How long should I keep sterilising bottle, teats etc?

[memoo]

Does anyone know what the guidelines are with regards to this. One friend said 6 months but another told me a year

I tend to stop when baby starts exploring so around 6 months, i have never sterilised bowls, spoons or toys, they are just washed in hot soapy water and a brush.

I think it depends. I would sterilise anything which is likely to have food/milk in it for a long time - So e.g. if you make them up and feed them straight away, you don't really need to sterilise as long as it is washed well in hot soapy water, but if you are making feeds up in advance I would sterilise the bottles until you are no longer using formula. This is because milk left to stand (even in a fridge) is a good environment for bacteria to grow so any bacteria on the inside of a bottle is a no-no as it could multiply to dangerous levels.

HTH

Thanks both of you