Sterilising Mam bottles

[Msplove]

Hi all
I have mam bottles and am about to go on a 4 hour journey which I won't have access to a microwave in the go.

After 3 hours I will need to feed my baby. Is there a way to store the sterilised mam bottle once it's out the microwave? I was thinking to screw the parts together and put it in a zip lock bag but conscious it will be wet.

I will also use a ready to feed to pour into the bottle at the time of the feed.

Thanks

I used to use the steriliser bags for the microwave. You can just tip the water out of the bag and take the bag with you. I used the munchkin ones. They can be reused many times and are quite cheap anyway

you’ll be fine. As long as the teat is under the cap. Shake off any excess water before you put it in the bag

If you put the bottle together once it's sterilised, it will stay sterile for 24 hours, so just pop it in your bag and it will be ready to use!

A water proof tub with Milton tablets and cold water in it ?

Just put the lid on so the teat is covered

Yes this is what I thought! Are mam bottles different?!

Not to my knowledge!

I used to just put the bottle together with the lid on and as far as I know it remanined sterile. The outside doesn't matter so much as the inside and the teat I think?

@OdeToBarney @shshowmethegin
Thanks so much for your replies. The mam bottles are self sterilising so the base of the bottle you put water in, followed by the teat and then the bottle itself and the cap ontop. Place in microwave for 3m and its self sterilising BUT they are wet when they are done so I am more worried about them being wet if I transport them in zip lock and whether they will remain sterile?

The point of sterilising is to kill off any bacteria that could be growing in left behind milk residue, not for your bottles to only be stored in a totally sterile environment which is completely unrealistic unless you live in an operating theatre. Hence why you don’t sterilise sippy cups used for water or weaning spoons.

We had Mam bottles and this is what I used to do - wash and dry your hands, take the bottles out of the microwave and place the bits on a clean bit of paper towel to air dry, 5 minutes later put it altogether and either put away in the cupboard or chuck in your bag ready for when baby needs a feed. Are you doing each bottle individually before each feed at the moment? That sounds like a huge faff, I used to do them once a day.

I used to just make up the bottles and put lid on once the cone out of microwave. I understood they stay sterile for 24 hours.

otherwise you could keep them in a tub of cold water with a Milton tablet.

Hi @TropicalTrama

That's really good to know!
My baby is 5months corrected age and we haven't started weaning yet. I'm combi feeding so only offering two bottles of formula a day - before last nap and 1 before bed so haven't needed to prepare anything in advance as usually at home for these feeds.
The timings for her last nap and wake just thrown me off a bit as won't reach our destination I'm time for the bottle so was wondering what to do

Just put them together as soon as you can once the microwave is finished, then they will be sterile for 24 hours.

Fed 2 babies with Mam bottles and this is the way I've always done it! The wetness doesn't matter, it's sterile water. I tend to shake the bottle out as I'm putting the parts together so there's not too much left.

Just checked and MAM say with self sterility bottles it’s up to 48 hours!

Oh and totally agree that the wetness doesn’t matter- it’s just a few drops of sterile boiled water. I just used to let them dry a bit out of habit really as you don’t normally put stuff in the cupboards wet! As long as you use the bottle within 24 hours there really is no issue, and I’ve pushed that one on long haul flights where you do the bottles before you leave and there’s no opportunity to resterilise in flights and no ill effects whatsoever (wouldn’t make a habit of it though).

Ok sorry 48 hours, even better. So I was still following the guidelines on those flights!!

@TropicalTrama @Summer2024

Thanks so much for this! I managed to find a contact number for MAM.
They said to sterilise as usual in microwave pour out the empty water and make the bottle up as usual (again without touching the teat - so using the cap to secure the teat!

She said to aim to use the bottle withing 8hours max.

Yes @TropicalTrama - definitely won't make a habit of it. Just this one off!

Thanks so much everyone!!!

It’s fine to make a habit out of say sterilising that morning and using that day, that’s well within the guidelines and what everyone does. I’m saying I wasn’t going to make a habit of using them when they’re like 2 days old like on long haul flights because that’s very situation specific, but still my kids somehow survived! It’s just a few drops of sterile boiled water, no need to overthink it. Whoever you spoke to at Mam is also contradicting their own guidance, unless you misheard and she actually said 48 hours.