Tap water for baby formula?

Family, Education, Health and Pets
1
Hello, have moved to geneva this week & was wondering whether its ok to use the tap water for making up my baby's formula (she's 11 months). We usually use the ready made stuff but I can't seem to find it here. What do the rest of you do??Any advice would be appreciated!! Many thanks

2
I give the 11mo I care for tap water after she's been sucking on her brothers shoes.

No self respecting bug would bother.........

3
I used to use tap water but make sure you boil it first ( and of course let it cool down)

4
You can used sterilised tap water from day 1 to make feeds.

If you are storing the water, then sterilisation is a pre-requisite. If not (i.e. using straight away) then I would argue the toss over whether you need to sterilise at all.

Once they are mobile on the ground, sterilisation is an absolute waste of time, unless, again, you are pre-preparing bottles (with feed already made) for storage and later use.

5
Why would you boil it for an 11 month old?

Edit- Thanks Carlos, only if you're storing it for later. I gave my daughter unboiled tap water much earlier than 11 months.

6
We used formula from 8 months and only heated it up in the kettle to the required temperature. It never did my son any harm - we just made sure the bottles and teats and whatnot were good and clean.

If you feel more comfortable, boil it and cool it.

7
Because I just did.

8
That's great, thanks everyone!she'll be on cows milk soon but wasnt sure whether the minerals etc in the water would be ok for her!

9
Just a Granny comment - If she gets constipated while on cows milk, dilute it, and add a bit of sugar/honey. Even baby sheep being bottle fed on cows milk need it diluted and sweetened. And a baby sheep weights much more than a human baby. Remembering that a cows milk is designed for her baby ... to grow a good size larger than humans in a far shorter time!

10
I'd boil first for 11-month-old but at the miraculous age of 12 months, stop the boiling and sterilisation of bottles sharpish...!!

11
In the kinderspital they used un boiled tap water to make formula for my friends 6/7 month old baby

And pre made cartons don't exist here - you buy the powder

12
We used tap water from the kitchen sink since baby was 6 mo old and never sterilized or boiled the water and she is a happy, healthy 2 year old. Never any problems, the water in Switzerland is great.

13
I suppose it's OK by the time they're drinking cow's milk, but be careful giving honey to babies under 1 year .

14
Perfectly fine to use it. But use cold water. Don't use warm tap water (perfect temperature for those bugs!).

What I did for the munchkin was boil tap water and put it in bottle (just under half the volume you need) and fill it up with cold tap water. Then your water should be the right temp to make the formula with. You'll need to play a bit to work out what ratio you need and its much faster to make it like that rather than boil and wait for the water to cool down. Always a plus when there's a monster screaming in your ear. It's ok to let them drink cold tap water from 6 months but I'd never let him drink warm tap water, and wouldn't drink it myself!

PS its the minerals in mineral water (unless it specifically says it's suitable for infants) that are bad for them, tap water has stricter regulations!

15
My child's doctor told me to stop sterilising at 3 months. We did, and never had a problem. He had cold tap water mixed with hot water from the kettle until he decided to drink only cold.