how do keep bottles sterile

[babydreams]

I am fully formula feeding my week old baby but am confused about sterilization of bottles. I use a steam steriliser which is put on before every feed but I am unsure how long the bottles will stay sterile for especially when I need them when out and about. Do people take the bottles out ready made and if so what do you store them in. I have had little support from midwife around feeding so want to make sure that I am doing everything correctly especially as still feeling guilty that breast feeding didn't work out for us.

I sterilise all the bottles together and then you can take them out and use them as you want or fill them in advance. They stay sterile for 24hrs.

sterilise the bottles and then assemble them afterwards (empty). They are then ok to be used over the next 24 hours. You could take an empty bottle and a carton of formula with you if you are out and about.

I only use one bottle a day but I reckon if you take it out of the steriliser and put the lid on it, it's fine as the lid will prevent any germs getting inside. Should definitely be fine like that for 24 hours. FF advice from official sources is not to take bottles about ready made. In theory you are supposed to take a thermos of water which is at least 70 degrees and the powder in a special powder holder thingy. I do wonder how many people actually do this in practise though. Using cartons outside of the home would be much easier, and not too expensive if it is only for one feed a day.

The purposes of sterilising as I understand it are:

1. To ensure that there are no nasty bugs around from previous milk feeds
2. To minimise the liklihood of bugs growing over time if you are putting in the fridge and reheating later.

Number 2 is not recommended any more. Therefore with fresh feeds/ cartons as long as the bottle has been sterilised it doesnt need to be sterile at the point when it is used.

Babies breathe air after all .

I always took it as making sure the bottles are really, really clean before making up new feeds. Though tbf I do make up 6 bottles in one go and store for later. If I was making up on the go I think after 24 hours I'd be tempted to sterilise again.