When to stop sterilising ?

[BackToNeverland]

I have a 15 week old who we have started weaning slowly on baby rice/porridge/some fruit pouches etc. But we use baby bowls and spoons that haven't been sterilised. He's been fine so far as he shoves his hands into his mouth constantly so I'm sure he's picking up germs by being held by people and sitting on various seats.

Our sterilising machine is shit and constantly leaks, I've googled and seems it's a common problem for the one we have. So I was wondering when people reckon we could stop sterilising the bottles? I don't see the point in sterilising them if he's constantly got his hands/blankets/toys in his mouth and he's starting with some foods?

He has had 2 rounds of jabs so far! Last lot in a week or so.

Thanks

I think nhs advice is to sterilise bottles until 12 months, when babies switch to cows milk at 12 months you can stop sterilizing! I'm not sure about dishes and spoons, ive never sterilised my son's but he didn't start weaning until just before he turned 6 months and the advice was only about sterilizing bottles so I didn't think I needed to sterilise cutlery and dishes!

My DD is 14 months and I still sterilise her bottles, but that's out of habit. But if I were you, I'd carry on until your baby is at least 11-12 months old.

Also no judgement, but weaning at 15 weeks seems extremely young. My DD had extremely bad silent reflux so I was advised by HV to try at 20 weeks. But that was still too early, so I waited until 26 weeks.

If your using formula then you should sterilise until baby switches to cows milk at 12 months. Formula isn't sterile and if there was some residue left in the bottle after washing this could potentially make your baby unwell.
Weaning isn't recommended before 6 months unless on the instruction of a hcp. 15 weeks is extremely young and you could be causing harm to your baby as their gut isn't likely to be developed enough to process anything other than milk. I'm not sure what your reasons are for weaning that early but may be worth stopping until closer to 6 months. We never sterilised bowls or spoons but that was due to baby being 6 months.

I sterilised till my baby was 12 months but when we went for the 9-12 month check we were told we should have stopped at 6 months as they put everything in their mouths by that age anyway.

Oh I should have added, I never bothered sterilising bowls/cutlery or any toys in fact

@myotherbagisgucci saying no judgement then passing judgement...

He's 16 weeks in a few days, which is 4 months, which is when all the first stage foods and pouches start from. He's been able to hold his own head up almost since birth and has had no health problems. Many mothers I know started at the same time. Sorry you were advised not to.

@WinterWife ahh I've heard the same as they're likely crawling etc so god knows what ends up in their mouths lol! Okay I think I'll wait until at least 6 months. Thank you!

You stop sterilising when they no longer have formula. If your steriliser is rubbish then use cold water sterilising tablets which are about a quid for a big box.

15 weeks is far too young for weaning, their digestive system is not fully developed at that stage an you could cause problems for your child later on in life,

Just because it says on a packet that you can give it to a 4 month old, doesn't mean you should! As PP have correctly stated "you could be causing harm to your baby as their gut isn't likely to be developed enough to process anything other than milk"

I stopped sterilising around the time DD started on solids, she was about 6 months by then. When travelling, I used Milton tablets (when staying in hotels).

Are you in the UK? I know weaning under 6m used to be the norm, but it is not recommended by NHS until 6m. Of course nothing changes on their 6m 'birthday' but I believe it's not just physical stuff like holding head up. It's also when their digestive system is ready for more.
I started weaning my DS a few weeks before 6m. I breastfed but still sterilise his cups at 1yo (more out of habit).
The UK guidelines say to sterilise to 12m. As PPs said, if your steriliser leaks, either get a new one or do cold water sterilising. I'd really encourage you to consider sterilising bottles and dummies at the very least. A dishwasher is fine for crockery and cutlery.

We stopped sterilising at 5 months when DD seemed a bit more robust.

However, we washed her bottles etc in the dishwasher which finishes each cycle with a steam, effectively doing the same thing as our electric bottle steriliser.

I had an interesting conversation with a paediatric registrar yesterday at my daughter’s appointment - they have suggested weaning at 17 weeks due to silent reflux. When I expressed surprise at this, he showed me some very recent (end of 2018) research that states that weaning at 4 months is just as safe digestively as 6 months, and ditto from an allergy point of view. He said that the current guidance from the NHS about babies being able to sit up independently etc is partially based on the rise in popularity of baby led weaning/risk of choking, and that in a couple of years this new research is likely to cause a change in guidelines.

I’m not saying anyone is wrong/right, but just thought it was an interesting conversation.

Hey @BackToNeverland .. Just wanted to point out that 16 weeks isn't 4 months. There are more than 4 weeks in a month. 28 days is 4 weeks and as you know, most months have 31 days. Just maybe wait a few more weeks at least if you're insistent on weaning. Also the 4 month pouches probably exist for those who have been advised to start by their baby's gp.

I thought the advice was to sterilise bottles while using formula because of the way it's produced. We stopped when we moved to cow's milk at 1yo.

Can only echo PP comments about weaning, it's not advised at that age unless under medical supervision. It's on a packet so they can sell more stuff to people who don't really need it. Marketing works.

Baby food says from 4th because it’s the earliest age they can legal say. Just because something is marketed at children does not make it safe or appropriate eg cot bumpers.

For what it’s worth, I live in Germany where I would say they are pretty conservative when it comes to do with anything baby related. However the official guidance here is to start introducing food between the 5th and 7th mont of life, i.e. once the baby is at least 4 calendar months old. Apparently this is partly due to the fact that a BF mother’s iron reserves start to deplete after 6 months and weaning earlier allows you to start introducing meat at 6mo.

I found njh’s post interesting. Over here baby lead weaning is only just starting to gain in popularity which may also have something to do with the different approach.

Im planning on sterilising bottles until ds is 12 months. Trying to get him off bottles anyway so hopefully he can have cows milk in cups at 12 months. Bowls, spoons and cups go in the dishwasher, we've never sterilised them but then we didn't start weaning until 6 months.

Advice now is 17 weeks at youngest but ideally six months unless advises otherwise for medical reasons.The NHS website is clear about that which ties in with the 4 months advice. I was told sterilise bowls etc until 6 months and bottles until a year when they stop having formula. I personally never saw the rush to wean ( medical reasons aside) There is plenty of time for food when they are old enough

There is evidence that introducing solids prior to 17 weeks can be harmful. Between 17 weeks and 6 months the jury’s out - some studies have shown a decrease in allergies if you wean early, others have shown no difference. So I’d wait a couple of weeks then crack on if you’re keen.

On the sterilising front you need to sterilise anything that’s had formula in it until a year.

No you need to sterilise bottles used for formula until you stop using formula - if you continue beyond 1 year you still need to sterilise bottles.