Small amounts of water mixing with breastmilk
I wash the baby bottles by hand and often let them air dry. Do I have to dry them completely before adding breast milk? I would obviously want to get all of the dish liquid out of the bottles. But I wasn't sure if the breast milk mixing with a small amount of water would have any impact on the baby. I would think that he might just pee slightly more frequently if I don’t dry them fully?
I'm using Dr. Brown's bottles, so drops of water collect on the nipple, bottle, vent, vent cap, and cap.
It's not clear if these trace amounts of water would contribute to water intoxication.
My child is 3 months old.
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The water content of breast milk varies a lot (even during feedings) - much more than a few drops of remaining water would "dillute".
Please take a look at this picture from wikipedia: thinner (=more watery) foremilk vs. thicker (=fattier) hindmilk.
The only reason to be worried would be if you were washing the bottles with unsafe water, for example if you were in a country where drinking tap water or eating washed but uncooked fruit is considered unsafe for us "westerners". But in this case, simply letting the bottles dry wouldn't suffice, you'd have to "sterilize" them.
Breast milk is, essentially, water with a bunch of other nutritious stuff in it.
Water intoxication can be a concern if an infant drinks too much plain water in addition to breast milk or formula, but that requires a significant volume of water:
Breast milk or formula provides all the fluid healthy babies need. If
a mother feels her baby needs to take additional water, it should be
limited to two to three ounces at a time and should be offered only
after the baby has satisfied his hunger with breast feeding or
formula.
A few drops of water is much less than the two to three ounces (about 1/4 to 1/3 cup) limit. So any very small amount of water remaining in the bottle after it's washed and left to air dry is not a danger. I doubt it would even be enough to make a noticeable difference in how much he pees.
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