Hi. I have a few questions about baby bottle care and bottle feeding. How do you sterilize, clean and care for your baby bottles? How often do you sterilize them? How? How do you wash them and with what? Where do you store them? I sterilize my baby's nipples, collars and bottles once in a while (plus first use) and then wash with water and dishwasing liquid with a baby bottle. I store them in a clean plastic container after they have dried. Is this good enough?
Do you always have to boil water for feeding the baby? What if you have a filter? Would that be a good enough? If you boil water and store it in a jug, how long can you keep it before it must be either used or discarded?
Do you recommend a sterilizer? I breastfeed most of the time. I use bottle feeding maybe twice a day.
P.S. Is it safe to boil Gerber bottles often? Is a steam sterilizer better or safer?
Thanks! I sterilized all my baby's bottle stuff before each use. Then I washed them after every use. I think I'll just wash them with water and dishwasing soap, and then sterilize them after a couple of uses each. My baby isn't heavy on bottles (he's breastfed most of the time), so it's not a lot to do. But I wanted to make sure. I didn't know that about the dishwasher working as a sterilizer. I learned something new. So thanks again, moms!
I used glass bottles - I put them in the dishwasher... the pediatrician told me that was plenty. He also told me not to boil the water for the formula. He said to use tap water - that it was absolutely fine.
I have 2 teenagers who are healthy and well adjusted - they were both bottle fed.
YMMV
LBC
I only sterilized the bottles I got second hand (I replaced the nipples). I didn't sterilize regularly. I would put the bottles and thier pieces into a bucket of soapy water and let them soak. When I got down to just one or two clean bottles, I would hand wash them all together. I had a bottle drying rack and just left them on there until I needed the bottles. I did the same thing with the breastpump pieces!
If you have a dishwasher, turn the heated dry on and that actually sterilizes.
I never boiled the water or had a filter, just used it straight from the tap.
My first I used a sterilizer, my second, they went in the dishwasher. My MIL just cloroxed her sink, then washed it, then hand washed bottles rinsed with hot water. So I think any method is fine, just keep in mind you are trying to avoid bacteria & you should be good.
We sterilized our bottles the first time and then washed them in soap and very hot water thereafter. They pretty much sit on the bottle drying rack until we use them (I have twins so we go through all the bottles in one day). If we do have a day when they get taken off the bottle rack, I usually assemble them and put them aside on the counter.
As for the water, we use bottled water. We bought a water cooler before we had our first son and it has paid for itself a hundred times over. If we run out, I always use boiled water cooled down, but haven't used it enough to tell you how long you can store it. I would not recommend using filtered water to be on the safe side. As for sterilizing them - putting them in the dishwasher is pretty much the same thing, so save your money and don't buy a sterilizer.
Also, I have a dishpan that I use just for bottle washing as there was some article I read a long time ago that said the kitchen sink is the most germ-infested place in the house!
It is actually not good to completely sterilize everything in a baby's life. They need a few things here and there to help their immune systems develop. We exclusively bottle fed my daughter and I would clean her bottles and nipples in hot soapy water, then rinse and put on the bottle rack to dry. That was sufficient. She never got sick or had any issues and has been very healthy. Trying to do too much will just end in frustration and too much work. Honestly, there were a lot of times I was in a hurry and needed a clean bottle that I would just rinse it out with hot water and use it.
Ugh, being perfectly honest -- I used the drop in liners and bottles, I washed the nipples.. I never sterlized my nipples beyond a hot wash in the washing machine. I breast fed too, and used bottles for pumped milk when I went out and the baby stayed at home. (Very rare)
I know it's not recommended to use hot tap water - even with a filter. Hot water from the tap is more likely to expose your baby to the lead that is in the pipes. http://pediatrics.about.com/od/weeklyquestion/a/0707_bby_... Always start with cold tap water, and run it a 15 seconds or so before taking the water. It's not recommended to ever microwave a bottle because the way a microwave heats things you can end up with the water unevenly hot and hotter then you realize.
You can buy Nursery water, or sterlized water -- or you can store the sterlized water in a jug.
Good luck :)
I sterilize my baby's bottles after each use. When my twins were babies, they both had thrush (probably from the bottles not being sterilized) and I do not wanna go through that nightmare again.
Each night I fill the sink with soapy warm water and let the bottles soak a while. Then I clean them with a bottle brush. Then I put them in the dishwasher each night. If you don't have a dishwasher, put them on the stove in boiling water and it's just as affective. I store them on the bottle drying rack. I hardly ever put them away because I know I will use them all the next day.
I wouldn't recommend storing them in a plastic container. If they are the slightest bit damp, mold or mildew can begin to grow.
I think I answered all your questions. Good luck
I usually boil at first and after that only once a month or so, if I feel the need to. You cannot put natural latex int he dishwasher, so those have to be hand washed and probably boiled occasionally. I usually hand wash or put them int he dishwasher. I have never worried about where I store them, since they get used again so quickly, but I would think anything that keeps them clean and dust free is okay. Here is the CDC stance on fluoridated water for formula
"Parents should follow the advice of the formula manufacturer and their child’s doctor for the type of water appropriate for the formula they are using. Parents and caregivers of infants fed primarily with formula from concentrate who are concerned about the effect that mixing their infant’s formula with fluoridated water may have in developing enamel fluorosis can lessen this exposure by mixing formula with low fluoride water most or all of the time. This may be tap water, if the public water system is not fluoridated (check with your local water utility). If tap water is fluoridated or has substantial natural fluoride (0.7 mg/L or higher), a parent may consider using a low-fluoride alternative water source. Bottled water known to be low in fluoride is labeled as purified, deionized, demineralized, distilled, or prepared by reverse osmosis. Most grocery stores sell these types of low-fluoride water. Ready to feed (no-mix) infant formula typically has little fluoride and may be preferred for use at least some of the time."
http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/safety/infant_formula.htm
If it make anyone feel better, I use my tap water, and don't really know how much fluoride is in it.
After steralizing the nipples, I never did it again. And that is all the directions on the bottles said anyway... I use playtex drop-ins. After that I have always just washed them in the dishwasher and made sure they were well rinsed. And I never boiled water for my babys. Our Dr only reccomends regular tap water, no bottled water or boiled water is needed. If you are really concerned about your tap water for some reason you can have it checked by your water dept or you could use the bottled nursery water that grocery stores carry. Tap water is best because it has flouride that their growing teeth need. But, I just wouldn 't bother with the steralizing at all.
