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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to not clean dds dummy?

47 replies

MortifiedAdams · 10/03/2013 23:53

DD is 15mo. She has a dummy for sleeps and sometimes if she gets upset in the daytime. They live in her cot or the pocket on her buggy.

SIL was scolded by the HV for not cleaning her dds dummys more than once a week so she asked DH and I who just looked baffled and said we dont clean dds.

Up til she was six months we would sterilise everything inc. dummies but by 6mo she was licking the cat so sterilising seemed futile. I suppose we never considered the dummies. They dont get droppd oen the floor as they live in her sleep.places.

SIL was Shock so.now I feel guilty!

OP posts:
PopeBenedictsP45 · 10/03/2013 23:56

Yuck! YABU.

BabyMakesTheBellyGoRound · 10/03/2013 23:58

You don't have to sterilise them,just give them a wash under the tap.

midastouch · 10/03/2013 23:59

My DS is 3.8 still has a dummy at bed time not for the want of trying to get rid of the darn thing and i still wash it with kettle water every night! I know they put worse in there mouth but i just seems a bit gross to let him put something unclean in his mouth. Its like not giving him a clean cup because he puts worse in his mouth. I also still steralise DD 11 months bottles and sippy cup. Maybe im the weird one?

juneybean · 10/03/2013 23:59

Once children are crawling they shove everything in their mouth any ways. You're doing her immunity the world of good Wink

Original poster
MortifiedAdams · 11/03/2013 00:02

I suppose of it was being dropped out and about or swapped by her woth other toddlers id think to clean it but it doesn't
...hmmm.....

OP posts:
MyHeadWasInTheSandNowNot · 11/03/2013 00:02

They definitely need washing - would you suck a dummy and not wash it??

Midas - if they are having milk in bottles you should still sterilise them unless you can guarantee the bottles are washed thoroughly. Top of the sippy cup isn't really necessary, but wont hurt. Milk gathers bacteria at an incredibly fast speed - you can't compare it to toys they chew or other everyday grime and muck - so you are doing the best thing :)

5madthings · 11/03/2013 00:09

Have you looked at it closely? My dd is 26mths and has a dummy and it gets all fluff on it and gunky.

McNewPants2013 · 11/03/2013 00:12

I really don't see the point of rinsing under a tap, unless there is something visable to wash away.

bedmonster · 11/03/2013 00:13

We never made a habit of regularly washing them but I would de-gunk them a lot.
We are quite laidback lazy though, so don't listen to me!
I didn't ever sterilise dc3s ones, straight out the packet and into the gob!

MinnesotaNice · 11/03/2013 00:17

Sorry that's a bit gross. Every few days, I used to swap them out and chuck the used ones in the dishwasher. If no dishwasher, I would at lest use a little soap and hot water. It also a good way to regularly check for any damage since babies often use them as teethers.

SashaSashays · 11/03/2013 00:17

I've always been really lax with sterilising when they were babies, I think I might have rinsed the dummy when it got some obvious dirt on it but otherwise no.

I'm also guilty of the ultimate sin; I've put the dummy in my own mouth.

BabyFaker · 11/03/2013 00:20

Gross! YABU

sneezingwakesthebaby · 11/03/2013 00:32

YABU. I wouldn't want to suck the same gammy dummy without washing it so I would be washing it for dd regularly. I don't think I'd be sterilising it but definitely washing it!

Fanjango · 11/03/2013 00:36

My younger son used to stash them in secrect places around the house. He once ended up with a dummy in his mouth we hadn't seen for over a month! It seemed really gross but he's still going strong aged 7 and well put of the dummy stage Grin

Fanjango · 11/03/2013 00:37

put..out!

zippey · 11/03/2013 01:03

She licks the cat? No need to sterilise, just give it a quick wash, its not a big hassle is it? Im not a fan of dummies for this reason (hairy dummies)

Kytti · 11/03/2013 01:45

Washing dummies? PFB got washed dummies, dc2 got an occasional rinse under the kettle. dt's got them wiped on my shirt, sucked in my own mouth and popped back in. They're all perfectly healthy.

YANBU at all.

MajaBiene · 11/03/2013 01:48

That's a bit grim tbh. Can you not just stick them in the dishwasher occasionally?

IneedAsockamnesty · 11/03/2013 02:23

Yuck.

I'm pretty sure I have never sterilised anything baby related but to not even wash it is gross.

I wouldn't pick up a glass that had been used a week ago and not wash it before I used it again so why would I expect my child to use unwashed things that go in mouths.

Lora1982 · 11/03/2013 03:10

I wash them daily... Else the gunk would start take over surely

sleepywombat · 11/03/2013 03:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Lueji · 11/03/2013 04:09

Do you wash your glasses after drinking water or do you use the same the whole week?

At the very least give it a rinse under the tap every day.

WankbadgersBreakfast · 11/03/2013 04:23

I don't think I've ever sterilised a dummy. Maybe when DD was a newborn? But no, I don't think that's at all weird. Hell, once they lick the cat...

ChristmasJubilee · 11/03/2013 04:38

That's really gross. Why not just give the dishes a quick lick when your finished your meal, save washing them? I washed dummies in warm soapy water and rinsed well. Ds3 was treated to the same curtesy as ds1 as he is just as precious. I only sterilised them up to 6 months although I sterilised bottles for as long as they used them. They all have good immune systems.

lilypaige · 11/03/2013 04:43

yuck I always rinse dd's dummy with the kettle. Or if we are out and about I will wash it with a tap. Just the fluff and dust more than anything!

If it falls on the floor do you wash it then?