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Bit of a arguement here between me and my friend, i am mum of 2, she is mum of 1 and 1 on the way.

Basically, when i was first pregnant i bought the best steam steralizer going in Mothercare, this is how i was taught to and now steralize bottles and how i think it should be done:

1. Wash My Hands
2. Rinse Bottles, Teats, Rings And Lids
3. Wash Them All In Soapy Warm Water
4. Rinse Again
5. Steralize Them
6. Wash Hands
7. Remove From Steralizer And Make Feeds

Now, My Friends Way Of Seralizing:

1. Rinse Under Hot Water

Thats it!

She Thinks That Is Just As Effective As My Way Of Steralizing, BUT, Surely This Isnt Good, Surely Theres Bacteria Still There And Possibly Old Traces Of Formula???

She Thinks Steralizers Are A Waste Of Money??

Please Vote, My Way Or Her Way?

by the way, even if you all say shes right, im still going to steralize my way!!

2007-11-05 08:40:45 · 26 answers · asked by Saz 5 in Pregnancy & Parenting Newborn & Baby

BASICALLY, she thinks i waste too much time steralizing when her way is quicker and as effective! thats the arguement really!

2007-11-05 08:56:23 · update #1

Nobodys rubbing anyones nose in anything, thanks for adding that though, just so you know, we both are sitting here and both said lets post it and see how people steralize, she knows i steralize the way everyone recommends but she thinks im over board about it!

Only arguement is WHICH WAY IS RIGHT?

2007-11-05 09:21:10 · update #2

26 answers

YOU ARE RIGHT! your friend is going to have one sick little baby! get her a leaflet on bottle sterilisation.
Seriously, if her kids get sick from this it's bordering on neglect.
EDIT:
People she's not even using soap! just hot water! come on, you know thats not right.
Would you eat off a plate that hadn't been washed with detergent?

2007-11-05 08:46:13 · answer #1 · answered by Smoochy Poochy 6 · 6 8

I know your probably sick of people answering your question but here's another.
Your way is the correct way to sterilize the bottle but it doesn't need to be done every time just once a week is good enough . I only sterilize the nipples every time to avoid a thrush outbreak but your baby is more likely to get sick from your own hands and other people if anyone is within 3 feet of your child and they have a bacterial or viral infection your child may be likely to catch it. As long as your bottles are clean there is no reason bacteria should be growing on them.

2007-11-05 17:48:34 · answer #2 · answered by mary m 2 · 1 0

I know you don't want to hear this, but.....

I am a mom of three beautiful, healthy, happy children, and I NEVER sterilized a bottle. Not once. Of course, I DID put them through the dishwasher, but more than once I just took the lid off the old one, rinsed it and the nipple out with soapy water, and rinsed again and re-used.

I think another answerer nailed it right on the head when they said, "Is the question whether sterilizing is better, or whether sterilizing is necessary?" I'm sure it's probably better to do it the way you say, but when I had a three year-old and infant twins, I quickly learned it wasn't necessary.....

Hope this helps.

2007-11-05 16:51:35 · answer #3 · answered by Poopy 6 · 5 0

Of course you're getting cleaner bottles than your friend.

Of course you don't need to do all that, though.

What's the argument? Whose bottles are cleanest, or what's actually necessary?

"It is not necessary to sterilize bottles, nipples, or formula.

To understand recommendations on whether to sterilize or not, it is important to realize the history of why sterilization was necessary in the past. In the 17th and 18th century there was a very high mortality rate for infants fed cow's milk. When pasteurization became available, technology allowed for sterile condensed milk to be used for infant feeding. However, during this time, the public water supplies remained largely unmonitored and formula was usually made in batches and left unrefrigerated, Thus, bacterial contamination tended to be a problem. Therefore, it became commonplace to sterilize the water, bottles and nipples. However, by the 1950s, city water supplies became much better monitored and free of bacterial contamination.

Studies were done back in the 1950s, which showed that babies could be safely fed formula made with clean (not sterile) bottles/nipples and tap water. However, by then, sterilization was so commonplace that it was difficult for doctors to stop recommending the practice to their patients, and it was also difficult for grandmothers to stop recommending it to their daughters."

http://parenting.ivillage.com/baby/bnutrition/0,,b11b,00.html

edit: re her way being just as effective -- oh, okay. Your friend is completely wrong.

Wikipedia entry for 'sterilization'...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterilization_%28microbiology%29

Hot tap water will not do it.

"Bathing and washing are not hot enough to sterilize bacteria without scalding the skin. Most hot tap water is between 43 and 49 °C (110 and 120 °F), though some people set theirs as high as 55 °C (130 °F). Humans begin to find water painful at 41 to 42 °C (106 to 108 °F), which to many bacteria is just starting to get warm enough for them to grow quickly; they will grow faster, rather than be killed at temperatures up to 55 °C (130 °F) or more."

re. putting them in the dishwasher: a normal dishwashing cycle won't _sterilize_ anything. That said, my dishwasher does have an option to run a cycle that WILL sterilize the contents; it's a question of water temperature. Why I'd want sterile dishes I'm not sure, but...

2007-11-05 16:46:01 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 12 0

My son had Thrush, and I just boiled all the parts except the bottle. I would assume that boiling is just as affective as the way you are doing it, so I would have to go with your answer. I didn't buy a specific machine to steralize the bottles, I think a pan of water does the same thing.

2007-11-05 18:17:48 · answer #5 · answered by Jennifer T 1 · 0 1

How about you buy her a nice sterilizer as a gift and say “sorry I was right but here is your consolation prize” at the very least you will keep your friend and have a good laugh – you might even change someone’s way by doing something nice – and no it does not have to be the best on the market but any sterilizer is better then hot water – a cheap way to do it is a good old clean pot of water boil it like a egg so you don’t melt the rubber bits.

2007-11-05 16:53:22 · answer #6 · answered by william w 2 · 0 2

You will have this argument alot. With me, I wash them with soap, rinse them, and then boil them. I don't think either way should be rinsed only but actually washed. It's my opinion. I don't bye sterilizers though as boiling the bottles rids any bacteria that would remain. However not every person sterilizes bottles. This does not make you right and them wrong. Soap and hot water would be effective as well I would think.

2007-11-05 16:57:37 · answer #7 · answered by Kelly s 6 · 0 1

Wash under hot water does not kill much off. I think food has to be heated to 68 degrees to kill off bacteria so unless she has boiling water coming out of her tap then she won't be sterilising them. The steam steriliers are the best and yes I washed all the bottles first then put them in the sterilier. I do believe now I think that after they were sterlised that once the steriliser was open then the bottles were no longer sterile after about an hour. One has to be careful with babies as the slightest germ can cause a lot of problems so please be a good friend and get her a steriliser or some sterilising solution immediately!

2007-11-05 16:50:27 · answer #8 · answered by squeaky 2 · 1 2

I only use bottles for juice once a day (my son is breastfed and on solids) but I wash the bottles in the dishwasher, the nipples, too. That's it. Rinsing under hot water won't clean the bottle - you need to wash them. My son hasn't been sick a day. We just use clean bottles. Sterilizers are a waste of money. You can just as easily boil some water and stick the bottle in there - that's what we do for new bottles, pacifiers, and nipples. Soap and hot water will get the job done, too.

2007-11-05 16:48:19 · answer #9 · answered by Who's sarcastic? 6 · 6 1

Rinsing is not sufficient for bottles up to 6 months. In the USA they do not steralise bottles at all but that is not the practice in the UK. You must ensure your hands are clean ( you may just have changed the babies nappy!) and that once cleaned the bottles are not for example left on a dirty draining board. Put then straight into the steraliser for cleaning.

2007-11-05 23:36:54 · answer #10 · answered by Mel B 1 · 0 0

I don't have a steralizer but I am going to use the dishwasher they get so hot how can they not get clean? Also I bought one of those baskets for the nipples lids rings etc. they have them at walmart for 3 dollars.

2007-11-05 16:47:14 · answer #11 · answered by ? 2 · 8 0

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