Hi I am about to have my first child and i am getting quite overwhelmed with all the options available now as well as the price tags that go with them.

I am looking at sterilisers and i am really not a big fan of using microwaves so was thinking of getting a steam steriliser. However are they just a glorified steamer? I know you can simply boil bottles in a pot so can you simply steam them in a normal steamer rather than paying an arm and a leg for a specifically designed one. I only ask this as i already have a steamer and do not want to unnecessarily spend extra money that could otherwise go towards other things my baby may need.

I hope someone can answer this for me.

Thanks

Janie

Hi,

are you planning on breastfeeding or formula feeding?
generally speaking breastfed babies do not need things sterlised and the things that do need it can be boiled. my ds is exclusively breastfed so i boil his dummies occasionally. if he has expressed milk from a bottle or cup they get washed with hot soapy water and boiled. you may find you can get away without it. unless you are using formula, then you will need to sterlise everything unfortunately. you could look into using Milton tabs? much much cheaper and just go into a tub of water grin
HTH

Depends how much sterilising you'll be doing.

I only ever used a pot of boiling water as it was only for my pump and the bottle & teat for 1 feed about every second day or so.

However if I had been bottle feeding I would have invested in a proper steriliser, probably a microwave one as they seem like theyre quick and easy but I dont acutually know because Ive never tried one! smile

I used milton with my first 2 babies, and both developed oral thrush so I will not be using it again. After my 3 baby the mid wifes said that you dont to sterilise any more, formula or breast. Just wash in hot soapy water, rinse and air dry. Followed that and my little girl hasnt any issues

Hi I use Avent bottles and have the electric steam steriliser. I thoroughly recommend it as my DD2 was ff from 3 days old due to feeding problems. I had a microwave steriliser with DD1 but found I would burn myself when I used it.

I used milton with my first 2 babies, and both developed oral thrush so I will not be using it again. After my 3 baby the mid wifes said that you dont to sterilise any more, formula or breast. Just wash in hot soapy water, rinse and air dry. Followed that and my little girl hasnt any issues

Hi there smile

As pp said, there is no need to steralize anymore. In the hospital they teach you to wash in hot soapy water, rinse and air dry. Nice and easy smile

I also avoid milton solution...too many nasty unnessesary chemicals for my liking wink

Plenty of people don't sterilize, but it is up to you and depending on the health of your baby. You could choose to sterilize for the first 2-3mths and then maybe once a week til 4mths.

I BF to start with and sterilized the pump and bottle in a pot on the stove. When I changed to FF I brought a microwave sterilizer and bottles in the Tommee Tippee Closer2Nature range. It fitted 5 bottles and as DS only had 5 bottles a day, meant we could sterilize once a day. It suited us fine and you just fill it with cold water and nothing else is required.

Two friends both only ever cleaned their bottles in the dishwasher and both went through bottles rather quickly - the bottles would become quite brittle and all scratched looking. My DS is on the same bottles now he started using at 7-8wks and they have only been in a dishwasher a couple of times (MIL puts them in hers). We have just stopped using them 2wks ago.

hi with first baby I didnt plan on formula feeding but had to so we boiled the bottles in a pot it would take ages and was a long ordeal for us

this time I have brought the nuk electric steriliser knowing that I will be bottle feeding, I know a few people who have used this one which is why I hae gone with it. There are many different brands of bottles and shapes which will fit in it which is why I went with it, I found the bottles Ive got wont fit very well in the avent one and dummies and everything goes in. It sterilises in 12 minutes i think.

After doing the boiling method last time we said if we ever had another baby it would be electric stearaliser that time.

We even broke a pot lid doing it last time most lids these days are glass and it only lasted a week then went to take of pot and it shattered.

i did try milton last time but hated the smell and the fact the chemicals still remained in the bottle and I didnt like bubs getting that.

if I was able to breastfeed and only had the odd bottle or dummy to sterisliser then I would just boil.

Id definately be sterilising , i used tommee tippee electric sterilizer for the first 6 months , now i just wash in hot soapy water she was starting to eat then anyway.You also need citric acid to descale it but it says all about that in the instructions.If you are bottle feeding completely definately buy one or use a microwave one but make sure it has room for lots of bottles like 6 instead of the ones that just sterilze 2 bottles , i did it this way for a week because i didnt plan to bottle feed i was pretty set on breastfeeding but that didnt work out... and it took FOREVER.Id say this is one of the best purchases iv made also if you plan on having more kids its worth the money.They sell tommee tippee sets with bottles and electric sterilizer together which works out cheaper.Personally it gives peace of mind rather than not sterilizing.

Id definately be sterilising , i used tommee tippee electric sterilizer for the first 6 months , now i just wash in hot soapy water she was starting to eat then anyway.You also need citric acid to descale it but it says all about that in the instructions.If you are bottle feeding completely definately buy one or use a microwave one but make sure it has room for lots of bottles like 6 instead of the ones that just sterilze 2 bottles , i did it this way for a week because i didnt plan to bottle feed i was pretty set on breastfeeding but that didnt work out... and it took FOREVER.Id say this is one of the best purchases iv made also if you plan on having more kids its worth the money.They sell tommee tippee sets with bottles and electric sterilizer together which works out cheaper.Personally it gives peace of mind rather than not sterilizing.

Hi I am about to have my first child and i am getting quite overwhelmed with all the options available now as well as the price tags that go with them.

I am looking at sterilisers and i am really not a big fan of using microwaves so was thinking of getting a steam steriliser. However are they just a glorified steamer? I know you can simply boil bottles in a pot so can you simply steam them in a normal steamer rather than paying an arm and a leg for a specifically designed one. I only ask this as i already have a steamer and do not want to unnecessarily spend extra money that could otherwise go towards other things my baby may need.

I hope someone can answer this for me.

Thanks

Janie

Hi - I like you, couldn't see the point of purchasing a microwave steriliser, when I already had a microwave steamer. I breastfed my baby until 13 months, but often (particularly in the first 3 months) expressed, so used the steamer to sterilise the pump attachments and the bottles, and it all worked fine. My son never really picked up any illnesses until he started swimming lessons and child care, so I don't worry about the few germs that might be on bottles, as there are a lot more germs else where.