Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi all,
Vanilla are planning an update to the site on April 24th (next Wednesday). It is a major PHP8 update which is expected to boost performance across the site. The site will be down from 7pm and it is expected to take about an hour to complete. We appreciate your patience during the update.
Thanks all.

Steralisation

Options
  • 06-04-2021 5:56pm
    #1
    blue note
    Registered Users Posts: 4,504 ✭✭✭


    What's the actual story with steralisation? I wash the bottles / breast pump and then pop them into the steraliser. But can I dry the things after and put them away to use whenever I want them? I read that once you take things out of the steraliser they are contaminated, so basically only okay to use immediately. In which case why can I do 8 bottles at once? It makes no sense, therefore I think it's wrong.
    And should you dry them after being steralised? Or would the tea towel contaminate them?


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    catrionanic
    Registered Users Posts: 2,091 ✭✭✭catrionanic


    Are you giving baby expressed breastmilk or formula?

    Breastmilk has bactericidal and antifungal properties so, assuming your baby isn't premature or has health problems, just washing pump and bottles well in hot soapy water is enough. However for formula, you need to be very stringent with the sterilising.


  • Options
    #3
    Princess Calla
    Registered Users Posts: 5,783 ✭✭✭Princess Calla


    Leave them in the sterilizer until you need them.

    Don't dry them as any germs on tea towel will contaminate them .


  • Options
    #4
    blue note
    Registered Users Posts: 4,504 ✭✭✭blue note


    Breastmilk. No medical issues with the baby.

    I don't mind sterilising. I just doubt the advice I've received that if I sterilise two bottles in the morning and put milk into one that that's fine to give to the baby later. But we can't put milk into the other one later because once it's out of the steriliser it's no longer sterile.


  • Options
    #5
    Minier81
    Registered Users Posts: 623 ✭✭✭Minier81


    Just backing up previous comment that you don't need to sterlise for breastmilk, assuming full term healthy baby. I occasionally gave my little one bottles of EBM. I would sterilise before first use and then personally did occasionally sterilise them but a good wash with warm sudsy water and rinse is all that's needed after each use.

    If you do choose to sterlise for each use, you can just leave the bottles in the sterliser and take them out as you need them. I would air dry rather than tea towel. Or if you are not pumping to fill every bottle then fill with the EBM and leave ready to go in the fridge.

    Respect for the exclusive pumping by they way, that's tough work!


  • Options
    #6
    catrionanic
    Registered Users Posts: 2,091 ✭✭✭catrionanic


    blue note wrote: »
    Breastmilk. No medical issues with the baby.

    I don't mind sterilising. I just doubt the advice I've received that if I sterilise two bottles in the morning and put milk into one that that's fine to give to the baby later. But we can't put milk into the other one later because once it's out of the steriliser it's no longer sterile.

    Are you sure the advice above isn't specific to formula milk? My understanding is that formula milk has a much higher contamination risk than breastmilk so if a bottle has been left sitting and has any sort of bacteria in it, the bacteria will feed off the formula. Whereas the breastmilk is bactericidal so not really an issue.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #7
    shesty
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,893 Mod ✭✭✭✭shesty


    God, a complete minefield.I actually wouldn't take them out of the steriliser as I needed them either because I would worry with each time I removed one I was basically undoing the sterilisation??No evidence to base this on mind you.
    I suspect if it was me, I would leave them in the steriliser, but when I needed one, I would rinse the individual bottle with fresh cold water, just boiled once, before putting the breast milk in. That is purely my own take one it , no official advice behind that, but it seems to make sense in my head.


  • Options
    #8
    Princess Calla
    Registered Users Posts: 5,783 ✭✭✭Princess Calla


    To be fair the advice seems to change from generation to generation.

    On my first I hand washed the bottles allowed to air dry and then sterilized either 8 or 6 whatever the capacity of the sterilizer was . I worked from the sterilizer during the day making up the formula bottles as needed. .....my mam and sisters thought I was crazy that I was being overly cautious...my mam boiled (glass bottle back in the day) one bottle in the morning and that was it, rinsed in-between feeds.

    The second child the bottles went into the dishwasher and then the sterilizer , occasionally if the day went against us the bottle came straight from the dishwasher and formula made up....coz you know second child n all that.

    We had a few stints in hospital for the first and the formula bottles were always made up for us in the morning and left in the fridge ....for us to microwave when we needed...... basically breaking every single guideline .... no negative impact on the child from that either.

    It's so overwhelming especially on your first.

    The unfortunate thing is everyone seems to have a different take.... because guidelines keep changing.


  • Options
    #9
    Minier81
    Registered Users Posts: 623 ✭✭✭Minier81


    catrionanic wrote: »
    Are you sure the advice above isn't specific to formula milk? My understanding is that formula milk has a much higher contamination risk than breastmilk so if a bottle has been left sitting and has any sort of bacteria in it, the bacteria will feed off the formula. Whereas the breastmilk is bactericidal so not really an issue.

    This is my understanding too. Different advice for formula and EBM. Sterilising only needed for EBM with a preterm baby. Tiny amount of bacteria can be bad with formula and it will multiply, so sterilising needed.


  • Options
    #10
    Lizardlegz
    Registered Users Posts: 267 ✭✭Lizardlegz


    If breast milk no need to sterilise. I exclusively pumped and maybe only sterilised my pump when needed but just put the bottles in the dishwasher.

    When formula feeding you need to sterilise the bottles as the milk powder is not sterile (breast milk has antibodies etc so no need to sterilise). Bottles are fine in a steriliser for up to 24 hours once the steriliser has not been opened.


  • Options
    #11
    Milly33
    Registered Users Posts: 8,638 ✭✭✭Milly33


    So true it all changes from generation to generation even with the hospitals..

    As above the bottles in the machine will stay sterilized for 24hrs once not open, and with breast milk you are ok anyway.. But for sure with the formula if you change make sure and used boiled water when making the bottles as it needs it for the bacteria in the formula. Had a friend who was told by an older mid wife that you did not need to use boiled water just cooled boiled water,,,


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #12
    ToxicPaddy
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 9,764 Mod ✭✭✭✭ToxicPaddy


    OP if you're worried about sterilising things, get a UV steriliser.

    We have the new Tommy Tippee one and we are very happy with it. It has a drying function and sterilising functioning which can be combined so you can wash everything and then pop it into the unit wet and it dries and sterilises everything.

    It can be used to store items aswell as it does it has a setting where the UV lamp comes on every 10 mins for a few minutes to continually sterilise everything stored in it.

    We also use it to sterilise chew toys and anything the little one could put in her mouth as if it's just in UV mode it doesn't create heat so can be used for pretty much everything.

    They aren't cheap when compared to other sterilisers but definitely worth it imo.


Advertisement