Steriliser Questions all confused!!!

card123

About to start weaning off breastfeeding so trying to get my head around bottles and sterilising
I have bought steriliser and it says that if unopened bottles are sterile for 24 hours but it holds six bottles so once I open it to take out one bottle how long are rest sterile for?
If out and about plan to fill sterile bottle with boiled water and then when needed add milk powder? Is that best way, what do people do for childminders when leaves with grandparents etc?
Last question now hoping to plan night away to hotel shortly with baby planning to bring bottle of milton and wash bottles in boiled water and milton before using?
Sorry for all the questions maybe thinking about it too much!
thanks

FunkSoulSista

Hi there,

Its all a big old scary world isnt it?! With sterilised bottles I would take out my bottles after sterilising to make up for the next day then sterilise them all again 24 hours later.

You'll hear a lot of different ways to make up your bottles but the current method recommended by the HSE is to boil kettle, let cool for half an hour then make up your bottles with the water and powder. You're then meant to cool them say in a bowl of cold water then put in the back of the fridge. You can then use these for up to 24 hours. When you need to use one you can warm up by putting in a jug of hot water or bottle warmer. This is the offical way from what i can remember!

If bringing my baba to creche etc. I would have fully made up bottle taken out of fridge and brought in cooler bag. Creche then puts in fridge and warms when needed.

With hotel night how about bringing cartons of formula and sterilised bottles?

Sweet_pea

As Funk said you'll get loads of different recommendations as even in the HSE their current guidelines are as Funk stated but where I am the PHN are saying that they are changing the guidelines to add powder to cooled boiled water as needed. I've noticed this is how people are doing it at playgroups in my area.

theLuggage

Just to respond to some of your questions - once you open the microwave steriliser, then thats it you have to make up your bottle whatever way you r going to do it. Otherwise they will last the 24hrs if the steriliser is unopened. To be honest we only did this once, we were travelling v early and sterilised everything the night before and made up bottles last minute so they would last longer.

On travelling away we used sterilising bags, they come with the sterilising tablets and were very handy.

While weaning why don't you do some trial runs and then you'll feel a bit better about how it all works. Once you get the hang of it you won't believe that you had all these questions to begin with!

card123

Thanks for all your replies

I guess what had me most confused was that steriliser could take up to 8 bottles and couldn't figure out then that once opened all had to be used or else sterilised again. If I'd known this I'd have gotten smaller steriliser!

Thanks for all your help

Zoe zebra

Mothercare sell a travel steriliser for approx 12 euro. It looks like a lunchbox. You put a bottle, teat etc in it with a measured amount of water and then place in a microwave for a minute. It's really handy if you go on hols and stay in an apartment with a kitchen (and microwave). Otherwise use the sterilising bags.

I have always sterilised 6 bottles in my steriliser and then filled them with freshly boiled water and sealed them. If you reheat them using a microwave make sure to shake very well afterwards so that the heat is evenly spread. Test for temperature by dropping on the back of your wrist where skin is sensitive.

theLuggage

card123 wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies

I guess what had me most confused was that steriliser could take up to 8 bottles and couldn't figure out then that once opened all had to be used or else sterilised again. If I'd known this I'd have gotten smaller steriliser!

Thanks for all your help

Oh no - you'll love it, you'll get all your bottles done in one go, that's fab. Can I ask what one you have?
We had the avent which held 6, but then had to swop to tommee tippee bottles and it only held 4, always had to sterilise in two batches which was a pain.

dori_dormer

Ill jump in with a question since yous are all so knowledgable! How can the hse say that you'll be able to add powder to cold water when the tub says that you have to add it to water 70 degrees plus to kill any germs in the powder??

Millem

FunkSoulSista wrote: »

Hi there,

Its all a big old scary world isnt it?! With sterilised bottles I would take out my bottles after sterilising to make up for the next day then sterilise them all again 24 hours later.

You'll hear a lot of different ways to make up your bottles but the current method recommended by the HSE is to boil kettle, let cool for half an hour then make up your bottles with the water and powder. You're then meant to cool them say in a bowl of cold water then put in the back of the fridge. You can then use these for up to 24 hours. When you need to use one you can warm up by putting in a jug of hot water or bottle warmer. This is the offical way from what i can remember!

If bringing my baba to creche etc. I would have fully made up bottle taken out of fridge and brought in cooler bag. Creche then puts in fridge and warms when needed.

With hotel night how about bringing cartons of formula and sterilised bottles?

I thought current hse guidlines were to make bottles one at a time? I know it is very impractical this is why I bought the tommee tippee machine

kandr10

Millem wrote: »

I thought current hse guidlines were to make bottles one at a time? I know it is very impractical this is why I bought the tommee tippee machine

That's what I was told in hospital. I don't see how the bottles would remain sterile if either water or formula is put in them. Surely as soon as anything touches it it's not sterile any more and therefore the sooner it's used the less bacteria can grow.
I do realise the impracticalites of following these guidelines by the way, I just wouldn't be under any illusions that the milk or bottles are sterile if they're made up in advance. I know also that some people think we're over cautious about bacteria and germs etc but the guidelines have to be there for a reason too.

FunkSoulSista

kandr10 wrote: »

That's what I was told in hospital. I don't see how the bottles would remain sterile if either water or formula is put in them. Surely as soon as anything touches it it's not sterile any more and therefore the sooner it's used the less bacteria can grow.
I do realise the impracticalites of following these guidelines by the way, I just wouldn't be under any illusions that the milk or bottles are sterile if they're made up in advance. I know also that some people think we're over cautious about bacteria and germs etc but the guidelines have to be there for a reason too.

That's what I was told when my baba was born 15 months old and rules have changed again!

Millem

FunkSoulSista wrote: »

That's what I was told when my baba was born 15 months old and rules have changed again!

Are you sure they have changed again? My baby is only 12 weeks old and it says in the booklet I got from hospital that the safest thing is to make them up as you need them

Chattastrophe!

Our PHN told us that it's fine to make up enough bottles for the next 24 hours at a time. She said the danger of making up a batch at the same time is that, if you do one wrong, you're more likely to do them all wrong ... she said that so long as you're careful to make them up correctly, it's fine to do a few of them at once.

She did stress that the water should be boiled and then cooled for 30 minutes, and that the bottles should be made up with the hot water, to kill any germs, never cooled boiled water.

Millem

Chattastrophe! wrote: »

Our PHN told us that it's fine to make up enough bottles for the next 24 hours at a time. She said the danger of making up a batch at the same time is that, if you do one wrong, you're more likely to do them all wrong ... she said that so long as you're careful to make them up correctly, it's fine to do a few of them at once.

She did stress that the water should be boiled and then cooled for 30 minutes, and that the bottles should be made up with the hot water, to kill any germs, never cooled boiled water.

I know it's grand to do them in a batch but I am sure the official line is make them one at a time unless it has changed in 12 weeks!

kandr10

Just out of curiosity more than anything, why let the water cool for 30 mins then make them up? Would you not kill more bacteria at 100 deg ? Or does it damage the formula?

Millem

kandr10 wrote: »

Just out of curiosity more than anything, why let the water cool for 30 mins then make them up? Would you not kill more bacteria at 100 deg ? Or does it damage the formula?

I think it might kill some heat sensitive vitamins? Kind of like the way milk is only heated to 72 degrees when getting pasteurised? I think after 30 mins the temperature is 70 degrees. It is such a trauma making bottles! If I am in someone else's house I boil kettle and pour it into bottle straight away then wait 30 mins to put in formula otherwise someone will use the water or reboil it etc. I have heard of people buying a seperate kettle for bottles for this reason

vibe666

The 70 degrees thing is because that will kill *most* bacteria without damaging the nutrients in the formula.

Personally I used to sterilize the bottles and make up 24 hours of formula in them right away and refrigerate once cooled, but as has been said, the guidelines change almost constantly.

FunkSoulSista

Millem wrote: »

Are you sure they have changed again? My baby is only 12 weeks old and it says in the booklet I got from hospital that the safest thing is to make them up as you need them

Sorry I meant changed since I had my baby, I was told to make up 24 hours worth of bottles and now people are told one at a time.

I believe we follow what the WHO recommends so maybe they're the best place to look for current recommendations?

Millem

FunkSoulSista wrote: »

Sorry I meant changed since I had my baby, I was told to make up 24 hours worth of bottles and now people are told one at a time.

I believe we follow what the WHO recommends so maybe they're the best place to look for current recommendations?

I just use the machine which makes them up as I need them, I never made them in a batch of 6 but neighbour does. To be honest I think they are just making it awkward to make up bottles so more people will breastfeed!

pwurple

Millem wrote: »

I just use the machine which makes them up as I need them, I never made them in a batch of 6 but neighbour does. To be honest I think they are just making it awkward to make up bottles so more people will breastfeed!

I doubt the formula companies have that particular aim!

What age is baby transferred onto bottles? I stopped sterilising bottles at about 9 months. Also, some dishwashers run hot enough to sterilse.

Millem

pwurple wrote: »

I doubt the formula companies have that particular aim!

What age is baby transferred onto bottles? I stopped sterilising bottles at about 9 months. Also, some dishwashers run hot enough to sterilse.

I mean the hse make it so awkward. My sis tells me on the formula she uses it says on the back that you can make them up in a batch. I was told by both domino midwives and PHN that you should make bottles one at a time for this reason I use to buy the cartons for nightfeeds which is very expensive.

Sweet_pea

Milliem seriously! Have a think about what you are saying "the hse are making bottlefeeding more awkward so more people will breastfeed"

Formula feeding would always be slightly more "awkward" than the breast as you do need to sterilize, mix formula, warm etc instead of just whip out the boob. It's not some sort of conspiracy.

The HSE has at times mixed messages about guidelines, in my experience not just with baby stuff. It's what happens when you have set guidelines and then practitioners who recommend from experience. It's up to the "consumer" to take in all the info and than make their on mind up.

IMO as recommended on some packs of formula making as bottle as needed is ridiculously impractical, it may be best practice but it doesn't mean it's the only safe way to formula feed.

pwurple

Millem wrote: »

I mean the hse make it so awkward. My sis tells me on the formula she uses it says on the back that you can make them up in a batch. I was told by both domino midwives and PHN that you should make bottles one at a time for this reason I use to buy the cartons for nightfeeds which is very expensive.

Some midwives and phn's talk a quare lot of bull. It's safe to make up batches as per instructions. What baby can wait 30 mins for kettle to boil? HSE guidelines don't say anything about batches being unsafe. Talk about confusing people for the heck of it. Let me guess, they also recommended homeopathy and osteopaths?

Chattastrophe!

I rang the SMA helpline there to see what they had to say about making bottles up in advance (they're very helpful!)

She said official best practice in UK and Ireland was to make them up one bottle at a time, but that understandably that's not exactly practical, and it's up to each parent to make their own decisions. So I asked what was the reasoning behind it, if making them up in advance could make the baby sick? She said that the reason for those guidelines was because there were incidents where babies had gotten sick because of bottles being made up in advance, but that these were cases where the mother had made up a batch of bottles and left them sitting on the kitchen counter all day. She said she can't officially advise that I make them up in advance, but that if I choose to do so, just make sure to cool them rapidly and put them straight into the fridge when cool (which is what I do, obviously!)

She said that otherwise what they'd advise, rather than waiting for the kettle to boil and cool each time, is to boil it and put the water straight into a Thermos flask, and make the next few feeds from that - just ensure that the water is above 70 degrees when making up the bottles. So I might give that a go!

She also told me something I didn't know - you don't have to wait the full 30 minutes to make up the bottles, she said not to use just-boiled water, as it'll damage the formula vitamins etc, but if you leave it for 10 minutes it's fine. She said anywhere between 10-30 minutes. So that's handy, less waiting around for the kettle to cool down!

Roesy

Ah, the old make as you need them vs batches chestnut!!

The WHO and HSE are singing from the same hymn book. P.6 in both booklets
says preparing as you need them is safest but if you need to you can make up a batch for 24 hours

http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/micro/PIF_Bottle_en.pdf

http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/Publications/services/Children/How_to_prepare_your_baby's_bottle_feed.pdf

My baby has her first bottle anytime from 7-8am and from there on I can usually predict to within 45 minutes when she'll have her next bottle. Thats still not ideal and considering the fact that the anti reflux formula she's on needs the water to be cooled for 45 minutes rather than the usual 30. It also needs another 7 minutes for it to thicken so my poor baby would be waiting close to an hour. Also, anti reflux formula doesn't come in pre-made bottles so if we are going anywhere we have to pre make anyway so I'll be sticking to my batches.

In our antenatal class the midwife said that a bottle at a time is the ideal but not hugely practical so reckoned batches were the way to go.

mordeith

We made up batches of six bottle ar a time for both our kids and only warmed them a little before feeding. Worked grand. As for sterilisation, I think once you open the sterilizer then strictly speaking you have to resterlize again but I mean come on, our house wasn't filled with clouds of abestos dust or anything! As long as I don't touch and of the other bottle / nipples I just used them as needed (within 24hrs)

Moonbeam

Millem wrote: »

I mean the hse make it so awkward. My sis tells me on the formula she uses it says on the back that you can make them up in a batch. I was told by both domino midwives and PHN that you should make bottles one at a time for this reason I use to buy the cartons for nightfeeds which is very expensive.

On some of the special formulas it says that you can make them in advance.
There is no question about it, making bottles 1 at a time is the best and safest way but people like the convenience of having bottles there when they need them so that is where the other guidelines all come in to practice.

vibe666

also meant to say that every kettle has different thermal properties, so if you're going to make it up that way you can't just leave it 30 minutes and assume it's going to be 70 degrees. best to time it once to check your particular kettle with a reliable thermometer so you know when it's around 70 degrees rather than assuming. it might be under 50 degrees after 30 minutes which is going to be no help to anyone.