Cleaning baby bottles at WDW

[30ishmom]

We're headed to WDW next week with our 6 month old! I've stopped nursing and he's strictly formula now so I'm planning on bringing some soap and a sponge and just washing his bottles in the sink. (We're staying at the Contemporary, though, and from what I've read the sinks there aren't the best.)

Does anyone have any tips or tricks for cleaning bottles when away from home? I feel dumb, but I've been worried about this since at home I just throw his bottles in the dishwasher!

Thanks so much!!!

 

[hebbynan]

DS was 9 months old when he first went. We stayed at SoG and he was on formula too by that point. I did the same thing. I took a bottle brush, a dish towel and a small squeeze bottle filled with Dawn. Everynight before bed, I'd 'do the dishes' as DH called it. Then by the next morning, they were dry and ready to go. Couldn't actually believe I was on vacation and still "doing dishes", but we mom's do what we have to do!!

 

[30ishmom]

I know, I can't believe that I'll be "doing dishes" in a bathroom sink, but you gotta do what you gotta do...and hey, we'll be at Disney!

Thanks for the tip! Bottle brush and dish towel...I'll add that to the (ever-growing) list of things to pack!

 

[treemi01]

We call it doing the dishes, too! We are just about to go on our third Disney trip with our son (now 18 months). I bring a brush or a sponge of some sort, a burp rag and a small bottle of dish soap. Each night when we get back to the hotel, I wash the dishes in the sink and let them dry overnight on the burp rag. They are ready to go by morning. First it was bottles, then we added the baby spoons, now it's sippy cups. It's just part of the trip now! My husband even gets the dishes out of the bag and brings them to the sink...just like it's second nature.

 

[1rockinmamato2]

Our children were on Enfamil, so this worked out great for us. I don't know if other brands have the nursettes or not, but this what we used on vacations when they were still bottle-feeding and on formula:

http://store.enfamil.com/nursette_6_fl_oz.html

and

http://store.enfamil.com/nipples.html

No washing. No mess. No fuss. We'd just unwrap the nipple, pop the top on the nursette, warm it a bit and when they were done, the whole thing was tossed into the trash.

It seemed a bit wasteful, but we only used them on vacation for a short period and they were so worth the cost.

Now that the kids use sippy cups, we use the disposable ones. Plus, they are straw drinkers so many times we just get them their own child's drink with straw when we're out at a restaurant, etc.

 

[Corjack]

We use playtex disposeable liners. SO the bottles are really just rinsed and we wash the nipple. Luckily DS is still BFing...YAY! No worry about formula!

Although I am taking a small can because if something happened and we needed it, we would pay out the wazoo for it there.

 

[blessedby3]

I was going to suggest the playtex disposables too. We use them and they are so easy and convienent.

 

[thegrimdwarf]

I would definitely go the disposable route if it fits your budget and your child isn't terribly picky about nipple/bottle style.

 

[30ishmom]

Playtex disposables--I don't know why I never thought about those! I think we'll do that, but I'll do a test run with the new bottle/nipple this weekend just to make sure he takes it.

Thanks!

 

[disneyandme]

my DD4 is allergic to many things and still has to have formula (Neocate). our options are bottle or tube feeding. We choose a bottle. Last Oct, I washed bottles in the sink, double rinsed everything, then rinsed again with distilled water (brought gallon sized jugs). This helped to rinse off the yucky Fl sulphur water. She did OK.

 

[barnaby1]

When my dd was still drinking from a bottle I was a wash up in the bathroom sink mummy! I would take a little bottle of washing up liquid and leave them to dry overnight on a facecloth.

 

[mrs.explorer1977]

In January when we drove down, we brought enough bottles so we didn't have to wash on the way down.

We had 2 nights at POP and I actually ended up washing them in the ice bucket -- the sink stopper was broken in our room. Because we drove, I brought the bottle drying rack since we had the room for it, plus the bottle brush and some dish soap in a squeeze bottle. I was VERY happy when we got to our 1 BR at AKV and had a dishwasher!!

In May when we go, I'll probably just bring the brush and dish soap and a dish towel, since we're flying and have limited space. Plus, it's only 3 nights, so I can deal!

 

[30ishmom]

my DD4 is allergic to many things and still has to have formula (Neocate). our options are bottle or tube feeding. We choose a bottle. Last Oct, I washed bottles in the sink, double rinsed everything, then rinsed again with distilled water (brought gallon sized jugs). This helped to rinse off the yucky Fl sulphur water. She did OK.

I completely forgot about the smelly FL water--although we live in the city and our water isn't much better! We're flying and won't have a car...does anyone know if they sell gallons of spring water at the resorts?

 

[30ishmom]

In January when we drove down, we brought enough bottles so we didn't have to wash on the way down.

We had 2 nights at POP and I actually ended up washing them in the ice bucket -- the sink stopper was broken in our room. Because we drove, I brought the bottle drying rack since we had the room for it, plus the bottle brush and some dish soap in a squeeze bottle. I was VERY happy when we got to our 1 BR at AKV and had a dishwasher!!

In May when we go, I'll probably just bring the brush and dish soap and a dish towel, since we're flying and have limited space. Plus, it's only 3 nights, so I can deal!

If I don't go with the disposables, I think I'll bring a bunch of bottles down with me, too, so I'm not washing them all the time!! Also...I may have to borrow your ice bucket trick--I heard the sinks at the Contemporary are kind of modern and not too practical.

 

[mccathy]

Medela makes these plastic bag things that you can put the nipples in (or the whole bottle), add some water, and microwave for 3 minutes. If you know there's a microwave nearby and you're super-worried about germs you could do that. I couldn't find a link to the actual product, but I get mine at Babies R Us. You can find them in the Medela (breastfeeding stuff) area.

 

[mccathy]

They're called "Quick Clean" bags.
Still couldn't find a link.

 

[laughinplace199]

Our children were on Enfamil, so this worked out great for us. I don't know if other brands have the nursettes or not, but this what we used on vacations when they were still bottle-feeding and on formula:

http://store.enfamil.com/nursette_6_fl_oz.html

and

http://store.enfamil.com/nipples.html

No washing. No mess. No fuss. We'd just unwrap the nipple, pop the top on the nursette, warm it a bit and when they were done, the whole thing was tossed into the trash.

It seemed a bit wasteful, but we only used them on vacation for a short period and they were so worth the cost.

Now that the kids use sippy cups, we use the disposable ones. Plus, they are straw drinkers so many times we just get them their own child's drink with straw when we're out at a restaurant, etc.

We used nursettes too. I ordered them directly from Enfamil and had them shipped right to the resort. When we checked in, they sent the boxes of nursettes up with our luggage. It was so easy.

 

[WDWstu]

We used nursettes too. I ordered them directly from Enfamil and had them shipped right to the resort. When we checked in, they sent the boxes of nursettes up with our luggage. It was so easy.

Thats an awesome idea. Did you have to give some special instruction to the resort or to enfamil to coordinate the shipping of the bottles there with you arrival?

 

[laughinplace199]

Thats an awesome idea. Did you have to give some special instruction to the resort or to enfamil to coordinate the shipping of the bottles there with you arrival?

First, I called my resort to find out how the package should be addressed. Then, I called Enfamil to find out how many days shipping would take. They were always super nice and helped me figure out when I should place the order so that it would definitely arrive one day before my check-in date (I wanted that extra day built in, just in case there was a delay somewhere). Also, Enfamil can future date your order when you call. For example, say you call on April 4th and find out that you need to place your order on April 10th for it to get to your resort on time. On April 4th, Enfamil can enter the order into their system with instructions to process the order on the 10th. That way, you don't have to call back later to place the order. Then, a couple of days before our arrival, I'd fax the resort a note letting them know that a package was being shipped from Enfamil to my attention at the resort. I did it twice and it went extremely smoothly both times.

 

[WDWstu]

First, I called my resort to find out how the package should be addressed. Then, I called Enfamil to find out how many days shipping would take. They were always super nice and helped me figure out when I should place the order so that it would definitely arrive one day before my check-in date (I wanted that extra day built in, just in case there was a delay somewhere). Also, Enfamil can future date your order when you call. For example, say you call on April 4th and find out that you need to place your order on April 10th for it to get to your resort on time. On April 4th, Enfamil can enter the order into their system with instructions to process the order on the 10th. That way, you don't have to call back later to place the order. Then, a couple of days before our arrival, I'd fax the resort a note letting them know that a package was being shipped from Enfamil to my attention at the resort. I did it twice and it went extremely smoothly both times.

We are soooooooooooooooo doing this! Thanks!!!