Hi! I’m new to formula feeding. I’ve been slowly decreasing BFing & pumping and supplementing with formula as needed. Im pretty much at the point where im tired of making bottles one at a time and I saw someone post about using the pitcher method.
Is it as simple as 1 scoop to 2 oz? So if I were to make a 30 oz pitcher I’d do 15 scoops?
I saw someone post about weighing instead?
I’m so excited to be joining this community after almost 8 months
(Also any extra tips you think would be beneficial, please send my way! Thank you!)
@sopie0426 We use a kitchen scale. Tare the empty pitcher, then add water (1 ml = 1 gram), tare again. Then formula. The label usually has the number of grams per scoop.
We're doing a full day's worth at a time, so like 1000ml water and 200 grams formula (for our soecific mix). We basically pour the formula right out of the bag. Carefully at the end. But still so much easier.
We then fill and chill enough bottles for the next day so they're all ready to go right out of the fridge, and immediately prep the pitchers for re-use the next day.... for us this is a sanitizer/dryer.
@sopie0426 I have never weighed and my son was formula fed from the very beginning. I stopped using our dr.brown pitcher quite some time ago, but I just remember following the 1 scoop to every 2 oz. I would put the water in, and then count by 2 for each one scoop.
@tohimbetheglory Did you prefer just making bottles as needed? I’m doing the pitcher mainly for my mom who watches my baby while I’m at work and I want to make it as easy as possible - but maybe it’s not the easier way?
@sopie0426 So as my son got older, I moved away from the pitcher. Probably around 8 months I just started making the bottles individually. He was starting to eat more purées and snacks, and not finishing his bottles more than often. I did hate how the formula sometimes got lumpy in the bottles, but usually when they sat in the fridge for a bit (I would make a few for throughout the day) it didn’t seem to be as lumpy. You could just use the pitcher and fill the bottles and they’re ready to go! My son was just not reliable on how much he would take at a time (formula) and it was during the time when I couldn’t find formula anywhere so I couldn’t afford to waste anything!
@sopie0426 I just follow what the can says. I don’t weigh it with a kitchen scale tho maybe I might start but for now if I do 34oz of water then I do 34 scoops since I use a formula where the ratio is 1 scoop per ounce.
@sopie0426 Yup! I do 20 Oz water and 10 scoops formula. I have the dr browns pitcher and I find if I use more water than that, it adds too many bubbles. YMMV. But this is still super easy for us and we only have to mix up formula 2x a day.
@sopie0426 That’s what I do.
My formula is 8.5g per 2floz of water. So I measure out the water I need into the pitcher, then I use a scale to put in the relevant amount of formula.
E.g today I made 19oz water and needed 8.5g/2floz x 19floz = 80.75g (I rounded up to 81 since my scale only gives grams).
@sopie0426 My wife and I never understood the pitcher hype, but our daughter won’t drink cold formula so we always had to warm it anyway and it didn’t feel like it was saving us much effort/time. Instead we got a couple of Brezza water dispensers that keep the water warm all day. You just press a button to dispense the water, add your scoops and your done! For us, the scooping and shaking was easier than measuring out and warming later, but definitely do whatever works best for your family! We put one in our bedroom and it’s saved our sanity for mid-night feeds. Just a another option in case you were open to try other things.
@nonuser Ok that’s something I didn’t really think of…I’m really thinking of the pitcher method to save my mom, who watches my son while my husband and I work, any added work.
@sopie0426 That makes sense! Forgot to mention a few other advantages, for example when we have a cranky hungry baby who wants a bottle right then. Before we had to wait 5+ minutes for the warmer, now it takes less than 15 seconds to make a bottle. Also when leaving the house for the day, we can dispense water into a few bottles and just pack some formula the use it throughout the day as needed, versus having to pack a cooler to keep the premade ones good and then warm them when she’s hungry.
