do you all really sterilize to 12 months?

[codswallop]

seems to me the minute they can crawl its a waste of time!

don't sterilize much past 3 or 4 months. then I use the dishwasher on hot, which is effectively an enormous steam steriliser anyway.
in the states they only use the dishwasher as a steriliser, don't have separate ones. v sensible...

I don't sterlise past about three months either, just use the dishwasher, occasionally I'll give teats an extra scrub with salt.

Never had a problem from any of the babies I've looked after and there have been quite a few!

Another vote for the dishwasher. Fantastic invention IMO

With ds and before I had a dishwasher I stopped at about 7 months and just washed bottles in very hot water and used a teat brush to clean it properly. Never sterilised a spoon though.

I don't have a dishwasher and also stopped strilising at about 5/6 months. Well, I sterilised bottles sometimes (still do), but not all the time. With solid food I only ever sterilised the sieve (used it for pureeing and you know how dried on bits of food sometimes get left on them...)

It does seem a bit silly once they start putting anything in their mouths.

Six months for me.

dishwasher every time

I used a microwave sterliser until about 6 months ( I think) when I realised DS was putting all kinds of C**P in his mouth anyway.

Suggestion about dishwasher is fine but sometimes speed is of the essence and a microwave steriliser is really quick

sterilised until 13 months to be safe, I didn't have a dishwasher and beginning to long for one for the next child. Ran boiling water over his rattles and spoons etc, and mixed this with not being too bothered with him putting other things in his mouth reasoning that a few germs would do him good. Nice to be consistant

still microwave sterilising bottles and dd is almost ten months.

teething rings, cups, spoons and bowls - washed very hot soapy water.

Hooray! I never used formula milk on cereal or in cooking either...

ps and never did spoons etc.

How is it that boobs are always deemed clean? Is hthere a natural sterility or is this a myth?

Kept sterilising teats until a year but spoons, bowls and eventually bottles either ran under freshly boiled water or straight out of the d/washer. Even then most people here (Switzerland)thought I was over conscientious! Also they use straight tap water for drinks for babies.

As soon as they picked things off the floor and put them in their mouths, I stopped sterlising.

Boobs have natural "flora" which are perfectly safe. Don't sterilise them

I stopped when DD was about 10 months as I got fed up of having the steriliser on the worktop. She doesn't have bottles and teats now anyway. Besides, as others have said - by then everything is in their mouth anyway.

DDs bottles and dummies go in the steam steriliser but everything else I use str8 from the dishwasher. I plan to keep sterilising the bottles and teats etc right up to 12 months.

Never sterilised anything.

My godmother was prompted to stop sterilising her dds stuff when she saw the child putting a worm into her mouth while Mammy was busy cleaning bottles!

OK, will probably get flamed for this but, it's really pointless to sterilise unless you're in a completely sterile environment. I have studied microbiology a bit (a while ago but still...) so know what I'm talking about. If stuff is properly clean it's really not necessary.

I only sterilised bottles when they were tiny, then just sterilised the teats as I thought it was the milk residues that could cause potential problems.

I have never sterilised spoons or bowls - just hot soapy water.

I sterilised bottles and teats until 12 months ... but only because I didn't have a dishwasher ... I was a neurotic first time mum ... and because I had a 'thing' about bits of milk being stuck to the teats. Didn't sterilise any food things from about 8 months ....

sterilised like mad til ds started on solids at 5 months then never bothered - couldn't fit the plates etc in the steriliser anyhow and as they have contact with milk it seemed a bit pointless sterlising just some stuff and not others
mind you I mostly bf and ds uses a cup for drinking from so maybe that's why but as ds now spends most of his time with his head in the bin there didn't seem much point worrying about hygiene too much.

This is all very encouraging news...I am going to stop sterilising food bowls and spoons now, but carry on with the bottle I use to make up formula for cereals. DD is 5 months and breastfed. By the way how long do you think I could keep a bottle of formula in the fridge to add to her food? Is it 24hours or more?

24 hours is the max time you should keep mixed formula feeds in the fridge.

Maybe I sound dangerous, but I didn't ever sterilise. Both kids b/f, with occasional bottle, so I just dishwashered the breast pump and the bottles and we didnt bother with a steriliser. Never once thought about sterilising a spoon, bowl etc....
My dh is a GP - this was all his idea and interestingly, most of the other 'medical' families we know didn't sterilise either. Gave my HV a bit of a shock mind you!