Baby Bottles - Steam Sterilisation

I remembered my mum use to boil the baby feeding bottles to sterilise them. When we were preparing for Ryan's arrival, she was telling us the same thing. Of course being an ignorant parent, we were not quite sure of what other ways are available and the seriousness of the issue until one of our friend gave us a steam steriliser as a gift. It is probably the best gift that we have received and the ROI (Return on Investment) from this item is overwhelming.

As baby is prone to bacteria infection, it is extremely important that their feeding bottles be free from any contamination. If milk bottles are not cleaned properly, bacteria which can reproduced at an alarming rate will be consumed by the baby during the feeding process. This contamination is often times invisible to the naked eye and hence thorough sterilisation is essential.

There are three methods of sterilisation.

1. Chemical sterilisation where sterilisation tablets are used. This chemical sterilisation tablets uses chlorine-ions. They are fully effective if the milk bottles have been thoroughly cleaned and are totally submerged into the sterilisation solution in the absence of any air bubbles. Otherwise, there would be parts that have not been reached by the sterilisation solution. It is also important to change the sterilisation solution every 24 hours.
2. Boiling the bottles is another good method of sterilisation that have been relied on for a very long time. It is recommended to boil the bottles for at least 2 to 3 minutes. However, boiling the teats and soothers will often shorten the lifespan especially after prolong boiling. Similarly, any parts not submerged properly in the boiling water will also not be sterilised.
3. Steam sterilisation where hot steam is used to sterilise the bottles.

We find steam sterilisation easy to use, extremely convenient and safe. We have our steam steriliser in the room. Once the baby bottles have been thoroughly washed, we will place them in the steam steriliser, pour in the required amount of water, close the lid and switch on the steriliser. Within minutes, the bottles are steamed and sterilised. We can leave the bottles in the steriliser until we need to use them to feed Ryan.

Unlike boiling them with hot water, we can steam the bottles whenever we want in the room which is convenient since they are easily available to prepare for Ryan's night feeding. There is also no danger of having hot water anywhere in the room near where baby Ryan is. And the lifespan of the teats and bottles are apparently longer (or so the manufacturer claims).

For us, it is an essential item worth investing in for the health and well being of our baby.