Sterilize Bottles Still?

You only have to sterilize the bottles once. When you buy them you sterilize them then after that you just wash in hot soap and water. There is no need to sterilize any more.
D.

I am 31 and have been married almost 12 yrs. My husband and I have 3 boys ages 10,7 and 4.

With all the issue with the chemicals in plastic leaching out and affecting children, I wouldn't be putting ANY plastic products in the micro.

As a nurse in a hospital NICU, we teach our parents they don't need to sterilize anything. Just wash it in hot, soapy water to clean is fine, run it through the dishwasher periodically. My children are teens, followed by a 5 yr. old. I never sterilized anything. My children have not been overly sick, have perfect attendance at school some years. They were sick occasionally as babies/toddlers, but not more than once or twice/year. People have to be exposed to some germs so their immune system gets stimulated. You don't want to purposefully give them germs, but you can't keep them completely away either. That being said, if it makes you feel better to sterilize, do it as long as you feel comfortable doing it. I just don't want someone reading your post, or those of others who doesn't 'sterilize' their bottles to freak out and think they need to run out an buy something. Most people don't 'sterilize'.

J.--

Not sure if I can help you with your question, but I did want to address the issue of sterilizing the bottles.

I'm not sure what type of sterilizer you have, I have never used one, but I do know what I learned while I was in medical school. The only way to truely sterilize anything is to use steam under pressure. That means to put something into a dry chamber, fill it with steam until it reaches a certain temperature, and fill the chamber with so many pounds of pressure. Many people are falsely led to believe that simply boiling water or that of a dishwasher is all that is needed to sterilize something. Obviously, hot water cleans better than cold water, but it does only that, it does not sterilize. By boiling something, you are not removing anymore germs and bacteria than you would if you just washed it in your normal hot dish water.

Sterilize still? I sterilized only once when I first took them out of their manufacturer wrapping for my first son and once when I took them out of storage for my second. I simply wash in hot sudzy water, rinse well, and air dry.

I didn't realize they had to be constantly sterilized and both sons are very healthy and rarely ill.

alot of manufactures have put it on the package of new bottles that they don't need to be sterilized anymore, i wouldn't take that change, you never know who could have opened the package at the store & got germs all in it. it'snot just thrush you have to worry about when sterilizing bottles, it'sother bacteria that can cause stomach & intestinal infections, not to mention sinus & resperatory. i'm in the medical field(10yr & running)& i'll never stop sterilizing my daughters' bottles. i start bottle breaking at 10-11 mo. it makes the adjustment much smoother. but i would sterilize those too. think about it, if your baby drops the bottle on the floor, most people would think nothing of it if the nipple didn't touch the floor in the landing process and give it back to the baby, however most people don't realize that germs travel. my friends joke & say i'm the most germ a fobe person they know, but my daughter has only been sick once in 5months(that's her age now) and they have taken thier kids to the docs countless times. hope it helps.

If you don't have a dishwasher and it's that easy then i'd continue, just because like somone said Thrush is very common in children and is very painful and makes it hard for them to suck and therefore eat, and while sterilizing your bottles won't prevent it it can help.

I never sterilized my bottles. I just made sure they were washed really well and rinsed with hot water. My oldest is almost 23 and my youngest is 10. Do a lot of people do this?

No!!! Save your time for you time or something else. One less thing to do. Yea!!
R.

I only sterilized my bottles before the first use. After that, I hand washed them in HOT water and air dried everything separately. My doctor never said it was necessary, but if I wanted to sterilize, go right ahead and do it. I never had enough time, with a pre schooler to look after as well.

I would contact your pediatrician, however I think our pediatrician said it was ok to stop sterlizing at 9 months.

II Starilized my sons bottles clear up he was 1 . Then I took him off of the bottle. I always starilized my bottles by the dishwasher or boiled them in hot water. Sometimes if you stop starilizing bottles your child could develope thresh mouth. Which is infection in the mouth. The doctor can treat it. Actually it is a very common case in childern

The only time that I ever actually sterilzed either of my babies bottles was when I first got them. After that, I only used hot water & soap. But, it certainly isn't hurting anything if you want to continue.

J.,

My mother, like everyone else's, always used to say that you can never be too careful. Having said that I will tell you that as long as my two girls were drinking from bottles I continued to use my microwave sterilizer. I was not so worried about what they were drinking but I actually spent a day counting how many times my daughter dropped her bottles on the floor, I stopped counting at 40! I just could not get over that fact so I decided it would be better to just sterilize them before they got used again! I'm all for exposing to boost the immune system but Lord only knows what they would have picked up and that was a bit much for me, so don't feel like you are the only one out there. It's quick, it's easy and it's a bit of peace-of-mind which will be in short supply in your future :)

hey J., I have to say that I can't believe half of these responses!I always sterile bottles, paci's and any toys that I can put in that microwave sterilizer. I just don't want soap residue left within the bottles. I say just keep sterilizing. It's worth the well-being of your lil one.

I nursed exclusively for the first 3 months, so I never really thought about it before then. I did try to get him to take a bottle early on and never sterilized. When I finally got him to take a bottle regularly, I must admit I never sterilized. I did wash in the dishwasher, which does get very hot. My older son never took a bottle but started on a sippy cup when he was 5-1/2 months. Those were just washed in the dishwasher too.

J.:

Technically The bottles Only needed to be sterilized Once and Just washed In hot Soapy water afterwards..It's actually the water You are supposed to sterilize. But anyways there is no time limit on how long to sterilize bottles..Just do it as long as you feel comfortable.