how to clean toys for a 5 month old?

[makedoandmend]

Sorry sounds like a stupid question but I've had two different HVs giving me different advice (so what's new ) I've got a few toys for my 21 week old - some rubber and a bit of wood (its a squiggly thing from the people who make Whoozit), some plastic and some a mix of plastic and some sort of crinkly and soft materials. One HV says sterilise everything (although how you do that with the material I don't know) and another says just wash with baby bath. The instructions say surface wash only or wash all parts but don't immerse (those toys that have washing instructions - not all do). Waht do you think? A few of my NCT lot don't bother washing toys before they give them to their same age babies.
Now very confused - and I need to give her something other than the cuddly stuff she is now chewing on (which can be bunged in the wash thank god!)

how on earth would you sterilize fabric?!!

I would take that advice with a large pinch of salt, tbh.

I haven't washed any of dd2's toys prior to giving them to her and she is just fine. Fingers will go in your lo's mouth (not sterilised), if you are bfing your breast will go in (not sterilised).

If a toy gets obviously dirty (sicky etc) then give the plastic a quick wash, or sponge down the fabric etc...

I never really washed any baby toys. And DS (5) and DD (3) are fine.

I wash their favourite soft toys in the washing machine but didn't wash any of the harder toys. I am probably at the opposite end of the spectrum from a sterilising everything person though.

agree with you, Meercat!! I rarely sterilise stuff - if dd2 has ebm than I wash the pump & bottles in mega-hot (skin peeling temp!!) soapy water then airdry.

Was sterilise-a-holic with pfb dd1 though

I didn't sterilise with DS either . Except for a brief couple of days where I tried to get him to take a dummy.

I would take a commonsense approach, and bear in mind a potential link between cleanliness and asthma/allergies etc.

Is it really necessary to provide a sterile environment for a normal 5 month old baby?

We washed plastic (and wood) toys in washing up water and rinsed - toys that said surface wash - some got a surface wash (handwashing liquid - rinsed off thoroughly) - but, tbh, some went into the washing machine.

Toys were the least of the worries about what he put in his mouth by this age. And he did occasionally get hold of the dog's toys which had never been anywhere near a sterilising solution!!

I have never sterilised anything, ever!

Baby's fist is not sterile and they seem to survive sucking that. Also boobies not sterile - could go on and on!

I draw the line at outright dirt, so most fluffy toys get bunged in the washingmachine when dirty or smelly no matter what the labels say, "hard" toys get wiped with damp cloth and Fairy liquid or similar. BTW, Lego/Duplo comes out beautifully if stuck in pillow case and stuck in washing machine on cool/short cycle.

Mummyfor3 - I apparently ate rotten apples off the lawn aged about 1... doesn't seem to have done any damange

Thanks for that - I did an internal grimace when she said sterilise stuff. I may give one or two a wipe over (I've been using Top to Toe up to now - maybe washing up liquid would be better?) - no doubt in another month it'll be straight out of the shop into her mouth which is how I'd prefer to be, rather than this over cautious ninny that motherhood has turned me into

Um, without wishing to sound stupid (too late I know) - what's ebm Whingeomatic?

I'm looking forward to the cat poo and rotton apples stage...

I wipe DS's plastic toys with dettol wipes and surface wash fabric toys that can't go into machine with a damp soapy sponge, I do this every now and again. Don't worry too much about it though, my DS sucks the straps on grubby highchairs in restaurants and bites the handle of the shopping trolley .

EBM - expressed breast milk.

Yes, the shopping trolley is a poser.... I tried to distract ds and put my hand in between - still not necessarily 100% clean, but better than the trolley... Why do they cover the handles in something that is so ideal for teething on?