Curious to know if you sterilised baby bottles etc or not?

[JellyBelly50]

Myself and a friend was talking about this earlier. She told me she only uses hot soapy water as she was told apparently by health visitor that it wasn’t super necessary. NHS says to do at 12 months although some stop at 6 months when they start putting everything in their mouth. What did you do?

I know not really an AIBU but I am curious to know if everyone else doesn’t sterilise

Anyone else*

Yes sterilised bottles (for milk) until they were a year old, that was the advice at the time.

Dummies, cups (for water) I stopped sterilising at 6 months

My youngest bottle fed child is now 11! I did sterilise her bottles up to 6 or 7 months and then hot soapy water.

I am incredibly surprised if a HV told her not to bother, especially if she’s using formula.

We’re getting a little slack at ten months.

For formula it is absolutely necessary. For breast milk hot soapy water is fine.

And the formula milk needs to be made with 70°c freshly boiled water, I'm always unnerved when parents don't do this, the risk is small but absolutely devastating if you are unlucky.

I did bottles and teats until 12 months but i wasn't hyper vigilant about it, I never bother with sterilising teething rings and surfaces and stuff.

The thing I was pretty religious about was the washable bits of the breast pump, I had some microwave steriliser bags and I zapped them every single time after pumping. I used to look at all the little tubes and imagine bacteria and sour milk festering in there.

I've 3 kids who were all combi fed. Can't remember with my 1st (he's now 12) when I stopped sterilising, my 2nd was around 6 months & my 3rd was around 3 months, bottles got soaked in really hot soapy water then washed & rinsed. All are healthy kids who are very rarely unwell.

Never sterilised, never really seen the need.

Started with BF anyway so hot soapy water is fine, and with formula the only thing that needs 'sterilising' is the formula powder hitting hot water, not sure why bottes etc need to be sterilised.

Same with dummies, just a clean every so often

Yes, I did until 12 months to be safe
Sippy cups until 6 months
( my youngest is 22!)

Sterilised bottles, teats and dummies religiously until 6 months. Then as she started putting everything in her mouth I got a bit more lax. We used the big tub of water and milton tablets method so I gradually made it weaker and stopped sterilising at all around 12 months. I can't really remember tbh 😂

Yes for the first year. Bottles and teats in an electric sterilizer. Formula made up with cooled boiled water.

Yes for bottles/teats used for formula up until 1 year.

You don’t need to sterilise breastmilk bottle or breastfeeding equipment. You do need to sterilise formula bottles because of the bacteria formula can grow.

Sterilised bottles, teats and weird soppy cups with funny valves in until 12 months but weaned from bottles by 12 months so just had a supply cup from then on.

I’m still sterilizing bottles at 14 months. Reading this has just made me realize how batshit that is- he literally ate a crisp he found on the floor at soft play yesterday! It’s just a habit I’ve got into and forgot to question it 🤦🏻

Yea, I am quite a laid back person generally but I had a steam steriliser machine and used it for a year. I mix fed.

However I think I read that putting bottles and teats in the dishwasher also sterilises them. I can't remember now why we used the steriliser when we had a dishwasher!

I think at the time I did this (6 years ago) the advise was to sterilise until they are 1, but now I can't think exactly where I got that advice from so maybe I made it up?! We always sterilised milk bottles anyway, had a microwave steriliser so very quick and easy and seemed a good idea with milk plus nooks and crannies in teats etc. Stopped bottles from about 18 months anyway.

I did sterilise everything, until my daughter who was about 9months at the time, picked up a handful of cat food and ate it. She lived to tell the tale 😅

I sterilised bottles for my first, 15 years ago, until he was bout 3 months, but never sterilised anything for the younger 3. They were all combi fed. I washed bottles in hot, soapy water and put teats and dummies in a bowl of fresh boiled water to kill off any bacteria. Formula was made up with boiling water and cooled. We are over the top with sterilising everything with chemicals these days

Completely pointless from 6 months IMO. They shove anything in their mouths then.

I sterilised for about 9 months. I wouldn't do it at 12 months and certainly not past that!

@Tootsweets84 They were all combi fed. I washed bottles in hot, soapy water and put teats and dummies in a bowl of fresh boiled water to kill off any bacteria.
Isn't that just still sterilising though?

I didn't sterilise but mine only had breast milk.

Never sterilised just cleaned with hot soapy water and a brush. But this was for expressed breastmilk only, and I was following the advice from midwives at the time (4 years ago, not in the UK).