[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!

 

[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...