Formula-feeding away from home

Bottle-feeding is very convenient — until you're away from your own kitchen. Then scooping, mixing, and pouring may start to seem pretty complicated, especially if your baby is fussing.

What helps:

• Canned, ready-to-feed formula. Canned, ready-to-feed formula is the easiest solution — and the most expensive one. It costs considerably more than powdered or concentrated liquid formula, so many people save it for emergencies. Consider buying a brand sold in cans that are free of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA).
• Powdered formula dispenser. Use a divided plastic container to carry premeasured amounts of formula. Then simply pour the powder into a bottle, add water, and serve.
• Individual packets of powdered formula. While a bit more expensive than cans of powder or liquid concentrate, these premeasured packets are very handy, especially if you're traveling by plane and don't want to lug a can of formula in your diaper bag.
• Knowing how to safely carry formula with you. If you choose the more economical route of mixing your own formula, be sure to safely prepare and store it: A prepared bottle keeps at room temperature without spoiling for about one hour. If you won't use it within an hour, keep it in an insulated cooler with ice packs until you're ready to serve. To be safe, many experts recommend boiling the water you use for formula until your baby is around 4 to 6 months old, when his immune system starts to provide more protection against infection — so you may need to bring water with you. Throw away any formula that's still in the bottle one hour after your baby started feeding. Once your child's mouth has touched the bottle, the contents can become contaminated with bacteria.
• A bottle cooler/warmer. With a portable cooler/warmer, you can keep a bottle cool and then warm it up when you need it. Some run on batteries. Others have car battery adapters (and can also be used at home).
• Hot and cool gel packs. Gel packs that can be frozen solid or heated in the microwave help keep your baby's bottles cold until ready to serve and can also be used to heat the bottle for serving.

Tip: If your baby prefers formula warm, take a thermos of warm water with you. Just heat the water to the desired temperature at home, pour it into a thermos, and scoop the right amount of formula into individual bottles. Mix the bottles when you're ready to feed.