Forums

Hiya all.  I have just (yesterday!) stopped breastfeeding my 13 month old DD. We're not bothering with formula, she has a good diet, eats well, and is guzzling her cows milk. My question is about whether I still have to sterilise her bottles which she has for her am/pm milk. She drinks water from a cup through the day which isn't sterilised, and once she's settled on her cows milk for sure we will eventually try to get her taking her milk from a cup also. Do we have to sterilise her bottles now, and cups later, or is it ok just to wash them? All I can find on searching t'internet is confusing/conflicting advice! Thanks for any advice. Caz x

Hi there, I never bothered to sterilise bottles cups or beakers after my son turned 1 year.  The only time I do is if he has a stomach bug or cold so I know he can't reinfect himself.  But those times are few and far between.  All I do now is wash them in hot soapy water with the rest of my dishes.  I give them a good rinse under the tap to remove any washing up residue and either dry or refill.  Any1 please jump in if I'm wrong.  Hayley

I think its all down to personal choice. I sterilised the bottles for my DD until she was 14months old as she was having  a tough time with her teething and constantly had a barky cough and a cold. I didn't sterilise her cutlery or her food dishes after one, just her bottles, teats and dummies as they spent a lot longer in her mouth. Everybody told me to stop sterilising but my GP told me to stop when I felt the time was right myself. Like the saying goes Mum knows best.

A lot of advice these days says no need to sterilise after 6 months, so you shouldn't need to. Baby's immune system should be quite strong & well developed by now. I put everything on a hot wash in the dishwasher. Supposed to use cups or beakers after 6 months rather than bottles so if she is happy try these instead - better for limiting tooth decay. Best of luck with it.

I was always told that once your child starts moving around more and picking things up off the floor and putting them in the mouths then you can stop sterilising. I will sterilise my 7 month olds bottles but will stop at around 9/10 months. Her bowls, spoons, cups etc are never sterilised