Wednesday 28 March 2012

Feeding - Sterilising (Part 2)


Steriliser 

You will need to sterilise all your bottles, teats, spoons etc. every time they are used, as your baby does not have a very good immune system, and this helps to stop your baby picking up any unwanted germs. The general advice is to keep sterilising until your baby is a year old so you will be doing a lot of sterilising, so it’s a good idea to choose the right system for you. There are two ways of sterilising, the first is to use a sterilising solution, these usually come in the form of a tablet that you dissolve in water and you place your items in this water for about 15 minutes. The second way of sterilising is with steam, where your items are immersed in steam for about 5 minutes. To make things more complicated there are a few different ways of implementing the steam method. You can buy an electronic steamer, this is a bit like an electronic food steamer but for baby bottles. An electric element heats up a small amount of water and steams your bottles for a set amount of time, they usually have a timer that will beep after about five minutes, and automatically shut off the steam for you. Another system is the microwave system, which is a similar to the electric system, but instead of an electric element that heats up the steam you put the whole thing in the microwave which in turn heats up the water. The last method is a steamer bag which is a plastic bag that you fill with your bottle and some water, and again put in the microwave to generate the steam.


The main features of each system are show below:-

o   Tablet Solution :-
o   Easy to use
o   Takes a long time (about 15 minutes).
o   Can be carried out anywhere, i.e. where there is no microwave or electricity.
o   Can sterilise all your equipment in one go.
o   Need to keep stocking up with tablets.

o   Electric Steamer :-
o   Takes up space on your kitchen worktop.
o   Very quick (about 5 minutes).
o   Most expensive option.
o   Can sterilise all your equipment in one go.
o   You can store your bottles inside of the steriliser.
o   Can usually be bought as part of a system, i.e. along with bottles, spoons, brushes etc.
o   Very easy to use, can be turned on then left alone.

o   Microwave Steamer:-
o   Not as easy to use as the other two, as you have to carry the whole thing in and out of the microwave.
o   Cheaper than an electric steamer.

o   Microwave Steamer Bags:-
o   Small and compact system, doesn’t take up any space in the kitchen.
o   Each bag can only be used about ten times
o   You cannot do multiple bottles in one go.
o   Good for travelling (as long as there is a microwave where you are travelling too).


No comments:

Post a Comment