CJ

We're taking our baby daughter to Europe this Fall, and would like advice as to how other parents sterilized bottles. We will be staying in a hotel, so we won't have a kitchenette where we could boil them.

justtrying

We traveled with one of those small travel water heater-boiler things. Sorry don't remember the name, it is just a small, metal pourable container with a built in heating element on the bottom. We also brought the necessary adapter AND converter. It was light and easy to pack. You may need to pack another container for to hold the bottles.... Technically, we used ours for sterilizing water for use with formula. Sterilizing the actual bottles may not be necessary (except perhaps when first purchased) according to our baby books. (You definitely don't need to sterilize bottles each time they're used).

Miky

Just buy a pot/saucepan or the like, large enough for your bottles and an electric plunger (a ...spiraly metallic thingamagingy that you plop in the water BEFORE you plug it in). <BR> Just make sure that the pot is large enough, and allways unplug the plunger first and then remove it from the water. And be careful, it will be wery hot.

Ruth

When my son was young enough to need sterilized bottles, we took an electrical sterilizer with us - there are various sizes, taking 4 or 6 bottles with all the associated stuff. You still need to wash the bottles, but then it gives them a final steam sterilization. NB we only traveled within the UK, so there were no problems with electrical compatibility (we live in the UK) - you might consider buying one when you arrive in the country you are visiting? In the UK they are readily available in pharmacists or baby-care departments. <BR> <BR>There are sterilizing fluids eg Milton, too, but I've not used these. <BR> <BR>

ilisa

Justtrying is right. You don't need to sterilize bottles everytime you use them, just the first time. The first time we travelled with our daughter she was 11 weeks old. My mother was having surgery in another city, so we went for several days. We brought with us ready made formula. We never used a bottle warmer. Instead, we would just run the bottle under hot water. In times when we had the powdered formula, we just used hot water.

dbscandy

<BR>Try using playtex nursers (disposable sterile bags inside). As for the nipples, take along a small bottle of antibacterial dish soap & simply wash them in hot running water and let them air dry. <BR> <BR>By the way, if your baby wont readily adapt to the playtex nipple, simply put the bag inside a regular bottle, let it hang over the edge a bit, HOLD IT IN PLACE, fill it up and put the regular nipple cap on it. Voila!

MJ

Our pediatrician recommended sterilizing bottles until our baby was 6 months old. We traveled once during that time and used extremely hot water from the coffee maker to clean her bottles with. I don't know if it was truly sterilized, but she was almost six months old so I didn't worry too much about it. If you are traveling with a very young baby I think the playtex bottle were an excellent suggestion, though. <BR> <BR>Just a bit more advice: If you are using formula, don't use tap water to mix it with. Buy bottled water. You don't want baby getting sick while you're away from home.

SFE

I don't know how old your baby is, but I'll tell you a story re: bottle cleanliness passed along by my sister (a pathologist herself by the way). <BR> <BR>She has 5 kids: <BR> <BR>With baby #1 she says she sterilized those bottles with a professional technique that would have flown in any lab in the country. <BR> <BR>With baby #2 she washed the bottles in steaming hot soapy water day and night. <BR> <BR>With baby #3 she rinsed the bottles in hot water often. <BR> <BR>With baby #4 she held the bottle up to the light and if it looked clean she used it. <BR> <BR>With baby #5 she just scraped out the dried crud. <BR> <BR>I'm not suggesting you become totally lackadaisical, and you should definitely follow your pediatrician's advice, but it may put things in perspective to remember that the baby will in a few months be crawling around the floor, licking the bottom of the shoes he/she finds in your closet, and eating out of the dog food bowl when your back is turned. <BR> <BR>So relax as much as possible and enjoy!

CJ

You people crack me up! Thank you so much for the great ideas. Our little girl is pretty picky about nipples, and unfortunately hates the Playtex drop-ins. But that was an excellent suggestion, so maybe we'll try them again. We had a baby nurse who absolutely insisted that we always sterilize the bottles, so we do it every night with a special microwave contraption. I will check with our pediatrician, however, to see what she says.

ohoh

CJ - if your daughter is that small, and this is just a pleasure trip and you are THAT concerned about sterilization, perhaps she should stay home with her grandparents. We used the dishwasher to wash and "sterilize" bottles at home. Our children didn't get sick until they started going to school (and exposed to everything.) They are now healthy young adults.

Brain Trust

Rex, could you please sound in on this one? <BR> <BR>(He's a neonatologist, so I'd definitely trust his expertise on this one!)

get

REX .......THIS QUESTION NEEDS YOUR PROFESSIONAL OPINION&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;

StCirq

CJ: Where in Europe are you traveling? When we were with our bottle-sucking babes in Italy, we found that waiters in bars and cafés would OFFER to take our bottles, boil them, and fill them with lukewarm milk - usually with a sugar cube (this was pre-teeth, so we didn't mind). After a couple of days, we abandoned carrying the bottle bag and all its contents completely. Everywhere we went, someone materialized to solve the bottle problem. And boy did the babes love that Italian milk! <BR>Only in Italy, though....elsewhere we just used really hot water, not boiled, and the babes did just fine. Got to build up a few immunities, you know. Now they're 11 and 14 and not one of 'em was ever sick in Europe for even a day.

dbscandy

<BR>You're waiting for a neonatologist to tell you what to do? Take it from me; after 14 years in NICU, I'd sooner trust an experienced mother on this particular issue..after all, they've been there and done that!!! We're not talking 3rd world countries here!

linda

Agree with many that CJ probably does not have to sterilize the bottles. However, if the baby has always had sterilized bottles, a trip to Europe is not the time to change it. She will already be exposed to different germs that her young body has not built up a resistance to. I'm not saying to be overly cautious--heavens knows I never was with my sons--but there are going to be enough changes in her life without adding that one to the mix. And a sick baby is one sure way to ruin a European vacation. I do like the idea about the bottle liners, though.

Rex

I am actually reluctant to get involved in this. CJ ought to feel confident in the advice her baby's doctor provides; is it my place to confuse here if we say different things? <BR> <BR>But having said that - - there are EXTREMELY few places (in the US or in Europe) where sterilizing bottles is necessary or worth even spending one minute on. Hot soap sudsy water and rinsing with hot water is all that is routinely needed. <BR> <BR>More information on the destination(s) - - such as private homes? countries involved? well water? any special medical considerations? - - might lead to a more informed answer. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>