New Mom Advice Needed!!! Formula Feeding in Disney!

[TeamSy]

My husband and I are Disney pro's but this is a whole new ballgame with a baby involved - holy cow!!! I can't wrap my head around feeding this kid throughout the day while in the parks and I have a ton of questions and am looking for suggestions!!! Disclaimer: Totally new at this so I apologize if these are dumb questions!

1. So those 8oz ready to feed bottles - do we just pack a crap load in our suitcase? ship ahead of time? order for delivery to our hotel room?
2. Do I have to worry about temps and the ready to feed bottles going bad while at the park all day?
3. Our routine at home is wash bottles/nipples and then sterilize daily. Do we travel with our electric steamer to wash and sterilize each night?

 

[mjkacmom]

I never sterilized bottles, pediatrician said there was no need to, babies need clean, not sterile (once you touch it, it's no longer sterile). I used powdered formula and tap water, although you could use bottled water. With tap, you can make it any temperature, or get baby used to room temperature formula.

 

[quandrea]

I never sterilized bottles, pediatrician said there was no need to, babies need clean, not sterile (once you touch it, it's no longer sterile). I used powdered formula and tap water, although you could use bottled water. With tap, you can make it any temperature, or get baby used to room temperature formula.

This was us. Powdered formula was great for the parks. We just added the powder to a bottle of water as needed. I did ship ahead but we were going for two weeks and I had twins so I needed four giant cans of formula. My babies took their bottles at room temperature.

 

[maxiesmom]

If you want to take a bunch of ready to feed formula, ship it down. You don't want to risk it breaking open in your suitcase and wrecking everything.

It has been forever since I had to deal with bottles, but we never sterilized them. Wash well with soap and water, that is it.

 

[bostonminnie]

I brought a bottle brush and little container of dish soap to wash the bottles every night.
If you do use the ready to feed formula make sure you try it out before the trip. My son couldn't tolerate them at all, even though we bought the same brand as the powdered formula we used.
We used bottled water and filled each bottle with water in the morning. We measured the formula out into one of those formula dispensers. When we needed a bottle we just dumped the formula into the bottle. Have a good trip!

 

[KrazeeK120]

We did a summer trip last year...not to Disney, but were traveling with a baby using formula. I knew my son would take 3 8-oz bottles per day, so I packed enough to get through the trip plus a few extra in case of a spill or something. I would try to calculate how many bottles you'll need so you don't end up taking way too many or too few.

My diaper bag has an insulated compartment, so I always put 1 or 2 of the ready feed bottles in there to try to keep the temperature regulated. If your diaper bag doesn't have such a feature, it might not be a bad idea to take an insulated lunchbox (or similar) with you.

I sterilized at home, but by boiling, so I didn't have a way to sterilize on vacation and my son was fine. If it would make you feel better to take your sterilizer with you, throw it in the car. But I wouldn't get terribly concerned about it. I just took my bottle brush, dishwashing soap, and bottle drying rack with me and used hot water at the hotel.

 

[Fosteringaprincess]

2 years ago we took our baby. She was 12 weeks old. We were foster parents when we planned the trip and had no idea we would be picking up a newborn from the hospital. So off we went! So much fun! We used powder formula in the formula dispenser. I took 2 of these so 6 feedings. I brought a couple of room temperature water bottles to mix with her formula. I took 2 bottles in the park and made sure I rinsed them out with very hot water as soon as she finished. Each night I washed all the bottles with hot water, dish soap, and a bottle brush and let them dry. It really was so easy! She did great! Make sure not to try any new formula while on the trip. It could make for a bad tummy and upset baby. There is a difference between powder and ready to serve.

 

[MNDisneyMommy]

Also, if your baby is temp picky - baby care centers will have all sorts of good help for you, and any restaurant will give you a hot water mug or cup half-filled to help warm up bottles.

 

[blackpearl77]

They make disposable bottles. Called Steri-bottle. Made by Tommy Tippee. This is what we took with us on vacations. http://steribottle.com They are BPA free and phthalate free. They are one time use bottles with nipple. Use once and throw out - don't have to clean!!! They have 10 packs. We used them (I tried one out before to see if my son would drink from it and he did no problem) and they worked great. I think they were $9.99 for a 10 pack. Well worth not having to do washing at night in the hotel room! We just did powder mixed with bottled water.

 

[SweetMissy]

I'm a breastfeeding mom, so I can't give really too much advice. I can't imagine having to deal with formula on vacation, lol. There's babycare centers at all the parks that are nice. I happened to go in there once, just to check it out. You could order food from garden grocer, I'm assuming they have formula on their site as well. It's very convenient....shipped right to your resort. Also want to say...my oldest was formula fed and only sterilized the bottles and nipples after taking them out of the package. You're doing this after every feeding? There's no need for that....regular washing is fine. Anyway, have fun!

 

[ADS2508]

I have traveled with ready to feed and powder. I will say on planes and in cars the ready to feed was way easier.
I would definitely ship it as it is heavy and could cause way higher bag fees. I order off Amazon and diapers.com depending on which is cheaper.
I like that I don't have to worry about washing bottles and sanitation with the ready to feed. I typically use his normal nipples and just bring some dish soap to wash them at the end of the day. However you can also get disposable one that come in individual packages. Just make sure your baby will use them before you leave on vacation. I know it's not the most green or cheapest alternative, but I've found it to be very convenient.
For storage in the room they are fine room temperature, but for parks I would probably keep a few in a small insulated lunch box and one in whatever bag you are carrying.

 

[tcufrog]

When I travelled I used those individual packets and bottled water which you can buy everywhere. That allowed me to travel light. Will you have access to a microwave? you can sterilize bottles using one. I never sterilized mine. I mostly breastfed my first and did both with my second. I didn't have time to pump then.

 

[Vijoge]

My husband and I are Disney pro's but this is a whole new ballgame with a baby involved - holy cow!!! I can't wrap my head around feeding this kid throughout the day while in the parks and I have a ton of questions and am looking for suggestions!!! Disclaimer: Totally new at this so I apologize if these are dumb questions!

1. So those 8oz ready to feed bottles - do we just pack a crap load in our suitcase? ship ahead of time? order for delivery to our hotel room?
2. Do I have to worry about temps and the ready to feed bottles going bad while at the park all day?
3. Our routine at home is wash bottles/nipples and then sterilize daily. Do we travel with our electric steamer to wash and sterilize each night?

1. So those 8oz ready to feed bottles - do we just pack a crap load in our suitcase? ship ahead of time? order for delivery to our hotel room? You could do either, but as others have said, powdered formula is lighter to carry and easy to mix with plain water.
2. Do I have to worry about temps and the ready to feed bottles going bad while at the park all day? The ready to feed bottles won'[t go bad until they're opened. Once opened, toss them.
3. Our routine at home is wash bottles/nipples and then sterilize daily. Do we travel with our electric steamer to wash and sterilize each night? Sterilization is not necessary.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

My husband and I are Disney pro's but this is a whole new ballgame with a baby involved - holy cow!!! I can't wrap my head around feeding this kid throughout the day while in the parks and I have a ton of questions and am looking for suggestions!!! Disclaimer: Totally new at this so I apologize if these are dumb questions!

1. So those 8oz ready to feed bottles - do we just pack a crap load in our suitcase? ship ahead of time? order for delivery to our hotel room?
2. Do I have to worry about temps and the ready to feed bottles going bad while at the park all day?
3. Our routine at home is wash bottles/nipples and then sterilize daily. Do we travel with our electric steamer to wash and sterilize each night?

do you use ready to feed formula at home? if not make sure you try before you leave nothing worse than a hungry baby who wont take bottle because it tastes different. I would start a different formula a few days before you leave to make sure baby likes and does okay on a different formula. ready to feed formula is okay to carry around the park so long as you have not opened and put nipple on. once you open bottle or can you will have to keep cool. I would not pack bottles in checked bag for fear of breaking plus that suitcase would be over weight with that charge added. never sterilized for mine because as soon as you touch taking out of steamer you have unsterilized bottle or nipple as soon as you touch. other baby center in each park only way to warm bottle is a cup of hot water as no food/bottle can be warmed in kitchen while you are eating in the parks

 

[KrazeeK120]

baby center in each park only way to warm bottle is a cup of hot water as no food/bottle can be warmed in kitchen while you are eating in the parks

I've been told that QS places will provide a cup of warm/hot water.

OP, you may want to see if your baby will take the ready to feed formula at room temp. My son never cared what kind of formula he had or what temperature it was. But it sounds like some babies are more choosy!

 

[Lvsdisney]

My DS HATED ready to feed. Whenever we went anywhere, I had a bottle of water (enough for 2 feedings) and a container that held the powder formula. Usually a glad/ziploc small container. I only sterilized the bottles/nipples after opening. After that, hot water and soap was all I used. I agree with the PPs who said to bring/buy powdered formula. I would bring as many bottles as you need to the park, then you can worry about washing back at the hotel.

 

[brockash]

My husband and I are Disney pro's but this is a whole new ballgame with a baby involved - holy cow!!! I can't wrap my head around feeding this kid throughout the day while in the parks and I have a ton of questions and am looking for suggestions!!! Disclaimer: Totally new at this so I apologize if these are dumb questions!

1. So those 8oz ready to feed bottles - do we just pack a crap load in our suitcase? ship ahead of time? order for delivery to our hotel room?
2. Do I have to worry about temps and the ready to feed bottles going bad while at the park all day?
3. Our routine at home is wash bottles/nipples and then sterilize daily. Do we travel with our electric steamer to wash and sterilize each night?

This is what we've done, 3 different times/babies. We order or pack large cans of formula powder. Each night we prefill the bottles with however much bottled water is necessary for 1

My DS HATED ready to feed. Whenever we went anywhere, I had a bottle of water (enough for 2 feedings) and a container that held the powder formula. Usually a glad/ziploc small container. I only sterilized the bottles/nipples after opening. After that, hot water and soap was all I used. I agree with the PPs who said to bring/buy powdered formula. I would bring as many bottles as you need to the park, then you can worry about washing back at the hotel.

This is what we've always done as well. We also have a few of those little compartmentized containers and measure out enough formula for 1 feeding and put in each container, then just dump in bottle when ready. I also got my last 2 used to eating room temperature bottles which made feedings much easier. Just washed with soap and water each night.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I've been told that QS places will provide a cup of warm/hot water.

OP, you may want to see if your baby will take the ready to feed formula at room temp. My son never cared what kind of formula he had or what temperature it was. But it sounds like some babies are more choosy!

that is correct and that is also true for baby food, a cup of water to warm. yes some babies are that fussy. was not a Disney trip but after long day of travel when I tried first ready to feed bottle and daughter just screamed because she did not want it I just joined her. husband and family finally found a drug store still open that night to get water and powder formula. never again. and yes she took bottle at room temp

 

[Crystal824]

My husband and I are Disney pro's but this is a whole new ballgame with a baby involved - holy cow!!! I can't wrap my head around feeding this kid throughout the day while in the parks and I have a ton of questions and am looking for suggestions!!! Disclaimer: Totally new at this so I apologize if these are dumb questions!

1. So those 8oz ready to feed bottles - do we just pack a crap load in our suitcase? ship ahead of time? order for delivery to our hotel room?
2. Do I have to worry about temps and the ready to feed bottles going bad while at the park all day?
3. Our routine at home is wash bottles/nipples and then sterilize daily. Do we travel with our electric steamer to wash and sterilize each night?

We took both our girls when they were 9-10 months old. I used the ready to feed formula while there. Those worked out great for us. I ordered them from a delivery service, but you could probably bring them if you have room in your suitcases. No, you don't have to worry about the ready to feed going bad at least before you open it. Use it soon after opening. The baby may be picky about room temperature. My kids weren't at least by the time they got to 9-10 months. I would just open them and pour into the bottle. Easy. I did not take the steamer. I did take the Medela steam bags and used the microwave in our room to clean at night as we are DVC and had a microwave. I'm not sure if you will have a microwave. If you don't, it really isn't a big deal. On other non-Disney trips where we didn't have a microwave, I just washed at the hotel sink and the kids were fine.

I agree make sure you baby will drink the ready to feed formula. My kids were always ok with either powder or ready to feed, but some babies aren't. Powder v. ready to feed is a different consistency and some kids like what they like. I found the ready to feed easier to deal with on trips. I know others disagree due the weight, but for me it was easier to just pour it in a bottle. If you bring the powder, you will also have to lug or find water. No matter which, make sure you have enough formula. One day we didn't bring enough to the park. I tried to buy some at Disney. They sell Carnation. While my youngest didn't care about temp or powder v. ready to feed, she did NOT like Carnation formula. Not a big deal, we ended up leaving the park and going back to the room so we could feed her.

 

[cubed]

The last time we were at Disney, our younger son was only 5-6wks old (I can't even remember anymore). I ended up exclusively pumping with him so I had to deal with tons of bottles. Feel free to use the baby care center at any of the parks. The one at MK is near the medical center by the Hub. It was really hot when we went in April two years ago so I cooled down the baby inside. I was also able to pump in peace in the nursing room. You can change diapers and clean out bottles in there as well. If I recall, they even had formula available for purchase if you needed it. My kids drank cold or room temp bottles whether there was breast milk or formula in there, so I never had to worry about warming up anything. If you do need a warm bottle, the suggestion above to ask for a warm cup of water is awesome so you don't have to hunt down the baby care center when it is feeding time.

I agree with everyone and make sure your baby actually takes the ready to feed vs powder. Order a delivery to your room so you don't need to lug everything with you on the plane. I did have a four pack of ready to feed bottles in the diaper bag for absolute emergencies but I also packed formula packets b/c you never know with plane delays. With my older son, I weaned him much earlier and traveled with a formula dispenser hat already had the exact scoops needed for each bottle (usually 3 servings in that small container at that age). I highly recommend it.

I bought this travel bottle cleaner so I could hand wash bottles at night when we were in hotel rooms.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AA7O4CS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1

Formula dispenser:
https://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-For...122715&sr=1-2&keywords=formula+dispenser&th=1

Infant formula packs:
https://www.amazon.com/Enfamil-Infa...62&sr=1-3&keywords=enfamil+formula+packs&th=1