To stop sterilising the dummy's

[Softlysoftly]

DD2 has just moved from Moses basket to open sided crib. When she actually deigns to go in it she raspberries her dummies out the side in disgust. She can't settle without them or my poor chewed nips.

I carry loads to bed with me but still end up downstairs at silly o'clock sterilising.

So considering the fact she is 5.5mnths, she chews unsterilised toys and her big sisters hair/fingers/toes/bogeys if I'm not quick off the mark WIBU to give them a rinse under the tap and reuse instead if it's just my hoovered animal free carpet?

[MoonlightandBonefires]

Well, I have to admit I stopped sterilising after about two months and small child here didn't seem to suffer from it. If she's chewing everything else, then can't see that not sterilising the soother will make a blind bit of difference!

[bedmonster]

Erm, YADNBU!!! Step away from the steriliser!!
I'm sure some will slap me on the wrists for saying this but I didn't sterilise dummies after the first time they'd come out of the packet and not at all for DC3.
As long as you're giving them a bit of a wash every day if you're still worried, she'll be fine. As you said, she's already chewing lots of unsterilised stuff and if your carpets are clean I doubt you have anything to worry about.

[Jackstini]

No point at all in sterilising - bet she spends lots of time on carpet anyway!
Chuck in dishwasher every day or 2.

[ChippingInLovesAutumn]

No need at all. If I was putting the steriliser on in the day and could find a few I'd bung them in, but I would not be faffing around in the middle of the night for a 5.5 month old who is gumming everything else in sight.

[MichaelaS]

YANBU.

Once they are big enough to lick the floor then steriliing is a bit pointless IMHO. My 6.5mo loves licking shoes if he can get hold of them. bleurgh. now i only sterilise if i'm expressing and intending to freeze it ir keep it in the fridge for a while. :-)

[RubyFakeNails]

YANBU, I've never sterilised a dummy in my life and I've brought 4 DC up with them. I had no idea people did this. What a waste of time.

You know when she starts crawling she will lick the floor.

[YuffieKisaragi]

I stopped sterilising baby Yuffie's dummies when he was about 6months and licking everything. I still sterilise bottles. Have never sterilised spoons, bowls etc. My mother (who never normally questions me on parenting issues, accepts that I may do some things differently) can't get over me still sterilising bottles...

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

I stopped sterilising DD2's dummies on about day 4 when I couldn't keep up with the amount of times they were dropped on the floor. From then on I'd chuck them in the steriliser if I happened to spy one on the worktop. She's 9 months now and I can't remember when I washed one, never mind sterilised! 3 months to go before I can stop with the bloody bottles. I hate sterilising.

[PickledFanjoCat]

Same as yuffi. When ds started licking the floor and the cat.

You only need to do bottles as the milk can harbour bacteria apparently dummies not so bad.

[Softlysoftly]

Oh thank you, MN has yet again saved me a little faffing about! I just felt a mite guilty as PFB DD1 more or less had me owning shares in sterilisers and Milton wipes until 1 2, im a little more shall we say, relaxed with poor old DD2 .

[BabylonPI]

Same as yuffie, except ds doesn't have dummies - I wish he did sometimes tho

[CoolaSchmoola]

I sterilised DD's til she was one - but only once a day. I cold water sterilised so just chucked them in the bucket after I washed them, no special effort required.

During the night if she flung them out of the crib I just gave it a suck and shoved it back in. Not recommended but hey ho, middle of the night!

If you want a compromise Tommee Tippee make sterilising wipes for teats/dummies. Quick wipe over and once dry they are sterile. Might be an option if you would rather carry on but don't want to get up.

I also used Airwrap crib bumpers - really helped, not only with stopping DD bashing herself or poking her legs out, but also stopped the dummies hitting the deck as often.

[skyebluesapphire]

I used to gather them all up, chuck them in a jug and cover them in boiling water. Cant remember when I stopped, but she was crawling around with 2 cats and my parents live on a farm, so I wasnt too bothered about sterilising dummies..

[bottleofbeer]

I always had a cold water steriliser - my first was born just as all the new fangled steam and microwave ones were coming out. I get a bit stuck in my ways and used cold water for all of them after that. The dummies went in the steriliser each time I changed it (24 hours) but I wasn't putting them back in every time one went on the floor. I just sucked the crap off and gave them back. I did not kill any of them I also had a dishwashr back in the good old days. I think I liked making extra work for myself.

[WilsonFrickett]

Och no, in the top of the dishwasher when I CBA. The only thing that needs sterilising is bottles.