It’s time consuming getting all those bottles ready every
day! How can I make things a little easier? We know, we know. All those bottles
piling up on the kitchen counter are getting overwhelming, and you feel like
all you’re doing is cleaning and prepping them. And don’t even get us started
on those middle-of-the-night feedings.
Skip the
sterilization
While there are gadgets and gizmos on the market claiming to
make bottle-feeding easier and more sterile, “it’s not necessary to sterilize
bottles and artificial nipples every time,” says Cheryl Hardin, MD,
pediatrician at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. “A good cleaning with hot
soapy water and good rinsing is enough to clean bottles. Dishwashers may have
special cycles that can clean bottles and nipples very well.” So quit messing
around with boiling water, unless it’s the first time you’re using this
particular bottle.
Pre-powder the
bottles
“One time-saving trick is to pre-measure formula in each
individual bottle, then just add tap water when you need it,” says Sabrina
Braham, MD, pediatrician in Menlo Park, California and adjunct clinical faculty
member at Stanford University.
The pitcher trick
“You can also mix up a pitcher and keep it in the
refrigerator for up to 24 hours,” says Braham. But just re-stir the pitcher
thoroughly before each pour, to make sure all your bottles have the right concentration
of formula, since things can settle over time.