Stopping Sterilising - when? not important?

[delasi]

I've seen a few threads over the past year on this topic but I hadn't really paid any attention to them as I didn't really understand why anyone wouldn't want to sterilise absolutely everything oh how things have changed.

Anyway, I believe sterilising to be for the purposes of killing possible bacteria that could be left from the milk in the bottle/teat even after washing. The guidelines that I have read say to sterilise bottles until 12mo, but that all other feeding stuff need not be sterilised.

However I have also read information posted by people about how sterilising isn't actually that important/necessary past 6mo/relevant once crawling etc and even of doctors who recommend against it.

So, when did you stop sterilising (if you sterilised at all)? Do you have any useful links? This is assuming no other issues that might necessitate sterilising.

FWIW I don't mind sterilising, I just also don't feel that bothered about it, and would like to know more.

I stopped bottles at about 8months when DS started crawling, hes never been ill or anything. I wash all my dishes in roasting very soapy water so figured they would be fine i did leave the teats to sit in boiled water every couple of days.

I stopped at 12months for bottles because I had self sterilising ones that will full of nooks and crannys milk could get stuck in (mam anti colic) but washed everything else in hot soapy water (spoons forks plates) at about 9months.

I stopped at about 4-5 months, about the time when they start shoving everything in their mouths and they always seem to have loads of hairy dribble between their fingers. There didn't seem much point after that!

I did still wash bottles and teats scrupulously in very hot water though. Then we got a dishwasher which did the job for us at a hotter temperature (but it did make the bottles turn orange from pasta sauce/baked beans)

We've just stopped sterilizing dd's bottles at ten months. We stopped with ds at about a yr. It dies seem pointless sterilizing bottles when they're eating with plates and utensils that are clean but not sterile and are picking all kinds of crap off the floor and putting it into their mouths.

I'd follow the guidelines and stick with sterilising until 12 months. Formula isn't sterile and some of the bugs can be a lot more dangerous than anything they are likely to catch elsewhere.

Never used bottles and started doidy and tippy cup at 7 months. They get dishwashered and the spout run through with boiling water.

I was told to keep sterilising as long as I'm making formula - the bacteria is in the formula and I don't want to pass this on to my LO

Bumpincharge- that is why you use boiled water to kill the bacteria in the baby milk sterilising doesn't do this (I wouldn't imagine)

Once DS is crawling and eating everything in sight this is when I will stop sterilising

Feelingworried I thought the same as you. I've always made up the milk with fresh boiled water, still do, so surely that deals with any bacteria lurking in the formula powder? Just sterilizing the bottles wouldn't do that. I wash the bottles in hot, soapy water to get off all the milk residue and then rinse in hot water too.

Sterilising is important until you stop feeding formula really. They won't pick up the same bugs crawling about that they would from formula milk that has been left in the nook or cranny of a bottle. Even if you wash extremely well in hot water, sterilising just gives that extra piece of mind as the material in teats etc does hang onto bacteria more easily.

Ds is 14 months and still has two bottles of milk a day and just for piece of mind I pop them in the Milton solution after I wash them. It really doesn't take any time at all and at least I know they're completely clean. I'll stop when he stops his bottles.

Touch wood, he's never been ill or sick yet at all.

I don't think they sterilise much of anything in America, but I suppose most of them have dishwashers.

Some interesting responses already The thing is I seem to understand both points of view! Usually I work out where I stand pretty quickly but on this I have mixed ideas. I can entertain the idea that if milk gets caught in a nook somewhere bacteria could then develop in the cooled milk, as with food, so some good cleaning is required, but why stop sterilising at 12mo then?! Is the immune system then able to cope with enterobacter sakazakii (sp?) by that point? Or is it on the assumption that you've moved onto cow's milk by that point?

Hmm...

Its because the NHS recommend first stage formula until 12 months only (if you aren't bfing of course) and then they recommend you ditch the bottles altogether and move onto full fat cows milk which won't pose the same risks as formula potentially could

Yes james and from what I understand the dishwasher run at a night temperature than ours do here. I understand that they also mix the formula with cold water but there is at least one death attributed to this.

I still sterilise for DD who is 20 months. She is still on formula though. It's just peace of mind and doesn't take long.

If you have a dish washer don't bother.

We stopped at about 6/7 months. Cleaned thoroughly with very hot water - much like the rest of the washing up, really!

I remember an MNer a while back saying they stopped sterilising bottles at x months when they caught their dd licking the cat!

I never sterilised. I washed breast pump and any bottles in the dishwasher.

Dc are now 13,11,9 and well, so I must have done something right!

Weegie if you bf there not the same need.