To not understand why I need to sterilise

[MissTwister]

Why, according to the NHS, do I need to sterilise baby's weaning bowls, spoons etc if she's under 6 months old when she sticks every single thing she can find in her mouth anyway. She must be getting loads of germs from her toys etc surely?

Did everyone else bother doing this?

There is a long running thread about exactly this somewhere :o

I presume that tiny bits of old yogurt/rice/meat can make for triumphant bugs in the edges of bowls and spoons in a way that dust and stuff doesn't.

I chucked stuff in the steriliser. And occasionally washed the toys that go in mouths.

I don't sterilise weaning stuff for this reason. DS chews everything anyway.

Why would a baby under 6 months need bowls or spoons? Sterilised or otherwise.

Stargirl- just because advice recommends 6 months you have to remember every child is different, some wean earlier, some are better to wean later. Everyone is different and you have to look at the child like an individual

Because some babies actually do start weaning before 6 months, guidelines or no guidelines.

I'd sure if your paediatrician is recommending early weaning, as ours did for DD1 with silent reflux, they'll go over this with you.

Ignore star, there is always one!

DD2 is six juat six weeks and 2 weeks into weaning-if it's had milk prepared in it I sterilise it, because of the potential for bacteria, but not bowls etc.

Nice to see the high horses galloping free this morning

I just chuck 'em in the dishwasher - it gets pretty hot in there, should nuke anything terrible.

Toys aren't that great a breeding ground for germs though. Smooth plastic, not normally coming into contact with food.

If you left a toy lying around for months, you wouldn't expect it to have mould on it when you came back to it.

Whereas if you hadn't properly washed up a food bowl and left it lying around, you'd expect it to be covered in nastiness.

Having said that, I never sterilised anything, just made sure I either washed it up well with plenty of hot water and washing up liquid, or put it in the dishwasher. I didn't wean before 6 months though.

Star that's a bit rude!

NiNo I do that too.

Blimey, I weaned mine at 3 months, only ever sterilised bottles. They are both still alive at 14 and 17

We weaned ds at 22 weeks

At the suggestion of our GP and HV.

I did sterilise until 26 weeks old. But I washed them and threw them in the steriliser. Only took a minute.

After that they just went in the dishwasher.

They recommended it, so I did it. Wasn't a huge deal.

I sterilised religiously until I caught baby licking the bottom of a visitor's boot. The street outside is rank, a pub and all the spillages that go with it. Stopped that day.

Because the bacteria in milk products (and a lot of foods), can cause food poisoning that can't always be treated effectively.

There is a limit to how babies respond to antibiotics and the range of antibiotics that can be given to children under each age range.

Very different to general dirt/Bacteria which doesn't contain life threatening spores.

I was s CP SW, I've seen a lot of Gastroenteritis because of a lack of hygiene.

It's up to you, your the one who will be dealing with the D&V, trying to get fluids into her etc.

I'm still alive and I never wore a helmet on the back of my Dads Motorbike, or used a Car Seat and I took myself to school at five.

I was terribly ill when one of my DC's was 11.5 months old. I was in hospital for days on morphine. It was a rare type of food poisoning.
I am incredibly lucky my DC did not contract it from me as I was preparing all their food and would have been contagious.
I think the fact I was still sterilising had a lot to do with it! So did the consultant as it was one of the questions they asked me as I was using bottles for milk.
I still think we were so lucky to this day! One person died in the same hospital in the outbreak.
We didn't have a dishwasher then but afaik, they don't get to the same sustained high temp. I think a dishwasher is still better than hand washing though.

It is to do with the food which might go mouldy if not cleaned off properly I suppose?

We've had water bottles for the DCs when older and have been disgusted to find mouldy bits in the hidden crevices even though we have washed and washed in the dishwasher.

So is the magic 6 month mark just about what antibiotics they can have if needed or does their immune system suddenly get better? Or what?

We were meant to sterilise bowls and spoons? oh well. The DC are 4.6 and 3.5 with the immune systems of sturdy oxen now, so it can't have done them much harm.

We sterilised bottles for bloody ever though.

i breast fed until 2 weeks before baby was 6 months. i have never sterlised anything for him.

Things need to be properly clean, not sterile.

What the freak do you mean you weaned at four weeks?