Sterilising

I think I stopped around 4-5 months, when I introduced solids

As long as formula is used they need to be sterilised so still doing it at 12 months

I plan to stop at a year old as advised by my doctor

Around 6/7 months, when he started putting random crap in his mouth I didn’t see the point to be honest 😅 (formula fed if that makes a difference)

@Luba , my midwife in the UK (and doctors that I asked in Greece and Germany) said this makes absolutely no sense. The formula is not sterile and contains bacteria, that much is true. However, sterilising the bottle doesn't do anything. It's the hot water used to make the formula that makes the difference. One of the doctors used the following example: If you haven't showered in 2 months and you stink, sitting in an empty clean tub won't solve the problem. It's the water that washes you that makes the difference. And when I thought about it afterwards, it makes perfect sense. Like, what does sterilising the bottle have to do with killing the bacteria in the formula?

The hot water being mixed with formula should kill any bacteria and the clean, sterilised bottle ensures there isn’t a breeding ground for bacteria incase there is any. My midwife and health professionals I talked to said bottles being used for formula should always be sterilised. Each to their own obviously, I’m sure there are many people who don’t sterilise and have perfectly healthy babies.

We stopped after a year. I was told we could stop after 6 months but it was actually hard to break the habit. After a year I needed more space in our small kitchen so we got rid of the steriliser.

I mean - I’d rather not take any chances. I feel like sterilising the bottle doesn’t take that much effort and not worth risking my baby’s health. The NHS guidance is to sterilise bottles AND use hot water to make up formula. If other people choose not to do that and it works for them then that’s fine too but I personally don’t feel it’s worth the risk .