To not sterilise bottles for my 7mo?

[AndRosemary]

I know it’s against NHS advice, but I saw this article and realised it doesn’t really make any sense?! She puts the dog toys in her mouth daily, so why should I waste my time sterilising bottles? The article shows that France doesn’t suggest sterilising, and that washing with soap and water is enough.

I thought this logical, but my friend seemed shocked and appalled 😳

If you're using bottles just for breastmilk (never used them for formula), you don't need to sterilise at all. Otherwise once a day should be enough to avoid build up of bacteria.
Having said that risk is probably small, so it's up to you what you're comfortable with.

I only sterilised for my first baby. Never for the rest of my kids and they are fine. If anything they are much healthier than my first, my first falls ill easily n lasts for what seems like forever. The rest of my kids when unwell are better within a day or two.

I neer sterilised with formila. The rik is the formula ppwder, which i always make sure i make bottles using correct temp water. How i wash them then doesn't matter as long as they're clean i'm not sure what sterilising an empty bottle would add.

Oh and we have a dog so always seemed even more pointless.

But you sterilise the milk on making it with boiling water, so it shouldn't have bacteria in it to be left behind?

I don’t make the guidance…

But obviously I’d you haven’t cleaned the teat properly then even if you’ve sterilised the milk when you make it, it can still get contaminated if there’s dangerous bacteria in the teat. That’s just an example, the guidance obviously exists for a reason, and sterilising is very minimal effort… so why analyse every tiny detail in order to not follow it?

It's like any milk product - if it's not refrigerated or used within a safe time, it will start to spoil/go off. That's why formula has to be used within a certain time, even if it's been made with boiling water or pasteurised (as in premade formula), new bacteria can get into it and start to grow and make it unsafe.

Fair enough. @Coffeellama I'm not overanalysing everything I just wanted to understand peoples reasoning. Personally I think the risk must be miniscule.

Well seeing as breast milk goes off like any other type of milk I'd just continue sterilising the bottles. It's not like it's much effort

If you feel that killing the germs on your baby's bottles is unnecessary because they lick the dog toys, consider not letting her/him lick the dog toys.
At 7 months, even breastfed, the immune system is still developing. It's too early for lick by the dogs feet or having expressed milk with multiplying bacterial counts.
It will come, but you should be looking around a year to relax hygiene.

Blimey! I sterilise the bottles for feeding orphan lambs, y'know, just in case. It's not exactly difficult.

I just gave a blast with boiling water. So much faff with sterilising

If your baby was full term and healthy theres no need to sterilise anything for use with breastmilk, just wash with warm soapy water.

Presumably the lambs are being fed some sort of formula though. Not breastmilk. OP is feeding expressed breastmilk so no need to sterilise.

I never used a steriliser by choice.
Hot soapy water every time.

Is there a lot of faff though? I get that it takes up space on your worktop so if you've got a small kitchen that could be a problem, but with an electric steam steriliser you wash the bottles, put them in the steriliser, put some cold water in and switch it on, then leave it till you need another clean bottle, at which point you open it up and take one out - no hassle at all for me.

@NannyR More faff than a quick rinse with the kettle 😂

bit of a plot twist if that poster is expressing breastmilk for her lambs 😆