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Original poster

Does anyone sterilise till 12 months?

49 replies

cantseemyfeet · 29/02/2008 14:15

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?

OP posts:

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PuppyMonkey · 29/02/2008 19:16

LEM - you need to come and join my new support group for people addicted to sterilising . It's free and open to everyone. Does your dd not like regular cow's milk?

Broodymomma · 29/02/2008 20:20

Can I join too! I have an eleven month old and i still pop everything in the steraliser!

bigbadwulf · 29/02/2008 21:47

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Gemzooks · 29/02/2008 22:47

I never sterilised, I BF and had EBM.. Just washed the bottles properly in hot water and left to air dry. I don't really believe in sterilising, but is a personal decision I suppose. I think it's probably quite a big industry, allied with the formula industry..

tee4two · 29/02/2008 22:54

I gave up sterilizing ds3's bottles etc at 7 months after i caught him with ds2's toe in his mouth giving it a good suck!

crokky · 29/02/2008 22:55

Have not read all the posts, but I bf DS so didn't need to sterilise anything until he was on solids - then I just dishwashed his stuff. Have not ever used a steriliser. And I am quite a worrier about germs etc!

phraedd · 01/03/2008 10:09

breast fed babies that are having EBM don't need to have their stuff steralised, just washed in hot soapy water and rinsed in hot water.

Formula fed babies should really have their bottles steralised unitl 12 months because of the bacteria that can grow due to formula not being produced in a sterile environment.

I never did bowls and spoons for any of my 3 but they were all breastfed babies.

Original poster

cantseemyfeet · 01/03/2008 22:57

Thanks for all the replies. Didnt intend to cause a riot about the bottle/cup debate. But interesting to see difference in opinion on sterilising. Im tempted to keep sterilising but as many of you have said they put ANYTHING be it toes, grotty socks, fluff, toys etc in their mouths and none of them are sterile so it seems a bit of a waste sterilising bottles. I remember taking Ds2 to Spain at 8 months and I know I had stopped sterilising by then but im sure they advised you to sterilise for first 6 months then. Just cant understand why they have added six months now.

OP posts:

Gingerbear · 01/03/2008 23:03

DD is 5 and still has her nighttime milk in a bottle (I have cut the tops off the teats though.)

It is a a comfort thing. Don't think she'll still be doing this when she goes to college, so I am not too bothered TBH.

babyinarms · 01/03/2008 23:05

I sterilised DS bottles until he was 9 months.
DD is now 6 months and am thinking of giving it up cos everything goes into her mouth, clothes, blankets, Ds fingers, etc so i really dont see the point in carrying on but part of me is a little slow to stop just yet....dont know why, just conditioned i suppose

smartiejake · 01/03/2008 23:07

In France they only recommend sterilising for 3 months (gasp)

Beenleigh · 01/03/2008 23:08

bf dd2 until 7 months and never stersilised anything after that.
Was v careful with dd1 until I found her licking the bottom of our sofa.

babyinarms · 01/03/2008 23:12

beenleigh lol

fedup1981 · 01/03/2008 23:12

Oh, you'll probably all tell me off then but I stopped sterilising at 4 months. I'm very thorough with washing up and always check all milk residue has gone, and ds has never had a tummy upset. Just my opinion but I think the sterilising advice is a general blanket safeguard anyway, the formula manfucturers can't guarantee the cleanliness of people's homes, the purity of the water they use etc, so they say sterilise everything until the child is at university, to save getting sued everytime a baby gets a tummy upset.

posieflump · 01/03/2008 23:12

we did
dh wanted to cos we did with ds
I told him RTK's advice
but now we're past that stage at least that's one thign we did do
never had a dishwasher though
we are now giving semi skimmed to 18 month old dd so are by no means perfect!

carmenelectra · 01/03/2008 23:17

I stopped sterilising at about 10 mths cos we were going abroad so didnt want to faff about, though to be fair i think he only had a couple of bottles a day. All his other drinks were always in a cup which was just washed normally.

Ds 2 is 5 and a half mths and i must say his dummies arent religiously sterilised the way they were, but he is putting everything in his mouth and that will soon include dog toys(which others have mentioned)

havalina · 01/03/2008 23:18

Had DD in 2003 and as far as I can remember the advice was to sterilise bottles until 12 months, dummies and other stuff till 6 months. I did stick to this as she was my pfb, I even found it hard not to sterilise after 12 months.

Ds was born in 2006 and had his bottles sterilised until about 9 months I think. Just got fed up of it and would wash his bottles in hot soapy water and use straight away. Hasn't done him any harm, he's never had gastroenteritis (touch wood) but his sister had it twice in the first year. have heard of people not sterilising bottles at all, and when you think the advice has changed so much over the years.

My Mum used to heat up a bottle and wrap it in a towel to keep warm for night feeds(1981) and even in 2001 when my niece was born my sis never kept feeds in the fridge, but on the side in the kitchen all day. All children survived well, just do what your comfortable with.

Izzybel · 01/03/2008 23:31

I still sterilise my 9 month old's bottles. I asked the HV thinking that she would say "oh yes you can stop now" but she told me to carry on until 12 months, so I probably will do. DP used to shout at me as he didn't see the point, babies put things in their mouths blah blah blah. I don't stick to the sterilising rules as rigidly as I used to do though. I won't turn it back on if bottles have been in there for longer than they should, or anything like that and I doubt that she would get ill if they weren't sterile but it's just part of my routine I suppose and I would feel weird not doing it. I don't sterilise DD's dummy either, just the bottles because of milk residue. I totally agree that it's probably pointless, as they crawl around on the floor putting allsorts in their mouths!

Clary · 01/03/2008 23:50

I never sterilised anything for DS2 (admittedly he was bf and never had a bottle as I had a year off work) and he is my only one never to have eczema. So that was a result (if indeed that is why, but research certainly suggests too much sterilisation is a contributory factor to eczema and asthma etc)

By 6mo he was crawling everywhere and licking the pram wheels etc anyway

carmenelectra · 01/03/2008 23:52

Izzy

My HV said it was fine not to sterilise when i took ds1 abroad at 10mths(i wasnt gonna do it anyway!) but she did harp on about protecting him with adequate sunscreen as 'He is very fair'. Oh shit, thanks for telling me, or i might have just used to olive oil.

She is ok actually now though, now she knows me.

Izzybel · 02/03/2008 19:31

HVs eh! Lol! Mine said to sterilise because things can contaminate water that we use to wash the bottles in although they tell you that you don't have to sterilise dishes and spoons, which surely are washed in the same water! I keep thinking that I'm going to stop sterilising but it would just feel weird not doing it, like I'd forgotten to do something IYSWIM. I'll have to stop soon otherwise I'll still be sterilising stuff when DD is 18 .

superjo · 03/03/2008 05:33

As soon as they started sucking the facewasher in the bath, I stopped sterilizing anything. Need I say more?

PuppyMonkey · 03/03/2008 06:44

PuppyMonkey update... because of this thread I didn't use the steriliser yesterday and I won't be today either. Thank you MN!

What shall I do with me sterilising machine now? Takes up an awful lot of space...

SuperGrrrl · 03/03/2008 07:18

ebay, freecycle etc...

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