least where I live, is generally good. To improve something from good to excelent you often need to put in as much work as it was already put in to move it from mediocre to good. It is possible of course, but I would expect the process to be either energy intensive, or fiddly, or resource intensive, or require even more specialised equipment. Most likely all four at once. A simple, easy to use, and convenient filter doesn’t pass my sniff test. Like if it is that easy why wouldn’t the pros just do it at the water treatment facility? Now of course this is just a heuristic, it can go wrong many different ways. And I admit I can be wrong of course. This is very far from my expertise. But this is how I was thinking about the question. 1: https://www.livestrong.com/article/193977-what-do-carbon-filters-remove-from-water/ https://www.livestrong.com/article/193977-what-do-carbon-fil... 2: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC242697/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC242697/
    - cjrp 4y ago
      To be clear, it's not my recommendation but the NHS' - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/weaning-and-feeding/drinks-and-cups-for-babies-and-young-children/ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/weaning-and-feeding/drink... The filters are things like this https://www.tommeetippee.com/en-gb/product/perfect-prep-replacement-filters#526=136 https://www.tommeetippee.com/en-gb/product/perfect-prep-repl...
      - 4y ago
DoreenMichele 4y ago
"Hell is other people."
- Der_Einzige 4y ago
  "Hell is other people's code"

olivermuty 4y ago

For infants this is not food safe. The powder should be mixed with water that is at least 70C to kill bacteria that might be present in the powder. For older babies (6+) then maybe not so important. In the weaning period when I took over with a night bottle and the wife shut down her boobs I would just sleep with a pre-mixed (not from powder) formula pack next to my body. It would be more or less body temperature and the kiddo would like it :D

DoreenMichele 4y ago
This is not what the CDC says. It says you may want to take precautions in some cases, such as with a premature infant. https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/InfantandToddlerNutrition/formula-feeding/infant-formula-preparation-and-storage.html https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/InfantandToddlerNutrition/form... Edit: This also seems like a recent development. My children are grown. https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2022/timeline-chronobacter-illnesses-linked-to-infant-formula/ https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2022/timeline-chronobacter...
- floodle 4y ago
  There is some debate about whether or not to prepare formula with 70C/160F water. The NHS in the UK for example, says to do so (under "Reducing the risk of infection"): https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/breastfeeding-and-bottle-feeding/bottle-feeding/making-up-baby-formula/ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/breastfeeding-and-bottle-... However some, in particular Emily Oster, argue that the risk is negligible and that having an overly complicated set of steps for tired parents to follow is counter-productive: https://archive.is/c5lC5 https://archive.is/c5lC5 From my understanding the current general advice from public health authorities is to use 70C/160F water.
  - DoreenMichele 4y ago
    I'm not trying to argue it. I left my original comment as a fun anecdote in response to another fun anecdote. In reality, I think it's probably not a good idea to cook food in hot asphalt but didn't feel that really needed to be said, so didn't say it. (How many people are even going to have the opportunity to try that?) Now I am feeling like perhaps it does need to be said and cringing in anticipation of people hating on me for saying it and thereby raining on their party. I looked up the info rather than go "citation needed." My children are grown. They have already survived whatever mistakes I made in raising them and life has changed, so some of what I did worked just fine at the time but is no longer a good idea. I provided citations and accurate information to the best of my ability and as neutrally as I knew how in the interest of promoting food safety for people currently or in the future in need of actually feeding babies.

astura 4y ago

I have decorative boxes covering up my radiators. Incidentally, the boxes heat up to the perfect temperature for my cats, who love sitting on them in the winter.

DoreenMichele 4y ago
I thought it was super cool at the time because I had never before had radiant heat. German apartments were different in myriad ways from my experience of American housing. I think America could learn a lot from other cultures about improving quality of life just in terms of housing practices.
- astura 4y ago
  Radiators are extremely common in the Northeast USA, where I live. Mostly in prewar homes.
  - DoreenMichele 4y ago
    Yeah, the US is not a monolith by any stretch wrt heating type. I don't mean to conflate this one type of heating with my generally positive experience of housing in Germany just being overall better in myriad ways.