Question re sterilising and weaning - confused...

[Cheezywotsit]

Hello

I spoke to health visitor at the baby clinic today, who told me that when weaning everything had to be sterilised - bowls, spoons etc. I know that this is the case for bottles and things that will be a recepticle for milk but I didn't think thAt after 6 months anything other than a good wash with hot, soapy water would be necessary for bowls, spoons, blender etc. Can someone tell me whether she was right (the woman always confuses me....)

thanks a million in advance

I occasionally sterilised the spoons and bowls by pouring boiling water on them but only because I knew my washing up was a bit lax. I think they tell you to sterilise stuff as its the safest way to ensure your lo doesn't get anything nasty as people have very different standards of washing up but if you are sure they are washed well with very hot soapy water it should be fine. I met some people who did't even sterilise the bottles.

Yes, there are plenty of women who don't sterilise bottles anyway as it's possible to just use hot, soapy water.

I've never sterilised a thing in my life.

If you have a dishwasher, they act in the same way as a steriliser but otherwise, hot and soapy water is all you need.

I second the hot soapy water approach for weaning paraphernalia. I just make sure that the water's really hot (which makes me feel better about being the only person I know who doesn't stuff everything in the steriliser )

after 6 months weaning equipment is ok to be washed in hot soapy water without the need for sterilising

No need for sterilizing. Not even before 6 months.
I have a separate brush for DD's plates and cutlery, though.
She puts everything in her mouth, it would be pointless to sterilize.

This might help (advice on this website is checked by medical professionals).

I didn't sterilise weaning equipment! The advice is to keep sterilising bottles because warm milk a lovely place for bacteria to breed like crazy.

food isn't sterile!
hot soapy water is fine...

I didn't even sterilise bottles! I thought we didn't need to now....?

I've just stopped sterlising the bottles too at 6 months. Like Sazzles says if they are licking shoes or in my DS2's case, the cat, whats the point?

and of course you don't actually need spoons, bowls or a blender

My DD licked shoes too! Ugh!

I see the point that it seems pointless to sterilise when your baby is licking everything in sight (like the floor and shoes), but I think that the point is that milk in particular (rather than other normal weaning food) is a breeding ground for particularly nasty bugs which can make a small baby with an not-fully-developed immune system ill. See here. So oddly enough, licking mud from shoes is actually less bad than drinking nasty tummy bugs in unsterilised bottles.

But the older they get the more developed the immune system, so I for one got much more lax about sterilisation as my baby approached a year old.

Not that I think it's a good thing that babies lick shoes!