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?

I didn't sterilise anything. I did breastfeed so didn't use bottles every Day but Dh did give he occasional bottle every few weeks and they had water from cups/ bowls/ cutlery when weaned at 6 months. We just washed everything as usual so hot soapy water and rinse or dishwasher

I just wash the worst of the food off in the washing up bowl, then put it all in the dishwasher (bowls, spoons cups), surely it's hot enough in there....
But I don't think a few germs will hurt! Kids put everything in their mouths anyway! My sister works in a nursery, and told me about this one kid, who gets disinfectant put in his bath, and gets sent in with sanitising gel, and wipes in his lunchbox....Lo and behold, he's the kid who is always ill

If you use formula milk the advice is to sterilise bottles as the milk powder is no longer sterile once opened so sterilising the drinking vessel and using boiled water minimises the cross-reaction of different types of bacteria.

Once ours was on cows milk we stopped but after an illness she got a nasty case of oral thrush (just something she seems prone to ... at both ends! ) and was advised by doctor to sterilise all bottles, cup spouts, dummies and spoons to avoid re infecting herself. Still do it out of habit.

I'm not a germaphobe - she happily munches on earth, gravel and snails before I can stop her - but oral thrush is another matter. Can be really nasty.

I never sterilised a thing. BF baby and then just made sure weaning things were properly cleaned. No dishwasher.

The only things we sterilised were bottles for EBM. Everything else just ran through the dishwasher.

I occasionally came into the living room to find DD eating toast which I knew I hadn't fed her for at least two days and she must have stashed under the sofa. That's when I sort of stopped seeing the point!

Even with the best of hygiene and parenting it's possible for a baby to get gastroenteritis. With a young baby I would not take the risk. Once a baby is crawling then sterilisation is a bit academic especially if you have older children.

Baby humans are surprisingly robust. The human race would never have survived if babies were as delicate as some people would believe. There is a big difference between a newborn baby living in total squalor that horrifies a social worker and a clean household with an older baby who chooses to wash bowls and spoons in a dishwasher.

It does slightly amuse me how often the official advice on weaning changes. DS1 is 18 - advice then was to make up a day's worth of formula to save time & store it in the fridge and to start weaning at either 12 or 16 weeks (can't remember which with certainty). Also, to use a cot bumper.

DS2 is 14, with him it was pretty much the same as with DS1 - apart from never use a cot bumper as they could suffocate the baby.

By the time I had DD in 2011, advice was to only make up a bottle as you were going to use it - never make in advance or store in a fridge and not to try weaning until 6 months under any circumstances.

And now it's to sterilise bowls & spoons too? I wonder what will be next .

Don't even get me started on the topic of why prams, carrycots and pushchairs suddenly needed to become "travel systems"

Oh haha! just six months, massive typo!!

I sterilised everything until 1 year.

We went on a weaning course recently run by the local HVs. DS will be 26 weeks next week. The HV said once they're messing about with eating solids and chewing on everything they can get their little hands on, there's really no point in sterilising bottles etc. Obviously getting rid of old milk in bottles, which is a bacteria risk, is still important, but my dishwasher seems to be doing that job very well tbh.

Oh, I freaking LOVE my travel system ;)

Santas travel systems annoy me too. It sounds so pretentious for one secondly you're not supposed to use the car seat for long so it's pointless...

I started weaning at 5 months, didn't sterilise anything (except bottles).

Sterilising bottles is more important because the milk harbours bacteria more easily than other things (apparently).

I stopped sterilising bottles at 10 months despite the advise to continue until they're off formula. It's all a precaution anyway and the risk is very very low.

I breastfed until they could use cups so bottles weren't an issue. I did sterilise dummies, teething rings, spoons and rattles until six months.
I still dunk the bathtoys (making sure they are full of the fluid) and school water bottles in Milton once a week and they are 9 and 6. The oldest has needed antibiotics once and the youngest never. So I am happy with our cleanliness and hygiene.

The official guidelines have hardly ever changed. It was 4-6 months since the mud 80's and then 6 months for the last decade.
Hardly a frequent change.

second my mum still has my baby book and it was 3-4 months then, I'm 22 so not that old

I'm nearly twice your age and my ma was told 4-6 months.

That's bizarre because it's literally in my mums red book to give baby rice and purees at 3-4 months!

NiNoKuni - you asked about why the 'magical' 6 month mark for introducing solid foods alongside milk... The guideline comes from having better scientific knowledge now about how the human gut works.

To put it in a not-very-scientific-way, a baby's gut is porous - having little holes in it. These holes BEGIN to close from around 17-24 weeks, and the vast majority will have a 'closed gut' by 26 weeks (6 months).

If food other than milk is given before 6 months, there's a chance that these molecules pass through the holes and the baby's immune system launches an attack on them - not usually noticeably, but enough to cause potentially lifelong sensitisation / allergies / intolerances.

We can't tell from looking at a baby's behaviour whether their gut has matured, hence why it's 6 months. Whilst mums might say:

"My baby at 16 weeks just grabbed a sausage roll and stuffed it in, so they were obviously ready"

Babies at 16 weeks are likely to stuff anything in their mouths - doesn't mean it's good for them.

So reaching 6 months IN ADDITION TO other signs of readiness such as being able to sit up, the disappearance of the tongue thrust reflex etc is thought to be best.

Not writing this to judge those who ignore the advice btw - as long as your choices are informed all is dandy.

I sterilised everything in Milton fluid. Food and milk bacteria are the issue.
I did clean toys with anti bac occasionally especially favourites they put in their mouths. Sterilised dummies too.

I don't sterilize anything but it's not the advice in my country. The hospital here also uses baby wash on newborns.

It was 6m in the eighties. Like previous posters I ebf Dd1and never sterilised anything .She wouldn't have dummies-what calmed her (from birth) was sucking on Dh clean little finger .Hard to sterilIse.I washed sippy cups,bowls etc in the dw and put teething rings,plastic toys etc in it occasionally but given that her favourite teething 'thing' was chewing on the handle of a supermarket trolley ,this was possibly a waste of time . I couldn't stop her so I used to give it a wipe with a anti bacterial wet wipe...Don't recall her ever having a bad tummy bug
The only thing I sterilised for DD2 who had a supplementary bottle of formula at lunch time was the teats(I used bottles with disposable liners) Never had a steriliser just soaked them in Milton .Don't recall her getting anything nasty either
Suspect you can over do it

I'm ignoring star!

I will still be sterilising bottles for expressed milk it's just i wanted to make and store some purees but the trays say they can't be sterilised so I'm not sure what to do?!

My house isn't a hovel....

Oops NiNoKuni - just realised you weren't actually talking about introducing solids!

stairbears but other research has shown delaying till 6 months can increase allergies. The experts don't seem to agree

Plus if a baby is prem advice is still 6 months or even earlier due to nutrient levels - lower iron can impact development. Surely their guts would be even more immature?

It's very confusing. My HV had no opinion and doctor said to give it a go at 5.5 months