Formula Feeders - Sterilizing

[FirstatForty]

My mother is telling me that now that LO is 7 months, healthy, and has been picking things up off the floor & mouthing them (toys, etc) that there is no longer any need to sterilize his bottles, or the water that I make his formula with.

Is this true? It would be so much easier just to be able to wash & go, but there is no such indication on the packaging.

I also worry because for convenience I pre-fill several bottles for the day with water & they can sit for 24 hours or so before used....so I'd worry that if they were not sterilized that bacteria could begin to grow... I keep them in a cool, dark cupboard.

Thoughts?

 

[eulmh82]

I was always under the impression that you sterilize until a year old.

 

[eulmh82]

and I know definitely you have to boil water until a year.

 

[MandyV]

I stopped sterilizing bottles around 3-4 months but continued using the gerber baby water until around 8-9 months and that was all per my LO's pediatrician.

 

[kat2504]

The official advice is that you should sterilize for the entire time that you use formula.
I can see the point about not needing to sterilize the bottles if you have washed them up in hot soapy water but you definitely need to boil the water and make up the formula with hot water as the powder is not sterile and can contain food poisoning bugs.
My LO is 9 months he is mostly breastfed but when I give him formula I don't sterilize the bottles anymore as I use ready made formula cartons. If I was storing milk in the fridge I would still sterilize bottles, but I don't pump anymore. I definitely don't steriliize his water cup and his dummies anymore!

 

[Banshee]

Milk grows bacteria in a way that it does not develop on toys they might pick up and put in their mouths so yes I believe you are supposed to sterilise until a year.

 

[mrsbeano]

I sometimes wonder what method of sterilising people use because for me, its a non issue. I use an electric steriliser and just do them all at once, once a day. If it was like the olden days of boiling for 30 mins it might be more of a pain but I'm happy to chuck them in the machine once a day.

 

[pillarbox_red]

Definatly sterilise for a year, or for as long as you use formula
You can also pre make bottles and keep in the fridge for 24 hours

 

[AP]

I sterilised as long as I've used milk bottles, formula or cows milk it's still a bacteria risk. We use the MAM self sterilising bottle so it's literally a wash and 3 mins in the microwave

 

[Lady_Bee]

I sterilised all the bottle parts until 6 months, and now I only sterilise the teats. We stopped boiling water at 10 months and just use tap water now.

 

[Twinkie210]

This is the general consensus around where I live (it came from a reputable website). I still sterilized my sons bottles for the first few months, but I don't any longer. I just make sure to wash everything in hot soapy water.

"In the old days when water supplies were not reliably clean, it made sense to sterilize baby bottles. But now, sterilizing bottles, nipples, and water is mostly unnecessary.

Unless your water supply is suspected to harbor contaminated bacteria, it is as safe for your baby as it is for you. There is no reason to sterilize what is already safe.

Sterilizing the bottles and nipples is also unwarranted. Thorough cleaning with soap and water gets rid of almost all germs. And once on the bottle, the nipple begins to pick up all the germs in the environment, so a "sterile" nipple and bottle is just a pipe dream anyway."

If I had a premie or if my baby had another underlying health issue I would sterilize longer.