Hello i wonder if any wise mums could recommend firstly a room thermometer and a steriliser

[DebbsyandBibby]

we have our 20 wek scan on tuesday and want to go baby shopping after any recommendations please.

That does make sense, after all my usual load doesn't come out with food stuck to it when it's clean. also I understand that all germs are killed at 30 degrees and dishwashers get hotter than that.

erm, wouldn't there be no germs in this country if that were the case, as the weather gets hotter than 30 degrees at least once a year

there was a thread a while back about dishwasher sterilising (saying it was ok), will try and find it...

am rummaging for previous thread but

[science hat on]

30 degrees alone will not kill germs.
60 degrees (ie hot as your hands can stand) with detergent will kill most germs.
Boiling water (or steam) will kill pretty much all germs.

Of course, all bets are off if there's leftover food, milk etc in crevices that the bugs can hide in.

[science hat off]

I only said I understood that, got it from that same thread. I could be wrong as 60 degrees sounds more right

Iirc, someone on here about a year ago (RTKangaMummy??) said that when their twins were born prematurely, the neo-natal staff told them to not sterilise anything - just ensure that the items were thoroughly washed in hot soapy water.

that's the thread I was thinking of, BonyM.

Here it is

If you buy a grobag for baby to sleep in (highly recommeded, no need for blankets etc and they can't kick them off!) you get a free thermometer which works v well IMO. Also had one on baby monitor, think most have one, and means you can check temp when not in the room.

I had a bog standard boots sterilisers and was quite happy with it, but BF most of the time, used dishwasher after 6 months

What else do you want advice on buying?

Just to point out to you all that dishwashers get very very hot hence all the lovely steam that come out when you open them and this is what steam sterilises the bottles.

we just used the thermometer on the baby monitor we were given (by the way you can turn off the temp alarm and will need to in the summer) Tomy one from (addled) memory

re: dishwashers - this is what babycentre says about them:

Cleaning your baby's bottles and teats in a dishwasher will not always heat them to the right temperature to kill off all known bugs, so it's generally still advisable to sterilise after washing. If you do want to rely on your dishwasher alone, it needs to be run on a hot programme at a minimum temperature of 80 degrees centigrade. The bottles then need be filled with feed straight away as the dishwasher will not leave them in a completely sterile condition.

I used my steriliser as it was less hassle than using the dishwasher - its bad enough emptying and filling it for my own stuff never mind dd's. The steriliser was also quicker - 8 minutes compared to almost 2 hours!!

Flutterbee, there is also steam when i wash up by hand but i wouldn't consider it sterelising bottles.

I only run my diswasher on the normal wash which i think is 40 or 50 degrees?

Here is a relevant quote from the Consultant Microbiologist at the Department of Clinical Microbiology at UCH (from the link that CM posted):

"A bottle steriliser is not a substitute for proper hand hygiene and may even give a false sense of security. For those lucky enough to have a dishwasher, the hot cycle in the washer after removing milk debris mechanically is good and sufficient cleaning method for bottles, provided they are then stored clean and dry.

This advice obviously applies to this country only as we are confident that there is no faecal contamination of piped/ mains water supply. I cannot comment on the state of the water supply out of the UK. "

For me that is quite convincing, coming from microbiologists at the hospital. It's worth reading the rest of that thread to get the full picture as it is very interesting... My plan is not to use a steriliser but to go with the hospital's advice of being scrupulous about hand hygiene, hot soapy water etc (the question of dishwashers aside).

I bought a monitor with integral thermometer and it's fab, can't praise it highly enough - I bought the BT one after our Phillips one bit the dust. Available from Boots and the BT online shop.

Steriliser - with ds (now 3) I used the Avent microwave steriliser for bottles and dummies, so easy to use. I also bought a cold water steriliser and bottle of Milton as I found that more useful for if bottles were going to be hanging around for a while before use, also very handy for when it came to weaning - fab for soaking ice-cube trays (which you then fill with fruit or veg puree - very easy) or little baby pots and cutlery. Also it means the prepared food goes into a cold container rather than hot so cools down more quickly for eating or freezing (tip: freeze purees in ice cube trays INSIDE freezer bags, once frozen pop cubes out into the bags so you can re-use the trays & saves room in the freezer). Not a faff at all, dead easy to use, just change the water every morning and add a capful of Milton - done.

I got a dishwasher when ds was 6 months and used that instead of the microwave steriliser from when he was about 9 months. Also at this age I started pouring boiling water from the kettle into a jumbo mug containing his dummies to sterilise them. Never had a problem.

K

PS ditto checking out the NCT sales - I got my Avent steriliser from there for £1!!!!

PPS room temps - I wouldn't get too hung up on baby having the correct amount of layers for the temp. Ds was early and very skinny and he was too cold which the amount of layers he was supposed to have for the temp. His first week at home the poor little thing hardly slept all night as he was too cold - I was too scared to give him an extra blanket and we both ended up miserable.

K