Sterilizing Bottles - Norfolk, VA

Hi J.,
I would probably just let them dry as much as possible in the sterilizer and do actually what you are doing. I found it was easier to just wash his bottles, nipples and cover in soapy water and then to bring them to a boil in a pot. ;0) After that I basically did the same thing you were doing. ;0)

Hi J.,

Did you contact the La Leche League to help you with breast feeding?

www.lllusa.org/VA/WebTidewaterVA or 1-800-525-3243

web site for sterilizing bottles:

http://www.storknet.com/cubbies/bottlefeeding/faq.htm#ste...

Hope this helps. Good luck. D.

Sterilizing bottles is unnecessary.

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/should-you-sterilize-your-...

First, relax sweetie... If you only knew how much dirt and germs your son is going to ingest at some point in his life.. I was the same way with my oldest but with my youngest it's so different. And of course now that my oldest is 5 it's different with him too - they think that dirt is one of the major food groups!

Seriously though, if you put your bottles in the dishwasher they get clean enough, I promise.

Good luck!

Hi J.,
I put my daughter's bottles in the dishwasher each night, and use the steralize setting, then I set them on a paper towel to air dry. I make sure to change the paper towel every day or every other day.
M.

We never strerilized bottles with both boys and never had any problems.Sorry, I know I am not much help:)

Hi there, J.. First, you DO NOT need to sterilize the bottles. If you run them through the dishwasher (not the nipples though, wash them in very hot, soapy water) that will take care of "sterilizing." I just kep the bottles on the counter and put the nipples and lids in a food storage container on the counter and put them together as I needed them. You can also make the bottles up ahead of time and keep them in the fridge (I did that as well). If you think about it, you don't sterilize your breasts to breast feed. Just relax and enjoy your baby.

I would be inclined to think you're being a bit over cautious. Unless someone is activly sick and coughing/sneezing in your household, there's no need to sterilize so much. Your baby is building immunities to germs at this stage in his life, and removing all germs you can from his interactions is only hindering the process making him more likely to get seriously sick in the future, and throughout his life. If you can wash the bottles in the hottest water your hands can stand, then let that be it. Steralize them weekly or twice a week if it makes you feel better, but bear in mind our parents didnt have or use half the "clean freak" items and stuff we have today, and we came out just fine. I can't say this for everyone, but I know amongst my group of friends and family, we were and still are highly healthy people. Heck, my great grandfather is 96 years old and that old coot still goes fishing every fair day of his floridian life.

After you sterilize them you need to either dry them or allow them to dry outside of the sterilizer. Leaving them in the air tight container with the water will eventually become unsanitary.

There's actually no need to sterilize them more than once a week. The rest of the time you can wash all parts in the dish washer or in really warm water and soap. Let them air dry and then put all the pieces back together. Make your life a little easier. There's really no need to sterilize them after each use.

To steralize or not is a matter of preference I think. I just used the dishwasher-the hot water in the rinse cycle is enough to steralize-so let that be your choice. As far as the question-how to dry? I have worked in retail food establishments nearly all my life. We ALWAYS air dry. Towels, paper towels etc. carry bacteria in an of themselves which just exposes what you just steralized to unnecessary bacteria. We typically use a dip that you soak dishes in for one full minute and air dry from there. Use clean, white paper towels to lay out and don't reuse the papertowels.
Hope this helps.
V~

Hi J.,
I have three great children and only sterilized their bottles before the first time I used them. I was told that unless the baby is sick or at high risk for infections, that sterilizing was not necessary. If I had sterilized their bottles, I would have run them through the machine and then set them out to air dry on a paper towel or bottle rack, then put them together as they were needed.

Hi, I give occasional bottles to my 4 month old and don't feel the need to sterilize regularly. It is not considered necessary unless your child is at high risk, such as premature birth.

However, occasionally I sterilize using a steam cleaner bag made by medela - it's for bresat pump parts, but I use it for bottles every couple of weeks, because I feel like it cleans out the nooks and crannies. And it is so quick - 2 minutes in the microwave. I let them air dry (even after they come out of the dishwasher) and put them together as I need them. Once they are cleaned, I worry about mildew and leave them uncapped.

Hello,
I am a mother to a 1 1/2 year old little girl. During the time that she was drinking from the bottle i was very cautious about the way i handled her bottles and trying my very best to clean them correctly. The method i used was to make sure after every feeding i would immediately rinse out the bottle with hot water and then wash them.I would do this to prevent bacteria from settling into the bottle after the milk expires from the feeding time. after each wash i would load and start her Gerber bottle sterilizer. once they were done i would put them upside down to drain and dry on her bottle rack.

I hope this information was helpful and good luck.

I've been using Avent sterilizer. I clean the bottles & nipples, and while still wet, I put the bottles together with water and use when I'm ready. I haven't had any problems doing this.

Congrats on your little addition to the family. Boys are tons of fun.

When we brought our son home from the hospital(5 1/2 yrs. ago) we worried about everything under the sun. I had an Avent sterilizer and used it constantly for his bottles as well as my manual pump. After several months and reading tons of information I came to relize that I didn't need to sterilize his bottles. If you have a dishwasher put his bottles and nipples in there along with the rest of your dishes. It takes care of everything for you. Don't worry so much about germs. Some germs are actually good and build up the ammune system. Keep in mind, he doesn't live in a bubble, you need to expose him to a lot of different things(including germs) within his first year (that is when they grow the most).Enjoy him while he is small. There will come a day when he can do everything on his own and he will tell you this.

L. S.

J.,

I sterilized my daughter's bottles about once a month. I don't think you need to do it more often than that...if at all.

Hi. I agree that you don't really have to sterilize the bottles--unless of course it was recommended by the baby's doctor. My kid's doctors just said that hot soapy water or dishwasher is all that you need. If you feel better sterilizing, then that is what you should do, though. Do what works best for you and your family and what makes you feel comfortable.

i never sterilized my child's bottles beyond the first use. I just put them in boiling water on the stove. After that, I just washed them in hot soapy water, rinsed them & let them air dry since we don't have a dishwasher.

Hi J.,

I looked into sterilizing bottles when my first was born. I have 3 now, with 1 on the way. I spoke with my ped about it, and I was told that in this day in age, you really don't need to sterilize like they did back in the day. With the anti-bacterial soaps out, sterilizing is not that important. However, if you have a daycare setting, where there are multiple children from multiple homes around your children, then you probably should sterilize periodically. I have rarely sterilized my children's bottles. Now, one day my daughter took off her diaper in the crib, which was a dirty diaper, and got poo everywhere (she had a bottle of water in there), I definately sterilized in that case. Also, my son did something similar with his sippy cup, so again, I sterilized. Really, you only need to sterilize during extreme cases where their cups/bottles come into contact with something that soap may not really disinfect. If you clean the bottles/cups daily, sterilizing is not important.

Good luck & God bless!