How do you sanitize baby bottles?

[iluvwdw_2002]

Hello DISers! We leave for our WDW trip in 30 days! Whooo hooo! My youngest DD will be almost a year, and as hard I am trying to transition her to a sippy cup and eliminate having to take bottles, I feel right now, the bottles are working for her better. I am still gonna work on the sippy cup, but I wanted to ask the question if we decide to take bottles to give her formula. How do you sanitize your bottles? Right when we travel, i take Dr. Brown's sanitizer bags that you put a bit of water in and put in the microwave. We are staying at POFQ, and I don't believe we have a microwave in our room. So, it looks like that won't be an option, so wanted to see what everyone else does to sanitize bottles.

Thank you!!!

 

[Tink522]

I used the Medela bags and the food court microwave. We went 4 times while DS used a bottle and never had a problem at any of the food courts. DH went either early in the morning or late at night. Have a great trip!

 

[mjkacmom]

Why do you sanitize bottles? Do you do the same with utensils, cups, and toys? Babies need clean, not sterile.

 

[crisi]

I wouldn't bother - not at a year. If you were bringing a two month old, maybe. Otherwise, wash everything in hot soapy water like you would regular dishes. You might want to bring some dishsoap for the hotel.

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

Why do you sanitize bottles? Do you do the same with utensils, cups, and toys? Babies need clean, not sterile.

That is my thought, after a month or six weeks we just used dishwasher or hand wash and rinse in really hot water. I know I never went up to a year or even six months.

 

[maplevale]

Once my kids can scoot about on the floor I give up any notion of sanitizing anything!

We went with my 8 month old and I just washed my bottles in the bathroom sink. Gave them a rinse in the park after we had used them so they wouldn't get milk funk!

 

[MAYNARDS99]

Thank you for the laugh!

Only the title of the post shows on the first page -

All that I read was...How do you sanitize a baby...

 

[dsneygirl]

I wouldn't bother - not at a year. If you were bringing a two month old, maybe. Otherwise, wash everything in hot soapy water like you would regular dishes. You might want to bring some dishsoap for the hotel.

Agreed. Nothing else she is touching is sanitized (high chairs, railings, handles, the stroller). Hot soapy water will do the job.

 

[iluvwdw_2002]

Okay great!! Thanks everyone! I will just bring dish soap, sponge, and do it that way! Thank you!!

 

[MSSANDRA]

And I would hold off on the transition to after the trip. With so many changes, having the comfort of the bottle may be a sanity saver for you, and help insure that she gets enough liquids as well.

Agree....no need to sanitize.

 

[RatherBeInAK]

Let me preface this post by saying I'm not a big germ-a-phobe. We don't usually sanitize our bottles at home (and didn't even when our baby was very young) but just run them through the dishwasher.
I was just planning on just washing bottles and not sanitizing them on our recent trip but DH suggested I bring along the microwave bags just in case. I'm glad he did because after washing the bottles the first day (with hot, soapy water) I just didn't feel like they were really clean. It was probably all in my mind but it was comforting to be able to dash over to the food court to sanitize them. So, you may want to tuck a bag or two in your suitcase just in case. I know it brought me some peace of mind.

 

[WantToGoNow]

I took dishsoap and washed them in the sink each night. Even did this when ds was 6 mos on this first trip. Same with dippy cups when they were older.

 

[Gracie09]

I brought a bottle brush that I ended up throwing out at the end of the trip because I didn't feel like packing it. That and some dish soap and I was good to go

 

[mrsp1030]

I brought along my microwave bags also last trip. I love those bags!

 

[rachael95]

I would bring something to clean the sink - whatever you normally use for cleaning at home like scrubbing bubbles, etc. You'd probably feel better about washing her bottles in the bathroom sink that way. More a psychological thing than a cleanliness thing, but it makes me feel better.

If you do want to sanitize, you definitely can use the Medela or other brand bags. I used those for quite a while.

I'd also start the transition to the sippy for the daytime now and keep the bottle at night. DS was on the sippy for daytime at a year, but he kept his bottle for night time until 16 months. One of his pediatricians was scandalized about this, another said it was fine and the best opinion I had was from a friend who said, one of her kids had been on it at night until he was 2 and not to worry about it since he's not going to be a kindergartner wanting to drink from a bottle no matter what I did.

You might also try a cup with a straw. DS took to that very easily.

Buy several types of sippy cups to test. We tried several styles until we found one that DS liked. It was the Munchkin Click Lock 7 ounce cup with the handles that he finally liked the best.

 

[englishteacha]

I got a great bottle brush at Family Dollar that spins in the bottle and had a nipple brush on the other end. It's only $1. It's perfect to take on a trip! We hand washed all of Z's bottles. She still has one with water or milk in it for comfort once in a while, but she's getting the hang of a sippy cup. (We had all the fancy sippy cups, and she likes the Take and Toss ones, $2.50 for 4, way better than all the others.)