IMHO and the opinion of microbiologists there is no need to sterilize

[RTKangaMummy]

As many of you already know

My DTs were born at 27 weeks and spent 3 months in NNU

We were told not to sterilize when we got home

We were told to wash everything in hot soapy water and leave out to air dry on kitchen roll

The hospital microbiologists advised that this was the best way to clean everything

And considering how ill DS was, in NNU, we followed this advice and he never had an upset tummy as a baby and was completley fine

So my advice to everyone is to not worry too much about it, wash it in HOT SOAPY WATER AND AIR DRY {washing up liquid}

This was in LONDON btw.

When I was preggers I planned to sterilize bottles, teats, nipple shields, dummies etc.

But now, I think, thank goodness that we listened to the microbiologists at the hospital. And didn't waste all the money and time on it.

DT2 {DS} was very very very ill in NNU ITU etc.

IMHO if he can come out of hospital and not have everything sterilized and not have a tummy bug or vomiting/diarahea, then why an earth should healthy normal babies be at such a risk of being ill?

If you give a baby a toy teddy it is not sterilized, now I know that won't have any milk on. But they will still put them in their mouths.

If you wrap teats in cling film which is not sterile, then why bother?

IMHO it is all a con by the makers of sterilizing units to put fear into everyone

Saint George worked for a microbiologist and she says the same thing and that he said that as long as you were extremely clean, babies would be fine. And that all this sterilization has caused problems in maternity hospitals

So set yourself free BUT be very clean and use very hot soapy water and air dry.

Also you should make sure all the milk bits come from all the little areas IYSWIM

What about parents who put their little finger into the babies mouth to sooth the baby

What about the ones who breastfeed they are not sterile, are they?

What about older brothers and sisters touching, coughing sneezing etc over the baby? {Although I do realise that is not milk related}

I AM NOT AGAINST ANYONE STERILIZING TO THEIR HEART'S CONTENT, IT IS JUST TO SAY THAT WE DIDN'T AND DS WAS VERY PREM AND HE WAS FINE

So if you want to give it up and feel that you must carry on then I am giving you an example of where it wasn't used and the outcome was fine.

BTW when DS came home he was with his corrected age 4 days old {not 3 months}

That was during a very hot summer too.

.

Thanks frogs

It is just that I wanted others to realise that if it was ok for DS as a very small preemie then their healthy normal babies should be ok.

I posted on Hub2dee thread about having to sterilze everything and the timings etc and so didn't want to ruin his thread with MHO so thought I would start my own

The one thing we do do in this house is ALWAYS wash hands before eating or coming in from somewhere dirty {like hospitals or doctors surgeries} Which are very dirty IMHO.

I don't have a dishwasher that you plug in but I do have a DH who is very efficient in dish cleaning duties.

DS saw a programme about the increases in cases of ASTHMA in households that used alot of cleaning products and he looked at me and said "Is that why I have asthma?" I said no, it is because the damage that happened when he was a preemie on oxygen.

My granny was a primary school teacher in the 1930s and 1940s and she always said the healthiest children were always the dirtiest.

As a pro in the field when asked i say sterilize to 6months if you feel the need but that the dishwasher is more than capable if the bottles are cleaned first, when/if baby comes i will not be sterlizing just sensible cleaning, have never sterilized spoons etc and yes dirt is good, dog/cat hair a must and yes clean hands b4 eating have never lead me wrong.

No worries, Kanga, I am happy to have comments / input / experience from anyone at any time !

It's a pretty interesting area because one would presume it would make a big difference in health outcomes when ostensibly it appears to have very little affect IYSWIM...

Is there a place for anti-bacterial sprays/soaps etc.?

Oke doke Hub2Dee&Dad2C just didn't want to spoil your thread.

I do think though that if was advised for babies like DS not to sterilise

Then why do it for healthy babies?

We do wash our hands with Anti bac hand soap in the squeezy dispenser thing {CAREX}

Also it is convienent to use too rather than a bar of soap

And like I said earlier we all wash our hands before meals etc.

FN, i guess there's a difference between e.g. hygiene around raw meat, and just general household dirt. I think the sterilising point is that dishwashers get v hot and modern washing up liquid is v good at killing germs, so it's as good as sterilising.

does it matter if you don't have a dog/cat of your own? OTOH, DP is allergic to animal hair and I think they always had a cat in his family (I think).

I sterilised bottles until DS2 was 6 months old (sterlised the breast pump - waste of money LOL) until DS1 was 6 months old). That was the only thing I sterlised and neither of my DS's have had any stomach upsets of any kind...........lots of chest infections for DS1 - but that's a whole different story (he was breastfed and wouldn't take a bottle so no 'germs' from the bottles)

BTW, on a general note, one of the benefits is that the sterilisation machine only takes ten minutes instead of the washing machine's full cycle, or indeed any minutes at the sink, which is handy for lazy blokes.

One of the other factors may be that as dd is quite underweight, the risk of a bit of tummy trouble causing her to lose more weight / not gain as fast might be deemed greater than the hassle / risks (ie. less resilience to everyday germs) from sterilising IYSWIM.

I appreciate your info may have been different, and circs may have been different too.

But DS was only 2lb 12.5 oz

and was very very very ill in NNU ITU

Fed with IV fluids, then tube fed EBM for 3 months

so that kind of logic doesn't make sense really to me

But if members want to make everything for their babies sterile then that is their choice and

I strongly believe that we are all different and our choices are diffferent.

Hoping you meant dish washer rather than washing machine cos I would be a bit worried about you doing the clothes wash or the dishes

I have just one DD of 23 months and am so pleased to hear this RTKM. As first time mum I just sterilised everything as was told. It was a complete pain and always wondered at the logic when everything else went in mouth. Was told it was because milk goes off so quickly and gets stuck in teats etc etc. When we went away I took a travel kettle and sterilising tablets. Spent most of the week over a small hand sink in bathroom making sure everything was sterilised and rinsed with boiled water. What a waste of time. Thanks for sharing your advice. Can't wait to have another to chill out, enjoy and spend my time more productively!

i bfed my girls for ages (literally years, still am in fact) and never sterilised my nipples..

RTKM - baby brain, rest assured I wash our undies separate from the breast pump, LOL...

Angel you DO need to wash in hot soapy water though with washing up liquid and AIR DRY not with cloth

Didn't you boil them bundle???

Am glad about that Hub2dee&Dad2C

Hoorah - was thinking of getting the steriliser OUT OF MY LIFE - will now (DD2 7 months)!

Thanks

TBH I could never see the point of sterilising (apart from teats) as long as you could get all the bits of milk out. In this respect a really hot handwash may be better as sometimes dishwashers don't get into all the little crevices. I never sterilised toys and the like though - as soon as it's out again it's non-sterile so what's the point? Agree with the handwashing/hot soapy water scenario. And the old saying that a peck of dirt never did anyone any harm or whatever it is. 15 month old DS2 has taken this to heart and eats sand from the sandpit, stones and soil with abandon. Once they've found their hands you may as well forget about keeping anything sterile.

Ds is 5 months. I've been putting the bottles in the dishwasher when I was going to run it. But I need to clean the bottles daily and we don't fill the dishwasher daily. So if not using the dishwasher I wash in soapy water and then they go in the sterilizer. Was intending to stop at 6months (the Birth to Five booklet says you don't need to sterilize bottles after 6mo).

Any answers to RTK's question - What happens if you put a bottle that isn't quite clean (bit of milk in a corner) in the sterilizer? Does the sterilizer finish the job or does it just cook the milk?

Another question. We're going camping when ds is 6.5mo. Washing bottles in hot soapy water will be ok (have kettle!). Leaving them to air-dry - tricky, on a table in the open air? With 3yo running around. Should I take sterilizing tablets and a big tub? Or dry them with a cloth kept for the bottles alone? Opinions please!

If you need to dry them, use disposable paper towels or kitchen roll.

Ooh clever. Yep, that would do it. .

As a slight sidetrack - always use paper towels in preference to hot air dryers in public loos, hot air dryers are a breeding ground for germs.

Although the hot air is in turn preferable to the towels on a roll.

Oh the joys of working for a microbiologist, I learnt such trivia

{phew}
like this thread a lot.
i got told off in the hospital by a nasty nurse when dd was newborn when i wanted to give her an unsterilized dummy. i fished it out of the sterilizing fluid and gave it to her anyway.

As long as you are very very careful with newborn babies and washing etc.

Set yourself free!!!!!!

By the time they are crawling around or people are giving them teddies or toys to hold or putting their little fingers in the babies mouth What is the point?

I wonder how many parents sterilize everything for their babies and then put their own little finger in the babies mouth to quieten them?

WHY??????

Tum ti tum ti tum.

Bored.

Nothing to do.

I'm getting twitchy without my steriliser - but I know its only down to habit!!! Thank you for giving me the confidence to part with it RTKangaMummy

I may take up knitting instead