Camping and sterilising???
We are going camping over the new year and taking DD2 who is 5 months old. My concern is how to sterilise her bottles as I won't have access to enough electricity to run a steriliser or microwave. I'm thinking my only real option is to use milton tablets in water however I've used this when DD2 was NB and it smelt so terrible and made me feel like I'd be putting bleech in her mouth.
The milton packaging always says to just use the items straight out of the solution but I cannot fathom how the milton smell/taste would not be left behind in the solution and then if i made her up a bottle it would leave a bad taste, and same goes with her dummy.
If I put her bottles & dummy in the milton solution and then rinse them with boiled water will that be ok? Or any other suggestions? Murphy's law will be I'll stress about this and DD2 will only last 1 or 2 nights camping and I'll end up home early with her but I want to be prepared all the same.
Re: Camping and sterilising???
Why don't you just boil them?
Re: Camping and sterilising???
I thought hot soapy water was enough nowadays?
Re: Camping and sterilising???
Hot, soapy water only for breastmilk, as it is naturally antibacterial.
Boiling water for formula - few bugs survive 100 degrees.
Re: Camping and sterilising???
At 5 months old, I'd be washing in hot soapy water and rinsing in boiling water.
Or if you'd prefer you could do the Milton solution and then rinse in boiled water.
Don't stress about it! The local private hospital to me now actually recommends washing in hot soapy water (not sterilizing) from birth now for bubs that need bottles.
Re: Camping and sterilising???
Are you camping at a caravan park? Many have microwaves in their camp kitchens.
Re: Camping and sterilising???
Official health department guidelines - from the NHMRC infant feeding guidelines - are to sterilise.
You could certainly boil it. Page 78 of the report in the link gives some instructions for different sterilising methods.
Re: Camping and sterilising???
Boil for 5 minutes. My DD1 was a newborn in the 2011 floods and we went 4 days or so without power. We just popped her dummies into a saucepan of water and boiled for 5 minutes or so (an arbitrary time I picked because that's how long you have to boil St Petersburg water before you can drink it, so I figured it'd be good enough for a baby)
We then used the water to do our washing up. I don't know if that's a bad thing, but we did it, and we're all still here ;)
Re: Camping and sterilising???
5 minutes is the "correct" time. Well done!