can I stop sterilising?

[DoubleLifeIsALifeHalved]

am going to stay with friends as am having a back operation on tuesday and they've been lovely and said they'd give me a hand and look after me... BUT they don;t have babies, so should I lug my bulky steriliser there or should i have stopped sterilising by now anyway?

ds is 15 mths old, and is wedded to a bottle (no sippy cups for him grrr), so he has 4 bottles of water a day, and 2 of milk (from powder)... so, do i need to sterilise them every night or is this overkill?

[Threelittleducks]

whispers we hardly ever sterilise now and ds2 is only 7 months (bad mum emoticon)

[Wottywot]

Oh Goodness Yes, we stopped about 6 months! Just wash them up in some water and washing up liquid like the other stuff! :)

[simpson]

I stopped sterilising DS's (PFB) bottles at 11mths. He pretty much refused a bottle at that age anyway, much to my

DD was 7mths, but did bung them in the dishwasher, which I think does the same job

[ChippingIn]

So long as they are washed thoroughly you don't ever actually need to sterilise :)

[PacificDogwood]

Never sterilised. As is standard advice for healthy newborn in the States.

So, no, don't take your steriliser. In fact ditch it altogether .

[fusspot66]

A good hot soapy wash or hot cycle on dishwasher is perfectly safe. Tap water is ok to drink from 6 months. Presumably your little one is drinking bathwater and eating shoes by now. Don't worry and safe yourself a big hassle. Good luck.

[DoubleLifeIsALifeHalved]

Thank you all! So excited to be able to stop sterilising, it takes over my evenings!!! Yay! Oh, & I get to say I am being pfb, which makes me smile

[Tortoiseonthehalfshell]

As a general rule, I think it's safe to stop sterilising around the time the little darlings start munching on lint, cat food and the odd leather boot.