To hope you’ll tell me I’m being unreasonable (re sterilising)

[dummyanxiety]

I have a two month old baby and I feel so anxious about sterilising dummies. I don’t have to sterilise anything else as I am BF. She really loves her dummies and they soothe her, but she often spits them out. They end up teat down on the sofa, on the changing mat, on my phone screen, on her car seat, on her swing seat. I really worry about whether I am cleaning them well enough. Up until yesterday I was wiping them with a Milton wipe every time they dropped in one of the above places, but I can’t keep that up as she drops it regularly and we nearly got through a whole new pack of 30 Milton wipes yesterday. I guess I’m worried that if I don’t, she is at risk of becoming very poorly.

I know when she’s older she will be crawling about putting all sorts in her mouth so I do need to relax now, but while she is tiny I worry about it a lot.

Can anyone put my mind at ease?

I would just buy more dummies and sterilise them at the end of the day.

Are those places really going to be dirty with germs that cause illness? - Perhaps so if you have dogs and cats or if it's the floor but if it's the side of the car seat or sofa where she can put her hands anyway I wouldn't bother. It's these small exposures to pathogens that allow her to build up her immune system for when she is going out and about.

Baby's existed for hundreds and thousands of years and live in all kinds of conditions around the world without sterilising, yes infant mortality was high but it wasn't caused by the type of pathogens picked up on the sofa but from dirty water and TB etc.

I probably wouldn’t sterilise if they touched the sofa or clothing.

the changing mat or floor yes. By the time she’s 6 months you’ll probably just rinsing the really dirty ones.

All the kids in my family have been brought up with parents licking the dirt off the dummy and sticking it back into baby's mouth and we all have healthy immune systems and were hardly ever ill outside of normal nursery virus slog.
There is plenty of research out there showing that over-reliance on sterilising and using anti-bacterial products does more harm than good. So I am sure a quick rinse under the tap is more than sufficient.

I only sterilised when they fell outside or if another child picked it up and sucked it, otherwise dummies were washed and sterilised at the end of every day. I always had multiple dummies. Mam ones that had a microwave case so it was super easy to stick them in the microwave for a couple of minutes and then keep them in the case til needed.

I used to have those ones that you sterilise in the microwave in their container. Or get microwave sterilisation bags.

I'd get a bunch of dummies, and a microwave steriliser to do them in batches. Always happier to use heat/steam to sterilise rather than chemicals.

But I wouldn't be that stressed about one that fell on the sofa unless I had pets or baby was tiny/prem.

I bought about 5 dummies and a microwave steriliser and just put it on with 4 in when I got down to the last one - so maybe a couple of times a day. I’d prefer steam clean than Milton anyway.

I also wouldn’t bother sterilising if it fell on sofa or clothes (assuming no pets on those surfaces) and would only sterilise for dropped on floor / changing mat etc

I would stop using the wipes completely as they’re so bad.

I bought this for my first baby, she didn’t really like her dummy so used to spit it out. It works quickly and is so much better and easier when you’re out of the house. It’s a Nuby UV dummy steriliser.
amzn.eu/d/5IfjNqS

How often do you Milton your nips?

Very good point

Stupid post. I doubt OP is wiping her nipples on various different surfaces each day.

It sounds like you have too much time on your hands to think tbh. By baby no 2 you won’t even notice if they are drinking the cat’s water and eating mud!

Get a dummy clip too, so they don’t fall on the floor when she spits them out

Op has a 2 month old baby, of course her primary thoughts are on the child. Most people are still risk averse with small babies at this age, regardless of how many you have

Honestly get a dummy steriliser rather than using wipes - would you want the taste of Milton in your mouth all the time?

Little box you pop the dummy in. Have two dummies on the go - one in one out. The uv ones literally take a minute.

You don't need to sterilise constantly but if you're going to do that then get a dummy steriliser.

Give it six months you'll just be giving it a quick suck yourself to clean it 😂

Your baby needs to build up a strong immune system and that can only happen when they’re exposed to everyday germs. Overuse of antibacterial spray/wipes/gel is a bad idea!
a quick rinse under the tap will be absolutely fine

I always sterilised the dummies. If they were dropped I used a fresh one. The Mam dummies come in a box that can be used in the microwave to sterilise them

At that age I sterilised a dummy by boiling it for five minutes before first use then by scalding it with boiling water once a day afterwards. Also changed them every 6 weeks.
Did this for maybe the first 6/7 months. Once he started crawling and eating and putting things in his mouth I became more relaxed and just cleaned it when dirty though I still change it regularly.

Worth noting sterilising methods may differ depending on brand/material of dummy. We use the bibs ones and I just followed their instructions.

Just have a jug and kettle of boiling water ready and dump them in there as they get dirty. When you're down to last 2 clean ones, empty water, re boil the jug full, leave a minute, empty and voila- a jug full of clean ones with no cost or wasting wipes.

By the way, mine was caught trying to eat a whole snail (forced it out his mouth just in time) he also loves to eat spiderwebs, and old food he flings about or hides where i dont spot it until days later when i wonder where he got that half bitten apple from.. (usually hidden in his overflowing toy box, i do clean i promise!)

You're in for a wild ride i can tell you that much haha

I wouldn't be using Milton wipes on the dummy.
Would you not just put boiling water into an egg cup and dip the dropped dummy into it to kill the germs ?
Or is that now a no no ?
It's been a while since mine were babies.

I find that our hygiene becomes more lax at the same rate as baby's immune system builds.

I would sterilise bottles so carefully, but baby would go on to put anything and everything in her mouth. Now 1.5ish, went to Hampton Court palace the other day where she promptly got on the floor and gave it a good lick before I could pick her up.

Pour a kettle of boiling water over it for a rough sterilisation, then progress to giving it a good lick yourself when you feel ready.

Edit to add: I really embarrassingly didn't think to wash baby's hands. I don't know why?? She'd get a dip in the bath, and I'd wipe hands if they were visibly mucky, but she's definitely been thoroughly exposed to the microflora of our world...

Mine didn't have dummies. Ds1 wouldn't take one but he was colicky and bf. I didn't think if it with ds2 he was breastfed too. Dgcs had them and took to them ok. I don't think they got sterilised much. Mind you they were always ill but so was ds1 so it's just the way it is.

I'm sure your lovely baby will be fine. You're doing a lovely thing for her.