Are you a breastfeeding mom? Are you a formula-feeding mom? Are you a mixed-feeding mom or a pumping mom? Whatever category you fall in, kudos to you, mamma, for you have figured out how to feed your baby in the best way you can!
The thing is, no matter which way of feeding your little pooping bundle of joy you’ve settled with, you’ll have to sooner or later face the sterilizing process. It may sound scary at first, but it is way easier than putting your baby to sleep, for example. Unless you have a unicorn baby that falls asleep (and stays asleep) from day one, you know what I mean.
How To Quickly Sterilize Baby Bottle
Back to sterilizing, there are 3 ways to quickly (and effortlessly) sterilize baby bottles, so just pick your favorite(s) and start killing those nasty germs right away with the help of our bottle-sterilizing guide:
- Use an electric steamer
Electric steam sterilizing is the most popular method for sterilizing baby bottles. It is quick, easy, and efficient. Just make sure anything you put in there is appropriate for steam sterilization. Then simply place the bottles and other baby accessories that need to be sterilized in the electric steamer with their openings facing down. Now, wait for the magic to happen within the next 8-12 minutes (depending on the model).
Note that you should allow a few extra minutes for the bottles and other baby equipment to cool down! After the sterilizing cycle is over, the steam sterilizer will keep your baby bottles sterilized for up to 6 hours.
- Use a microwave steamer
Microwave steamers are another convenient way for busy parents to take care of sterilizing baby bottles, nipples, etc. They come in many different sizes, so whatever the size of your microwave oven is, there is a microwave steamer that will fit in it (and no, now is not the time to curse your interior designer who insisted on installing a Lego-sized microwave oven in your kitchen). Just like with electric steaming, any baby equipment you put in the microwave steamer should be steam-sterilization friendly.
With the help of a microwave steamer you will have fully sterilized baby equipment in about 3-8 minutes (depending on the model and your microwave wattage). Be careful when taking off the microwave steamer lid, though, as there’s a great probability that the cloud of steam coming out of it can cause some serious burns! The microwave steamer will keep your baby bottles sterilized for up to 3 hours.
- Opt for a sterilizing solution (or tablets)
If you are on vacation and you just can’t make enough space in the luggage for an electric or microwave steamer (or you are traveling to a place with no electricity or a microwave oven), you can always resort to a sterilizing solution (or sterilizing tablets).
Both variants take up little space and require no electricity or hot water, so all you need is the sterilizing product (solution or tablets), an appropriate lidded container, and at least 30 minutes for sterilization (the time may vary from brand to brand). Note that if you are using a regular all-purpose plastic container, you should not reuse it as the sterilizing solution/tablets can render it unusable for next time!
If you use this method of sterilization, make sure that all bottles and accessories are fully submerged in water and that there are no trapped air bubbles. A sterilizing solution (or tablets) will guarantee you bacteria-free baby bottles and accessories for about 24 hours. Remember to wait until it’s time to use the bottles before you remove them from the solution and don’t forget to rinse them thoroughly with cool (previously boiled) water to remove all solution remainders.
Whether you stick to only one sterilization method or mix and match them depending on the situation, just sterilize away and keep telling to yourself that this feeding-pooping-lulling-to-sleep triathlon is just a phase and it will eventually pass.