Basic question about bottle cleaning

[hehateme]

Hi:

We are expecting our first child in near future. In our baby shower we got many useful gifts and we are trying to see if some of them are unnecessary.

1. We got Philips Avent BPA Free Microwave Steam Sterlizer
2. We got baskets for washing the bottles in a dish washer
3. We got Drying station for bottles and nipples

Are all these three things necessary?
What is the process?
1. We wash the bottles with hand on in a dish washer
2. We sterlize them in the Sterlizer
3. We dry them on a rack

Is this what we are supposed to do?
We are trying to see if we can return an unnecessary item and get something more useful.

Thanks

[Melaine]

Are you for sure going to exclusively bottle feed?

I never used the sterilizer, the dishwasher is supposed to be hot enough.

I would definitely keep the baskets for the dishwasher; we still use them every day for sippy cup lids 2 and a half years later so I think they are worthwhile even beyond bottles. I also liked to have a drying wrack, but I had two babies so it was just a lot of stuff washing and drying all the time.

[Gene]

Honestly, hot soapy water when you was by hand is PLENTY. Dishwasher is fine, too. I'd keep the drying rack and a lot of people like the dishwasher basket (not just for bottles/nipples), but the sterilizer is just feeding on paranoia. You don't need it.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I breastfed but when I did pump and use bottles I hand washed the bottles and nipples then put them in boiling water on the stove for a few minutes. I then put them on a paper towel or drying rack to dry. Easy, peasy and no extra equipment needed.

BEth

[hehateme]

We plan to breast feed and only use bottles when using pumps.
Seems like the consensus that Sterlizer is not necessary.

Thanks for your input.

[Indianamom2]

I agree with the other posters: Keep the dishwasher basket. It will come in handy for sippy cup parts and other small kitchen gadgets.

I never had a sterilizer as hand washing/dishwasher is enough. However, you might want to look into purchasing a box of the Medela steam bags to have on hand. I did use those, and when we traveled, they came in handy to thoroughly clean pacifiers/bottles/sippy cups when a dishwasher and sink weren't available. (They use tap water and a microwave and can each be used maybe 20 times...I can't remember off the top of my head).

Christina

[vonfirmath]

I bought a dryer rack about 3 weeks into bottle feeding (I pumped and he was fed everything I pumped by bottle. It just was the only way things worked for us). Even though we only kept a small amount of bottles in rotation, it helped them get well dried off and looked neat on our counter. It was a pain to have the bottles in the strainer or on a towel.

If you are only giving a bottle once in a while, you won't need this.

We still use our bottle "baskets" (these mesh things that close) with sippy cup parts to keep them from falling down.

Never used a sterilizer. Maybe if I'd had a medically fragile baby?

[ahrimie]

I only used a drying rack but secretly wish I had a sterilizer. I don't really use the dishwasher in general (it's basically just a drying rack too) so after I hand washed the bottles and nipples, there have been many times I wished I had a sterilizer. It was just a pain to put it on the stove with boiling water for only a few bottles KWIM?

[berryberrykix]

I wash bottles, nipples, and pacifiers in hot, soapy water, then disinfect in the medela microwave steam bags, as rec'd by my pediatrician. My understanding is that this takes the place of boiling - only 90 seconds and a lot safer to not have boiling water around.

[hehateme]

I wash bottles, nipples, and pacifiers in hot, soapy water, then disinfect in the medela microwave steam bags, as rec'd by my pediatrician. My understanding is that this takes the place of boiling - only 90 seconds and a lot safer to not have boiling water around.

Thanks for the recommendation. I am going to return $30 Sterlizer and buy these bags for 1/5 the price.

[larig]

I never sterilized, except for an initial 5 minute boil of the new stuff that I had just taken out of packaging. Dishwasher worked fine for us. We had 2 of the munchkin baskets for the dishwasher. I'd totally recommend having two, that way you can rotate them (be filling one, while one gets washed). we tended to use our drying rack for storage.

[BeccaB.]

I have a sterlizer that I only use very rarely. I sterilize pacifiers occasionally after they have been on outings. I aslo used it when DS had a cold that wouldn't go away. That is probably more germ paranoia than anything. Overall I would say give the sterilizer back.

[BayGirl2]

I agree to return the sterilizer. I'm pumping and bottle feeding. Both my pediatrician and lactation consultant, and most books I've read, say that sterilizing is not necessary. I do sterilize my pump parts and bottles every day or two but use either the dishwasher or the Medela microwave bags. Much easier than having another piece of equipment to deal with.

For the dishwasher baskets, it depends what you already have. Our (relatively new) dishwasher came with baskets and we find these work well for all the pump & bottle parts. The drying rack would be nice to have, but that depends on the setup of your kitchen IMO.

[lchang25000]

I never sterilized, except for an initial 5 minute boil of the new stuff that I had just taken out of packaging.

:yeahthat:I washed everything by hand.