sterilizing- confused

[Junosmum]

Hello,

My 5 week old is currently breastfed, very occasionally given a bottle of expressed milk. As he gets older I think I'm going to want to give more bottles, expressed or formula but I'm confused about sterilizing.

We have an electric steam sterilizer with bottles. Once sterilized, things in it remain sterile for 48hours unless I open it. So, if I open it to use a bottle for a feed or to express in to do I need to re-sterilize the remaining items before the next feed/ use?

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

I open it and assemble all the bottles at the same time, they'll stay sterile then until you use them.

Of course once you touch at all them they're not technically sterile any more, but how else are you meant to use them! Also the outside doesn't if the bottle doesn't need to be sterile anyway so as long as you avoid touching the teat you should be fine I reckon.

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

*the outside of the bottle doesn't...

[Junosmum]

Great, that seems much more reasonable! Especially as my boobs are no where near sterile!

[winchester1]

I did the same and assembled them. Mine came with some tongs that went in the sterilized and were then used to hold the teat or at least they would have been had I found them before 3months when changing teat size

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

Hah I always wondered about that too, non-sterile nipples!

[KP86]

As long as you are feeding breast milk, either directly or from a bottle you don't need to sterilise at all. As you already said, breasts aren't sterile, and there are wonderful antibodies in the milk that help stop babies from getting sick from your totally germ-covered, unsterilised feeding environment! Even when it comes out of a bottle.

But if you move to formula, you will need to sterilise.