Hellobee Boards

Your question actually surprised me. We sterilise after every use, I thought that was the standard. It's what it says on the formula box anyway. My girls are just ten weeks so I think I'll play it safe until I start weaning, I won't be sterilizing plates spoons etc so can relax things a bit then. We hand wash bottles in hot water with a little washing up liquid, then rinse them out before popping them into the steam steriliser. Fill them with cooled boiled water and pop them into the fridge until feeding time, although lately I'm making up the 4 am and 9 am feeds completely before bed, to save hassle when I'm tired.

I occasionally put them in the dishwasher, but otherwise I just wash by hand. I haven't sterilized them since before the first use.

We didn't really use bottles regularly until my LO was around 3.5 months and started daycare, so I don't know if the question is more for moms of newborns. But aside from the initial sterilization, I haven't sterilized her bottles. I wash them in hot water by hand.

with charlie i sterilized the first month because i thought that's what you were supposed to do. i wasn't planning on sterilizing at all for olive except before first use. but since she was a preemie, we sterilized for the first month and then stopped completely.

@kiddosc: my dishwasher has no such setting. I just figure it gets sooo hot in there that it does something more than what I can do with the tap water and soap.

@kiddosc: Oh yes, always. I hate it when we open the dishwasher and everything is just sopping wet!!

DH thought the bottles were a bit cloudy looking coming out of the dishwasher so we stick to hand washing. It's not so bad, if you have 6 bottles or more you would only have to do it once a day anyway. It is per recommendations over here anyway. Is rather do it than risk any tummy bugs or anything, I've enough to do as it is!