[snowhite]

Hi

This is probably not even the right site to post this question but i hope someone can answer it for me anyways.

i am currently 30 weeks pregnant with first baby so i have splashed out and went and bought an electric steam steriliser. I thought it would be fast and easier than the cold water sterilising but after reading the instructions im not so sure anymore.

its ok-ish but the thing i dont get is "bottles stay sterile for 3 hours IF lid is unopened". So meaning if i sterilise everything at once and then open the lid to take out, say, the dummy, does that mean the rest of the stuff ie bottles and pump have to be sterilised again?

does anyone use the electric steriliser? can anyone advise me if i should return it and use the cold water one or is it worth it?

Thanks in advance
Ifra

 

[Maia]

The only thing we used was a hot tub of soapy dishwashing suds and then rinsed with warm water and let them air dry. As far as I know, dear daughter never got sick from her bottles state of cleanliness.

Personally, I would return it. You have to realize that germs are EVERYWHERE! Even the inside of your arm (which should be a relatively clean spot) has oodles of bacteria that can be cultured from a swab. Moreover, germs help us to get a healthier immune system - or so it is currently theorized at least

Will you be using glass bottles then? Glass is best - there has been all sorts of news out recently about plastic baby bottles being bad for baby too.

It sounds like more work than it's worth to me. A good specialized instrument to clean the inside of the bottle worked well for us at least.

Congrats on the pregnancy and hope you'll pop back in for the birth announcement!

 

[greenhaggis]

I have always assumed sterilising was more important if you were going to make up formula ahead of time! I used to sterilise, make formula then have 24 hours worth of milk at the ready in the fridge. Boiled water to be given before six months, tap unboiled, there after - not bottled/mineral (salt levels too high). I never sterilised spoons, plates etc!

I think its more important just to keep the bottle teats clean for every use!

I did have times when no bottles sterlisied ready and like Maia just washed and put milk in. On occassions I did not even have time to boil the water before adding formula milk!

On occassion I used to sterilise, make milk up, leave in fridge - then after all used and gone realise bottles had never been sterilised!:lol: I knew they were unsterilised as water still in the steamer next time I filled with bottles.

With all these ups and downs all my four children have never suffered from mouth ulcers or bad tummies as newborns!:lol:
Those ready made milks for trips out and holidays are brilliant (although more expensive of course).

I wish you all the very best - just remember to do what you think is right and you'll be okay. Even if you deviate from one of those health visitor/GP rules (I always seemed too!) things are generally okay!:lol:

Take care,

love Lesley

 

[mysharonna]

I never bought a separate sterilizer...just boiled hot water on the stove for the first few months and let the bottles sit in them for a few minutes.

After that, doc said that dishwasher water was so hot, bottles were sterilized anyway and as Maia said...kids need some germs!

I was able to stay off meds and primarily breastfeed...no need to sterilize anything there! Just a shower did the trick LOL:lol:

Take care, and good luck with your pregnancy,
Sharon

 

[snowhite]

Hiya

Thanks for the replies.

So I guess thats decided then, im going to take it back and get my £30 back. I thought it would be helpful but its just a waste of money, i think that can also go for the bottle warmer i was thinking about!!

Hopefully i will post back soon with the birth announcement but am scared i may be currently suffering from pneumonia. Im so sick of docs and hospitals that i dont want to go back to them but i may have to because when i cough theres a nerve that pull in my head. dunno if thats normal or not.

Ifra

 

[confused1]

If you possibly can, breastfeed. It is so much easier. No steralizing, no breaking bottles, no plastic to worry about, you never run out of "formula" and best of all, it's free. Oh, and you really don't have to get up to feed the little one in the night. Just roll over, pick him/her up from the cradle and nurse while comfortably propped in bed. So much better.

My first son was born very early and I brought him home on bottles, pumping breast milk because he couldn't digest anything else. After spending the better part of a week at home fumbling, dropping, making the baby scream so much he fell asleep and wouldn't eat..... etc., I just started putting him to the breast. Heaven. When Number 2 was born, he nursed while they stitched me up. It is just so easy and much less worrisome.

If you take meds that interfere with breastfeeding, that's a different matter. But if the pediatrician and your doctor agree, then I would suggest giving it a try. Just so much easier.

Sunny
good luck!

 

[Maia]

I agree - breastfeeding is easier by far. Dear daughter only got bottles in daycare (of breastmilk) and nursed the rest of the time.

My doctor (at the time - he is no longer my doctor) also took me off Plaquenil because I would be breastfeeding but I have since located research suggesting it's not at all necessary to go off that drug to keep breastfeeding; especially if you stayed on it while pregnant (as I did and most pregnant women are instructed to do). Less than 4% of a dose gets into breastmilk...

 

[cinderashes]

Just thought I would add my thoughts - for what they are worth...

I agree wholeheartedly about breast being best and set out to do this - but didnt count on how hard I would find it - I got a thrush infection which meant it was SOO painful.. so now I am expressing nearly every feed for my nearly 10 week old daughter and while I have the bother of sterilising etc it's worth it to know she's getting the benefit of breastmilk. She's almost forgotton how to 'latch on' now, but i keep trying so my milk keeps coming a bit longer for her. She is having one or 2 formula feeds a day though... which in way is a good thing as sometimes i am just SOOO tired I cannot do an express or put her to me so hubby or I can give her a bottle of formula. And it's also meant grandma, nana, auntie, uncle and close friends have been able to feed baby which i hope helps her to bond with those who love her.

Also because my vit D levels are extremely low (I have to wear total sunblock due to flaring if I am exposed to sunlight) at least baby Evie is getting some vit D thru the formula.

I am on lowest possible dose for plaquenil and was told it safe at this level for brastfeeding, my rheumy told me i can take an extra table (doubling the dose) and it was still considered 'safe enough', but as yet i prefer not to as I can deal with the pain and want to go as long as I can giving baby my milk without any worries.

re the sterilising, I had the exact same question when i was pg, now we sterilise all bottles twice a day, and in between we wash the bottles in hot soapy water and rinse thoroughly and leave to air dry. Though sometime we just sterilise once a day, especially if we have been out and about and Evie has had a feed from me. I think she needs some germs to become healthy!

Hope I have helped - or at least not hindered!
Love Ashx

 

[birdie]

Hi I used to sterilise absolutely everything but when my young baby went to stay with a very good friend as I had a touch of post natal depression I packed the steriliser and things and she said don't worry about things like that, she used to wash his bottles and everything needed in hot soapy water then put everything in the fridge, and he never suffered any side effects.

 

[cath]

Hi,

If you'll endulge me playing devils advocate...

The primary reason sterilisation is suggested it to prevent gastroenteritis. Bottle fed babies have a greater risk of getting gastro - partly because of the lack of antibodies in formula (that are present in breastmilk), and partly due to the feed being contaminated with bugs during preparation or storage. In studies done in several countries, it is clear that that the risk is greater when the general hygiene levels are lower, so that in a developing country slum area the risk is high, whilst in a 'wealthy' home with a dishwasher and refridgerator the risk is much less.

Still, the advice from UNICEF is for everyone regardless of country, to sterilise the bottles of small babies ( under 6 months of age) before use, and also to use water that has been boiled for mixing formula with. Dry formula is not sterile, and can occasionally be contaminated with bugs, so the reccomendation is mix it with water that has boiled then cooled to 70 celcius (or there abouts), then refrigerate until needed or cool enough to give to the baby (37 celcius).

Here is a link to the UNICEF guide to formula preparation. It is available in lots of languages by the way.

http://www.babyfriendly.org.uk/pdfs/doh_bottlefeeding_leaflet.pdf

and one on the risks of gastroenteritis


http://www.eddcontrol.org/files/GE_diarrhoea_breastfeeding.pdf

Obviously once a child is eating solid foods and especially once they are crawling on the floor and putting everythig in their mouths withing reach (including beetles and shoes etc) sterilising the bottles is a waste of time as they are getting exposure to everything from other sources anyway.

Good hygiene remains important at all ages.

It doesn't matter what way the bottle is sterilised - boiling, steam or cold sterilisation in milton or chlorine are all OK, and the best place to store bottles after starilisation is in the fridge with their lids on or made up into ready to use sets.

So, my opinion is do sterilise, especially in the early days...

All the best with waiting - not long to go now:blush:

X C X

 

[lazylegs]

Don't discount the idea of a bottle warmer. I loved mine.

Take care,
Lazylegs