Sterilizing Bottles

Hi K.. I asked the dr about the same thing and he said as long as you put the bottle in the dishwasher it is sterilized. Just don't hand wash it because I had a friend whos baby got sick with a parasite because her sink or washing apparatus wasn't clean!

I sterilized until my child was 1 although I did on a few occasions run them through the dishwasher after I had cleaned it with bleach and only washed the baby's bottles and no other items.

I never sterilized bottles. Just washed them well and let them air-dry, and ran them through the dishwasher once a week. I breastfed, though, and that makes a difference. If you're using 100% formula, no breast milk, you have to be more careful, because the infant's immune system isn't getting any help from the mother's milk.

I used the Medela steam bags for the 1st 5 months or so and now I just throw everything in the dishwasher and it sterilizes them.

My pediatrician told me never to sterilize my baby bottles - he said putting them through the normal wash in the dishwasher sterilizes them just as well, if not better, than a stand alone bottle sterilizer. The hot water from your tap is also hot enough to sterilize bottles during hand washing.
Your baby lives in the world and gets more germs inside of him from those common household items he puts in his mouth than he ever could with non-sterilized bottles. If he plays with other children, has toys, and interacts with both yourself and other people, and goes out "into the world" with you on errands, etc he is covered in and injests just as many germs as every other kid with non sterilized bottles.

Hi K.!

I glanced at the other responses, and most everybody said the same thing I would say....

I DID sterilze constantly with my first son, and began with my second, but after being on vacation when my youngest was 5 mos. we couldn't sterilze as easily. I was nervous at first, but he survived!!!! Lesson learned! I didn't have to sterilize after all.

I will say that I made a point to sterilize during colds, or flu. I'm not sure if it really helped shorten the duration or not, though, but I felt better about it :o)

Yeah, save yourself some time....:o)

N.

I only sterilized them when they were brand new. After that I would just give them a good wash or run through the dishwasher.

I am the mother of 4 children and I never sterilized bottles and the were quite fine for it. Save yourself the time!

I never sterilized them either - just washed really well with warm soapy water and rinsed in hot. Then switched to the dishwasher at some point.

Hi K.,

I have a 7 month old and I only sterilized, by boiling, her bottles after I bought them. I wash them by hand with a bottle brush, or sometimes in the dishwasher. I read in one of my books, Baby 411, that bottles don't need to be continously sterilized, if at all. I hope that helps, good luck!

S.

i always stopped around age six months or so. the doctors always told me i could stop after four months but i kept going a little while to be sure.

still sterilize here... have 6 month old. I use hot water and soap. Those steamers seem to damage the nipples..

Hope this helps..

-M.

Hi K.,

To be quite honest, I never "sterilized" my son's bottles. I just washed them really well with hot water and soap. He never had any problems with this.

J. :)

I learned after a couple of months that it was a lot easier to rinse them with a bottle brush and throw them in the dishwasher. I usually rinse them again with filtered water to make sure none of the detergent is left in them. Makes life much easier!

1 year. Do you have one that goes in the microwave?

I use Medela steam bags for nipples, pacifiers and bottle rings, they are super quick and easy. You add 2oz. of water and microwave for 3 minutes. It's quicker than any other method and it kills 99.9% of harmful bacteria. You can get them at Target, Babies R Us or do an online search. For the bottle I use Playtex drop-ins.

Hope this helps!

Hi K.
WOW...6 months of sterilizing is wonderful....pat yourself on your back! I am a mother of twins that were bottle fed from 4 months on and after the first month I quit sterilizing. Maybe once a month or if they had a cold I would boil water, etc....but the twins are 2 now and healthy as can be. So just do whatever makes you feel comfortable. Enjoy your little one! :)

I only sterilized new bottles and then washed them in the dishwasher after every use. If I didn't have enough dishes for a full load then I would handwash and use the sterilizer. I read somewhere about hot tap water not being completely safe to make formula with because of stuff that can grow in your hot water heater so I assumed hot tap water wasn't sufficient to wash the bottles with either hence the sterilizing. I think I read this in What to Expect the First Year but I'm not certain.

I never sterilized bottles (other than when they were first purchased). Our pediatrican said that sterilization was only necessary for babies with compromised immune systems. If your baby is in good health, I would think you would be fine to stop sterilizing now.

My daughter started taking bottles at 6 wks old, and I would just sterilize them once after I bought them. After that, I would just make sure my hands were super clean, and wash them by hand with a washcloth and bottle brush that were only used for her bottles and stuff. Then I'd put them out to air-dry on a clean dish towel. I think, though, that after about 4 mos or when they start taking solids, that you don't need to continue sterilizing every time.

I never sterilized my bottles. I just ran them through the dishwasher with all my other dishes. The water in the dishwasher is hot enough and does the job perfectly.
I did this with both my children, one who is 5 and one who is 10 months old and still using bottles. Both are healthy!
I think sterilizing is something our mothers did because dishwashers were not that common. We now have modern conveniences so give yourself a break and put them in the dishwasher.

I think maybe I sterilized for a week..LOL I usually just put them in the dishwasher.

Hi K., We stopped sterilizing our bottles at about 5 momnths old and Ava used bottles for about 2 months. This felt like quite a chore so I can imagine how drained you must be of this process!!Once Ava could sit up we changed her to a sippy cup. We also used glass bottles so if you are using plastic, you might want to look into the recommended sterilization of those. I think they might be different since plastic can get those miniscule scratches in it and bacteria can get in...I also think "they" recommend a certain time to stop sterilizing so a baby can build up immunities.

I never did sterilize bottles. I used the Playtex plastic ones with the plastic throw away liners. Any time saving, less hassle, task you can do with a young one is worth doing. Switch over to the liners, you'll be glad you did.

Hi K.
Bottles can be a hassle, but as long as the baby is drinking out of a bottle you should sterilize them. Especially if the milk is sitting with the milk in it for a while; you need to scrub it with the bottle scrubber and sterilize it for safety. You should also use different bottles for milk, water and later juice.

Granny in Salinas
Patti

i NEVER STERILIZED THEM. i WOULD THROW THEM IN THE DISHWASHER.

Hi K.:

My baby girl is 6 1/2 months old and I am still doing it. But, I have a Dr appointment on Wednesday, so I will ask her if I can stop doing that.

T.

I think it is great that you have sterilized the bottles this long! I think I usually made it about 3-4 months after they stopped breastfeeding, if that long!

Hi K.,

I have a now 2yo son and I never once sterilized his bottles. I would fill up one side of my kitchen sink with the hottest water and dish soap and after a bottle was used. I only used Dr' Browns. They have a few more pieces to wash. Ugh! At the end of the day I washed them and put them on a paper towel on the counter to dry. My son is healthy and happy. He had one cold his first year. You can drive yourself crazy trying to keep up with all "the must have to do's" being a first time mom. I think I broke all the rules. The way i look at it is our mom's didn't have half the things we have to raise us on and we lived with lead paint on our walls growing up and we all turned out fine. Good luck and enjoy this time wth your baby. It goes by so fast.

My doctor recommended to stop sterilizing after 2 mos.

Hi K.

I am am mother of 7 and I have never once sterilized a bottle well ok maybe ONCE 17 years ago when my first born had his first bottle...anyways, its like the "special" baby detergent a waste of time! Wash bottles in the dishwasher or hot soapy water by hand and rinse extra well and presto!!! Baby will not get sick because you didnt BOIL a bottle!

HUgs and luck, relax and enjoy baby!!

Varol