Does anyone sterilise till 12 months?

[cantseemyfeet]

I have a 7 month old son and the guide lines for sterilising is now 12 months. Yet when I had DS1 and 2 it was only the first 6 months. Has it changed just recently and why? Surely if it was ok for us to sterilise for 6 months, 3 years ago (when i had ds2)it is ok now?

Don't see the point, by that age everything is going in their mouths anyway, and you can't sterilise everything in sight.

no i didn't

Ds1 i stearilised until he turned 1 year old! But I stopped when d2 was crawling (well not long after), the only reason was because he would put dogs toys in his mouth (when i weren't looking of course) and he seemed ok, but i think he was about 9 months when i stopped stearilising bottles!

I stopped at about 6 months I think, such a blur to be honest. I have a dishwasher though which is great but If I didn't then I may have sterilised for a bit longer

DD2 is coming up for 11 months and I'm still sterilising . I know all the stuff about what's the point etc too - she stuffs everything in her mouth now so pretty pointless.

Just can't stop myself. I am addicted to the steriliser. Can someone help me please?

I still boil water for her bottles too.

i stopped at 6mths- once they start crawling and licking shoes / kissing the dog/ putting everything in their gobs i don't see the point.

Puppymonkey!!!! STOP IT THIS INSTANT

But you are right to boil water for her bottles, thats not related to age thats how formula should be made up regardless

After 6 months they're crawling around and eating things off the floor anyway. It was great not to sterilise (and I BF, so I mostly got off easy ).

Thanks Magnolia. I might give it up today... I will try... but the shiny steriliser machine looks so nice. And the way you always burn your fingers when you take the bottles out... it's fabulous....

Good news about the boiled water then, at least!

I've never sterilised anything for ds2 (and I don't think I did for ds1 either!) But they were both breastfed. Wash in very hot water with a splash of washing up liquid, rinse well, leave to air dry and store with lids/covers on ... no need to sterilise.

I have a confession.... DD is 19 months old next week and I still sterilise her milk bottles . I know I don't need to but it is a force of habit really and I feel that since I'm washing them, I might as well stick them in the steriliser straight afterwards. Yes ladies, I am a fool! The main reason though (I think) is that I am a lazy so-and-so. DD has 3 bottles a day and I tend to leave them until around 9pm to wash them rather than straight after they've been used so the left over milk is left to fester all day.

I didn't sterilise dummies from about 4mths Bottles from 6mths. However, unless you can put them in the dishwasher, I would still sterilise teats for bottles because the milk is difficult to get out properly and could grow bacteria.

mejon why on earth is a 19mth old having 3 bottles of milk per day? Why is she not having it in a cup

Come on mejon, we'll give up together. I might start a support thread for people addicted to using the steriliser who want tips on how to stop.

Can I confess I have never sterilised ANYTHING for DD2? She was breastfed but had the odd bottle of EBM which I washed in hot soapy water then put in the dishwasher. As soon as she could move she drank her sisters juice cups anyway so she got one of those. Now they both have cows milk out them mornings and nights.

Can't remember how long I sterilised DD1's things for probably about 6 months

tori, why so bloody judgemental

her baby her choice

Thank you magnolia.

tori32: she drinks water from a cup but I am quite happy for her to have a bottle for milk (mid morning, mid afternoon and bedtime with teeth brushed afterwards) as it seems to flow more easily for her and doesn't end up dripping down her chin as it would with a cup. Once the milk is finished, the bottle is taken away. I think you'll find I'm not the only one still giving milk in a bottle at this age, and at least she doesn't have it welded to her mouth full of juice like some toddlers do. We did try with a free-flow beaker last week, but it just went everywhere. She won't be having it forever and quite frankly I don't know why I'm telling you this as I have no need to justify my actions to anyone else - I just thought that my response to the OP would raise a smile.

Hi mejon - you're not the only one. DD refuses to drink milk from a cup. She'll have a small amount of water from a cup, but milk has to be from a bottle (I also don't give juice). I know that it's "ideal" for them to stop using bottles at a year, but I think that some babies like the comfort, and they grow up too fast anyway.

I stopped sterilising when dd stopped having bottles, which was eight months. She took milk happilly from a cup so we got rid of bottles nice and early, before she really noticed. She still wont drink cold milk though!

no WE HAVE HAd THIS BEFOR

no one does

I bf all three f them but they had ebm and I sterilised the bottle till they were moving around on the floor
no point sterilising the bottles when they are licking the floor

with all three I stopped at around 6 months

To OP, I sterilised for DD until she was a year.

But with DS we went on holiday when he was 7 months, and after reading on MN that it was just as effective to hot wash and air dry bottles etc, I never looked back.

DS is fine and has never been poisened or suffered a funny tummy!

I'm still sterilising at 9mo for the same reasons as mejon, I don't wash the bottles straight away and I'm worried about milk festering. Once the bottles have been washed it doesn't seem much more effort to stick them in the steriliser.

I'm still sterilising at 9mo for the same reasons as mejon, I don't wash the bottles straight away and I'm worried about milk festering. Once the bottles have been washed it doesn't seem much more effort to stick them in the steriliser.

My DD is 2.7 and i am STILL steralising her milk bottle, she has this at bedtime and is still having formula, sometimes i dont use boiled water - i'm doing this wrong aren't i??