toying with stopping BFing my 8mo old DD. i need some advice on sterilising bottles etc.

[LardyMardyDaisy]

I've been BFing for eight months, but recurrent bouts of thrush, blocked ducts and mastitis are really getting me down and I'm thinking of switching to FF . All the time I've been BFing, I've never sterilised any of the bottles I use for ebm, or my pump, unless I was going to freeze the milk for later use.

I discussed bottle feeding with my HV who said that I'd need to sterilise bottles for FF until DD is one year old, even if I'm making the feeds up and feeding them as soon as they have cooled enough.

I'm pretty sure that when I FF DS five years ago I stopped sterilising bottles when he was six months old. I've also used the odd carton for DD and never bothered to sterilise the bottle on those occasions.

Can anyone clarify matters for me?

I never sterilised past 6mths

I didnt bother sterilising at all when i switched at eight months. Just make sure the bottles are clean (which I am sure you would!) YOur wee one's gut will be tough enough by now.

we usually wash everything out then it goes in the dishwasher, and she is a proper little hoover who has been crawling for about six weeks now, so has eaten a few choice morsels off the kitchen floor

although 'official' advice is to sterilise bottles/teats till 1 year so it is whatever you are confortable with doing that matters. I did sterilise until ds started doing cups for milk which was 10 1/2 months.

I stopped sterilising after a couple of weeks. No need imo, provided you remove all traces of milk and fatty deposits from bottles and teats.

UCLH advice is to wash in very hot soapy water, rinse with very hot water and leave to air dry on clean kitchen paper. In the US everyone just uses their dishwasher, which acts like a giant steam steriliser anyway.

My steriliser was put in the loft this weekend just past and she seems fine.

Bottles go through the dishwasher and get assembled first thing in the morning. 2 bottles are made up in the evening for the next day and stored in the fridge.