sterilizing baby products?

Question

Its been 10 years since Ive had my last child so Im out of the loop :) Do I have to boil water before giving it to baby? Can I just use bottled water? Do you have to warm a bottle or can you use room temperature? Do you still have to boil bottles/nipples/pacifiers or can you just put them in dishwasher? Did you wash all baby clothes/blankets, etc before baby wore them for the first time? Anything else I should know about sterilization and baby products? Thanks!

oh sorry...Im 35 weeks pregnant

Answer 1

We always just used bottled spring water to mix formula. I didn't warm the bottle unless the water had been refrigerated. We just heat some water in a bowl in the microwave and set the bottle in it for a few minutes to warm the formula.

For bottles and nipples our pediatrician recommends washing them in hot soapy water and rinsing well. Boil once weekly to sterilize. You can also use the dishwasher and skip the boiling step however, I don't because mine leaves residue sometimes. (Always boil bottles/ nipples/pacifiers before 1st use). Pacifiers should be boiled the prior to 1st use and then can be hand washed or go in the dishwasher.

We washed all clothes and linens before the first use. There is generally sizing in new clothes that can irritate babies skin. We skipped paying for the high priced baby detergent and used ALL free & clear.

Answer 2

If you are giving your baby tap water then I would suggest boiling it or running it thru a filter. You can also just use bottled water because it is already filtered for you. That is what I used for my baby...still do. As for warming the bottle, I used powdered formula so I just kept the bottled water at room temperature. If you store bottles in the fridge it might be a good idea to warm it up first. As for boiling the nipples/etc. It is always wise to boil these items before the first use. After that, putting them in the dishwasher or washing them by hand is good. I washed all my baby clothes, etc before putting them on the baby. There is also no need to use expensive laundry detergent like dreft. I used regular Gain from the beginning and it's been fine. If you find that your baby is allergic to your regular detergent, try some different brands.

Answer 3

As far as sterilizing boiling water etc. ask your doctor as it really depends on your water conditions. For instance, nobody in my suburban area boils water for formula or to sterilize baby stuff. Baby stuff is all put into the dishwasher (although I'd rinse the tall bottles as sometimes it doesn't clear out all the detergent). I would wash baby clothes and blankets, but if they are new, just wash a few first. If you find you have a 10 lb. baby, the baby isn't going to be in newborn clothing very long and you'll want to exchange for larger sizes.

Due to concerns of lead in pipes, I'd get a Brita filter and use that for the baby's formula water. Boiling concentrates salts, so I wouldn't do it unless I had to. There is no guarantee that bottled water is any safer as much of it comes from tap water in the first place.

Also, All Free and Clear is a good alternative to Dreft.

Answer 4

Yes, you do have to boil water before giving it to a baby. Bottled water usually isn't suitable due to their mineral content. Some bottled water can be used, but it still needs to be boiled first.

Bottles can be given at room temp. There is no reason why they have to be warmed. It's just us imposing our ideas about what is 'nice' on a baby who doesn't know any different. I always give bottles at room temp. Saves a lot of messing around.

You can put bottles etc in the dishwasher rather than washing them up, but you should then still sterilise them.

You should wash baby clothes prior to use because they use lots of horrible chemicals when they are made.

Good luck with your baby.

Answer 5

We covered this in my new parents class last night. The instructor said tap water is fine as long as it checks out with your water utility for lead and copper. Room temperature bottles are fine, even cool is fine. Boil all products before giving them to baby before first use, then the dishwasher is fine. Wash all clothes before putting them on baby with Dreft. She also said don't warm bottles in the microwave, only in a pan of warm water. Good luck!

Answer 6

for newborns you must boil the water and the bottles and nipples and pacifiers. my doctor told me to do this until she was 2-3 months old. I did not wash all the new baby clothes first but you do have to use the baby detergent so it will not irritate their skin....oh and I only heat the bottles to take the chill off, so they are room temp. I don't give them to her really warm though. good luck

Answer 7

You can use bottled water, or filtered water from the tap or fridge.
Room temperature bottles.
When I first opened bottles, I soaked them in the sink in VERY HOT water. After that I just hand washed them by hand each day with a dishwasher run a couple of times a week.
I washed all clothes before my daughter wore them for the first time. But I do that with my own clothes too!

If what you did with your first child worked, don't think you need to change and use all the new gadgets and such. I didn't have bottle warmers, wipe warmers, or anything fancy. I feel they are a waste of time and money.

A couple things I did love:
Portable swing. It's smaller and easy to carry up and down the stairs with child in other arm! So if I needed to do stuff upstairs and she needed her swing, I could haul it up and then bring it back down when we were done.
Stoller/car seat combo. If she fell asleep in the car I could just attach it and she would stay sleeping and then transfer her back to car with little or no interruption in the nap!

Answer 8

they say you don't have to boil water if you have city water but YES if you have well water (I boiled my city water anyway just to take the extra precaution)
You can use bottled water if you want
warm the bottle. but if you are using water that has been boiled-just let it cool, if you use water from a bottle you may need to warm it up just a very little bit. test it by letting it drip on your wrist and it should be the same temp as your wrist. it shouldn't feel warm or cold to you.
the dishwasher gets hot enough so you don't have to boil to sterilize
I would wash all clothes before letting the baby wear them. use dreft or ivory snow. their skin is sensitive
good luck!!!

Answer 9

Diswasher heatdry is a strezilition. Bottled water is okay, even purified. If you have bad tap water then boil it. Young babies like warm milk, so heat it a little before giving it to them. Once they get around 6 months hot cold room temp it doesn't matter, they'll drink it. I washed all baby clothes just for the fact I didn't know who or what touched them. I wanted them to be clean. Plus some clothes say wash before first wear. They use strarches to make them not wrinkle and a baby's skin can be too sensative for it. And under the anything else hand sanitizer is great use it for washing hands after changing diapers and tide pens are great when they get older. and in your diaper bag carry two outfits I learned that the hard way. Naked baby at walmart does get stares.

I had to take my first son to an appointment for has PKU test but first went to a weekday mass with my in laws, he had what I refer to as a poo-plosion, had to change his outfit. Then at the testing another poo-plosion. Had no other clothes for him, but had to go to wal mart to get diapers, he was in a diaper and blaket and screaming. I was so embarrassed.

Answer 10

1. I've used the Nursery water since I had my baby...no problems.

2. I wouldn't trust tap water if I had a new baby...I would boil the water.

3. All depends on what your baby likes...my baby doesn't like room temp milk so I have to warm it where as my god-baby doesn't mind room temp milk.

4. You need to boil all of your baby's eating utensils...that also means her/his paci a couple of times a week or buy a sterilizer...that works great for me.

5. Unless they were clothes that were passed down to my baby, I didn't wash them until she wore them.