Formula Feeding

Question: Is tap water, bottled water, or boiled water best for formula?

Answer: I recommend boiling the water you use for formula (or using ready-to-feed formula) until your baby is at least 6 months old — that is, when his immune system starts to provide more protection against infection and he's crawling around on the floor and getting into all sorts of stuff anyway. The problem with tap water is that while it may be safe today, it can become unsafe at any time. For example, in 1993, the bacteria cryptosporidium got into the municipal water supply in Milwaukee and caused 400,000 people to become ill and several to die before they caught it.
Although that's not likely to happen very often, a newborn is particularly vulnerable to infection, so it's better not to risk it. Plus, it's hard to know for sure what's in our tap water (or well water) at any given time and what kinds of effects certain levels of heavy metals and other contaminates may have on a baby.If you choose to boil the water you use to mix formula, save yourself time by preparing enough for the whole day in the morning — a few quarts should be enough. Follow formula label and American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendations: Bring the water to a rolling boil for one minute, and then turn it off and let it cool either on the stove or in a covered container in the refrigerator. (We don't recommend boiling it for any longer because you may end up concentrating trace amounts of lead in the water as it boils off.)If you're buying bottled water, look for distilled (not spring) water, since the minerals in spring water could disturb the delicate balance of minerals found in formula. Another option is nursery water. Usually found in the water section of the grocery store, nursery water is a specially marked water that's often distilled and fluoride-free (check the label to make sure). But even if you do use bottled water, you'll need to boil it once the bottle has been opened, unless you use it all right away