When did you stop sterilising bottles? Help needed!

[fillybuster]

DD is now 5.5 months and putting everything in her mouth. I've started weaning and am not sterilising spoons, pots etc...so at what point do we stop sterilising her bottles?

Please help - I carried on doing ds' stuff for a stupidly long time cos I wasn't sure when to stop - we're off on holiday in a week or so and I'd like to be able to leave the steriliser behind!

I have never sterilised a bottle. Have only ever washed in hot soapy water. None of my kids appear to have been adversely affected

I'd leave it behind. No idea what "official" recommendations are but by that stage I think a good wash with hot water and washing-up-liquid is fine.

Oh, and I would leave it to air-dry.

I sterilised the pump when ds2 was in NICU but that's it. Hot soapy water, air dry.

I think the official line is that you sterilise until they are 12 months, but I stopped at 7 months as like you i just couldn't see the point in sterlising a bottle when she was crawling around in all sorts of disgustingness.

If i was going to do it again, I wouldn't bother at all. Just wash the bottles and make sure they are clean.

I'd be interested to know what exactly is the rational behind sterilising for such a long time; I suspect its just over cautiousness. i'm also quite interested in the apparent link between increasing asthma/allergy levels and increasing cleanliness in the home...

I don't sterilise.
There was a thread on here a while ago about how microbiologists think it's pointless.

i stopped at 7 months, dont think i would do it that long with another DC.

do as others say, wash in hot soapy water. most important thing as DC's get older is simple hygiene IMO, wash hands before preparing food/ bottles and you'll be fine.

Yes VS, you are right - that's why I didn't bother. I think the people at Great Ormond St had also advocated not sterilising for prem babies or something too. Some great Mumsnetter used to regulalry remind people of it, now who was it ?

I used to sterilise the pots I was storing my ebm in, but never bothered sterilising either my pump or bottles....after reading up on here as well.

Just hottest soapy water; hot rinse and then allowed to air dry, or else hottest dishwasher setting.

I stopped sterilising when DD started putting everything in her mouth and didn;t consequently die of germs.

Don;t think I'm going to bother sterilising at all with the next one.

NEVER STARTED STERILISING oops sorry caps lock. always used dishwasher to get clean and then air dried. key thing to do with milk in bottles is use it straight away, not let it stand around more than an hour, as it is germ superfood, the perfect growing medium for bugs. but there aren't that many around us in normal life, and dishwasher on hot zaps them. would sterilise only if gut illness already in family home.

Brilliant ! Thanks everyone, really appreciate all the commonsense/support...I sort of knew that I really didn't need to still be sterilising but (as with so many things) it felt a bit scary to just randomly stop without taking a straw poll.......

In fact, I now remember that I embarrassingly only stopped sterilising stuff with ds1 (not in an anal way, just in a habit way) when all my really anal NCT friends were shocked I was still doing it at about 8 months...!

Great. One less thing to pack. Now, if I could just find a way to ditch the buggy, the bumbo, the playmat, ds's toys, inflatable booster seat...