Sterilising, when to stop?

fi1979

Hi all.
My steriliser has died a death!!! Clara has just turned 7 months now. Just wondered if it is worth my while to replace it. When did ye mums stop sterilising? Don't want to shell out for a steriliser if I can find an alternative. The one I had was given to me by a friend who was finished with it, so no warranty possibility etc.

cynder

I was always told ' when they start sucking on your shoes' my guy was crawling at 6 months and sucking on shoes, he was like a little hover, finding anything he could stick in his mouth, coal, wood, shoes, socks, any food the 3 year old dropped on the floor. I stopped steralising his bottles at 9 months,

Just stick the bottle and teet in a large saucepan and boil them for 10 mins, that should do the trick.

Moonbeam

As long as you use formula milk sterilising is suggested.
You can buy the travel sterilising boxes for around a fiver.

lolli

I went on a weeks holidays recently and had no steriliser with me. I boiled the bottles in a pot of water and they came out so much cleaner!

Its recommended that you sterilise bottles until 12 months or until you start them on normal milk.

January

I stopped at 6 months for both girls, they were both rolling around licking the floor at that stage anyway... a hot dishwasher cycle should be fine for them.

lynski

Love the sucking the shoes quote! my dd is a little monster and eats everything she can put her hand on and has since she was able to pick things up. I never used a steriliser for her, she was on formula from 6 mths, i just ran everything through the dishwasher, in a little cage for the nipples and tops and on the spikes for the bottles. No bother.

Kent Brockman

Someone I know has three kids, they didn't use steriliser at all for 3rd child:eek: just put botttles etc in dishwasher.
Fine healthy child and no more probs with illness than the other two.
Personally I would not recommend it but it works for them.

My 7mth old puts absolutely everything he can get his hands on straight in the mouth and at this stage I'm even giving the dummy a quick suck after if falls on the floor before giving it back to him lol! (still sterilise bottles though)

silja

Agree with the "sucking on shoes" comment (and why are they so obsessed with shoes when they first become semi-mobile???); once the baby puts everything in their mouths around 6 months, a dishwasher clean will do.

January

silja wrote: »

Agree with the "sucking on shoes" comment (and why are they so obsessed with shoes when they first become semi-mobile???); once the baby puts everything in their mouths around 6 months, a dishwasher clean will do.

I have a little Imelda Marcos here, her first proper words were "Oh, the shoe's!" She's still obsessed!

Kimono-Girl

my daughter was 12 months when we went on holidays, of course i forgot the steriliser!

my mum helped me by pointing out she had been sucking on toys that were on the floor from 6 months onwards and as soon as they start moving around and eating dirt from other sources (chewing on keys/phones/toys thrown around/shoes...etc) that sterilising becomes pointless, she said just wash them in boiling water and they'll be fine and to be honest i found the bottles were cleaner then when we sterilised!

Terpsichore

I have stopped sterilising when Baba was two months old. I first followed the Irish guidelines as this is where I have spent my pregnancy and this is where my son was born.
Then I went to my family in France for a holiday, where my Mum (5 kids) and my older sister (3 kids) pointed out that I don't sterilise my finger when I try to sooth my son (little finger in his mouth for soothing suction) and that it seems pointless to sterilise bottles then.
It was a bit weird at first, but then I could see that my son was fine as long as the bottles are washed thouroughly.
Oh the freedom of not using the steriliser!!!
In France, guidelines are different than in Ireland and no one sterilise anymore, for years.
Now my son is 5 months old and he has always been in great form.
I prefer to hand wash his bottles though with warm soapy water and only use the dishwasher when I'm really tired... I find that it can leave a greasy film on the teats and feel I have to wash them again.

loishasdied

boiling water sterilises. i know it's hard to get your head around it living in our society but all you need to do is wash and rinse with boiling water.all i did with my2 babas and they have never even had so much as a tummy bug and my oldest is 4 next month. but i know it's hard to take advice on something so important from someone on the internet but do a bit of research and you'll get the peace ofmind you need. bear in mind companies affiliated with sterilizers WANT you to buy the products

trinketchest

I find self-sterilising mothercare bottles great - You just pop the bottle in the microwave for 90sec and that's it.

cbyrd

With my eldest i stopped about 9 months when i saw her sucking the wheels on the buggy.:eek: It was about 8 months with the second and about 7 months with the third.. A good indicator is if they're licking the floor and not puking then they're systems are able for it. They need some bacteria to start to build up a good immune system.
If you're unsure then try one bottle with just the teat sterilised with boiling water. If nothing unusual happens then you're good to go

Terpsichore

I search a bit more on the subject, and I read that people started to sterilise when the water came from the well, to kill bacteria.
Also there is a real concern for drinking water in old houses that have lead pipes.
If you are happy to drink a glass of water directly from your tap, then there is absolutely no reason why you would sterilise.
Unless you are living in the west of Ireland where doggy stuff sometimes happens to the water mains... you should feel free not to sterilise at all as long as you wash the bottles thouroughly with warm soapy water.

ziggy23

I stopped Sterilising after 10 months and just hand-wash the bottles now (dont have a dishwasher:o) Every so often I will throw them in the basin with a bit of milton just to give them a really good clean