Sanitizing

The way we sanatized bottles when my children were little was to boil them for 10 minutes and then let them air dry. We had glass bottles then. My daughter-in-law says she put her plastic bottles in a bowl of water in the microwave for three minutes, let them sit for an additional 2 minutes. Dran them and let them air dry. How often, every time you use them. I hope this helps. Mamafish

I have never officially steralized and my kids are healthier than most! Washed them with really hot water and soap, etc, but never steralized them. Heard it is really bad to put them in the dishwaher too (due to something with the plastic), FYI

You need to sanitize everytime with a newborn because their immune systems are not up to par yet. After they have had at least their 3 month shots they can't defend themselves from germs. I slowed down on the sanitizing after mine were around 6 months old.
J.

I just put them in the dishwasher after every use and they were good to go. I don't think (I could be wrong) you need to go further unless your daughter has medical issues.

Hi D.,

If you're using plastic baby bottles, I would suggest using plastic liners instead since the plastic bottles are considered unsafe. Here are 2 articles about it:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/...
http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/reports/environmenta...

If they're glass bottles, every time you use them. You could put them in the dishwasher and it should be sufficient.

Everytime you use them. It's not worth the risk, especially with the flu going around.

After every use. Its not hard or expensive to buy one of the microwave sanitizer sets. Always better to be safe than sorry...

Every time you use them.

Hi D.,

Due to feeding and weight gaining issues, one of my 22 month old girls is supplementing with a bottle three times a day. I wash and sanitize after every use. I do it once a day after all three feedings and I toss the pacifier in with the bottles. I use the microwave sanitizer by Avent. After 22 months of this, I admit I am tired of washing bottles, but I do not want to take any chances with formula/milk bacteria. Good luck.

after every use to avoid trush in there mouth it is an infection in the mouth and can be unconfortable for baby.

I also think washing each time is sufficient once you've boiled them before the first use. You might want to boil again if there's some health concern of course, but I didn't boil again myself. We used glass bottles with no breakage or other issue and they were easy to clean.

I sterilize the bottles with the AVent sterilizer before I first use them. AFter that, I just wash them with hot, soapy water and air dry them.

I boiled mine after each use.

Hi D., You need to sanitize your baby's bottle before every feed I'm afraid. There is bacteria in milk and formula that can grow in the teat and bottle very quickly that could make your newborn ill, lead to colic, and give him an upset tummy. It is recommended that you sterilize them like this until your baby is a year. All the best, D.

After each use. Throw them in the dishwasher if you don't have a bottle sanitizer or don't want to boil them.

After every feeding. Babies can catch cranker sores in their mouth from an unsterilized bottle. You can see white spots in their mouth and on their gums. Sometimes bottles get thrown down by babies. The nipple is the most important thing to keep sterilized.

I agree with Jennifer S...hot soapy water w/ air dry or washing in a dishwasher is all you need. That's all I've been told to do by nurses and doctors, plus what I've read in most baby books or site. Just sanitize when you first buy them, before you first use.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_bottle-feeding-basics_752.bc#...

I would sanitize the bottles after each use.

D., I never santitized my duaghters bottles- a good washing with a bottle brush, soap and hot water works fine. I let everything air dry and then we are good to go.

Regarding plastic baby bottles, consider two quick articles relating to their safety; they are actually quite fine to use. I did quite a bit of research on this to check to see if the scare was all hype or if there was substance to the claim.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_plastic-baby-bottles-are-they...

http://www.plasticsinfo.org/s_plasticsinfo/sec_level2_faq...

Yep, ditto Amy...everytime you use them. Clean with mild soap & water, then boil for 5 - 10 minutes.

dishwashing is good enough in my book. When my son was starting on bottles, I hand washed them and rinsed in HOT water. Then again, I am one of those people who lets their kids crawl on the *gasp* floor without a second thought. I also don't carry hand sanitizer around with me or wash my hands except after going to the restroom or handling raw meat. My kids also hardly ever get colds or any other sickness.

back to your question... I think one good sanitizing session before you use them the first time is good - especially if you use a dishwasher.

Good luck with the new one!

Hi D.!

With my first born child I sanitized EVERY bottle, nipple, pacifier and all EVERY time after they were used! That took ALOT of time, but I was convinced I was doing the best for my child son.
With my second child, however, he wasn't so lucky :0) I sterilzed once a week, at first, and he was fine. Then we went on a cruise which wasn't the "best" kind of water to use for cleaning.....and he survived that as well!
Anyway, I discovered that as long as those nipples and bottles were cleaned somehow, everything would be ok!
I found out it was most important to sterilize during/after he was sick. Then EVERYTHING including was sanitized!
This question was fun for me, because it remind me of how hard I made things for myself with my first born. Those sweet little babies can take just about anything, regardless of their parents! :0)

Enjoy!
:o) N.