When to stop sterilising bottles

[Angela1982]

Ha any1 got any advise on whento stop sterlising bottles? My daughter is 7 months and a friend of mine was very suprised that I was still sterilising her bottles. Her feeding bowls and spoons etc I dont sterlise but do was on a high heat in he dishwasher (along with her bottles) My friend stopped sterilising the bottles for her DS at 6 months which I feel is wayto early but don;t know when is best.

Any tips and suggestions would be great.

Thanks

Angela

I think the recommendation is to sterilise bottles until 1 year. I stopped when ds was about 11 months old, but still occasionally sterilise them (perhaps once a month) as it is very difficult to ensure that the teats are properly cleaned. HTH.

i stopped steralising with my dd at about 7 month and put them in the dishwasher instead. but with ds we dont have a dishwasher and i have just stopped steralising at 5 1/2 months.......i make sure that they are properly clean in hot water and rinsed in hot water. hasnt done him any harm.

as for official recommendations i dont know but i do know that when in hospital with prem babies many are advised not to steralise so maybe it's not that much of a big deal.

i also have to say i wasnt going to bother steralising at all with ds but dh is a bit anal and wouldnt listen to my logic!

if you're happy doing it why stop?

I was told you should carry on sterolising anything they drink milk out of up till they are 1yr old. I don't sterolise her water beaker or anything she has solids from but i do bottles. She is 7mths old.

once they are crawling what is the point?
just make sure the bottles are spotlessly clean - dishwasher is fine - and rinse out with boiling water before use if you want to be extra cautious.

i stopped sterilising at 6m with DD1 and 4m with DD2. neither have EVER had a tummy bug (touch wood) and are now 3.2 and 19m.

So i don't have to sterolise the bottles then?

well it's a personal choice but i wouldn't, no.

i stopped with DD1 when i was taking sparkling clean bottles out of the dishwasher, putting them in the steriliser etc, taking them out with tongs (ffs!) and then looked over to see her picking something or other off the front of the dustbin and put it in her mouth.

i never sterilised again.

btw my friend had a baby at 29 weeks, was in SCBU for 7 weeks and she was told not to sterilise, to ensure the baby built up resistance to germs etc.

Hi Thanks for all your comments. I guess my next question is is tht do you still boil the water for their milk? Again my friend just uses water straight from the tap which makes it a hell of a lot quicker. My DD hates her milk warm so from a time aspect it would be great for me (and no bottles taking up space on my kitchen side with boiled water cooling ready for her next feed?)

Thanks again

we were also advised by neo-natal nurses not to sterilise, but to rinse bottles immediately, wash thoroughly in very hot soapy water and leave to air dry on kitchen towel. excellent hygiene obviously important.

personally, I can't see how it can make sense to keep everything around the baby sterile (as opposed to clean). bacteria in the milk is the issue, I understand, (as well as cross-contamination with usual illness-causing bacteria) so as long as they are properly cleaned...

having said that, I have a steam steriliser, it's quick and easy so I do tend to use it, but won't panic if i don't.

I just leave the water to cool in the kettle, i don't put it in the bottle to cool. I have never used tongs either, i wash my hands before and thats it.

Mines a microwave steam steroliser, it was only £12.99 from wilkensons!

I don't sterilise at all. My DD is 14 weeks, she has never had a tummy bug or anything like it. I either wash in soapy water, rinse & air, or bung in dishwasher.

I do use boiled water though. I think at such a young age the boiling gets rid of some of the chemicals which are found in tap water (don't quote me on this) but at 7 months I will probably be using tap water yes.

i do still use water that has been boiled but has generally gone cold in the kettle, never even thought of using water straight from the tap for bottles

Stacey - apologies for hi-jack! - have you seen there is another meet-up at the end of the month?

oh no, i havnt, im away from the 26th tho so may not be around........will have a search and see!! thanks

hi-jack over!!!

here is some info for you - set yourself FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you read the back of the SMA tin (think it is the blue one maybe red) it says not to bother after 6 months, I know I will be stopping my DT's round then.
Build up thier immune system a bit

I was told 6 months too - baby's natural immunity should be strong enough to handle normal household germs by then - my ds was crawling at 7 mths so he constantly was sticking toys in his mouth from the floor - worrying about germs on washed bowls seemed stupid in light of this, but if you are not comfortable then leave it longer - it is your choice!

Also I breast fed for a long time - and my boobs are definitely not sterile - when I expressed into sterilised bottles the bottles were probably more hygenic than my nips. Hehehe.

Thanks for the link RTKangaMummy I think I will retire my sterilser after all that. Its so much hassle and now that she is playing and sitting up etc she orever putting toys and what ever her cousins give her in her mouth.

hanks for every one elses comments and I will have a look at theSMA tin to see what it says.

Angela xx

I thought it was the bacteria which grew in any milk residue which was the problem, not the germs from say, chweing a toy which has been on the floor.
But, not entirely sure - I know bottles must be washed very carefully before sterilising anyway otherwise the sterilising won't be effectve, so maybe as long as this is done you don't need to sterilise? I'm a bit unsure (obviously!), but I'm still steriliing bottles at nearly 10 months, but not spoons, dishes etc. HTH

With ds1 I sterilised everything to go near his mouth 'til he was 1 - very pfb.
With ds2 I have never sterilised and he's been fine.
I do boil water, though (with ds1 until we stopped the formula) because I reasd somewhere that it helps get rid of metals from the water (particularly flouride) and therefore helps your babies digestion.

Most people put cheese and milk based foods into their older babies' bowls and plates and only wash them and this is adequate to kill any nasty bacteria. Especially if you have a dishwasher or use really hot soapy water. Bottles are not really any different - washed properly they should be fine. And also - those who bf may remember this - milk crusted onto my bra and boobs (nice ) and I only showered once a day and did not sterilise the old milk off my breasts between feeds.

I know you need to be careful with formula, but you need to be careful with all food items that could contain dangerous bacteria. I didn't sterilise after 6 months are ds (2.3) has never had food poisoning (touch wood). As I said though, do whatever is most comfortable for you!!!

meant "and ds (2.3)"