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NOT sterlising dummies - are we mad?

Ok lo is now 8 weeks. He is breastfed but does have a dummy. We have 6 dummys and use one for a 24hour period before changing it - if it gets spat on the floor he gets it back, if his big bro handles it he gets it back etc etc. We had been waiting for all 6 to have been used before washing adn then chucking in the sterliser and putting the lids on then they stayed on the windowsill till they were used.

We have decided this is just madness and a good hot wash will do as they are clearly not sterlie after 4 days on the windowsill and they are clearly not sterile throughout the day.

are we mad? Should we still do it?
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Replies

  • I only sterilise new dummies and then don't bother and just give them a good wash. Rhys is constantly messing with them or there falling on the floor etc so I constantly be sterilising dummies, plus everything goes in his mouth now anyway lol
  • Hey hun

    I sterilised ds dummy the first time we used it and thats it.

    Im a big believer in a bit of germs been good for there immune system. I did the same with dd and she has always been exposed to the dogs etc and she is never ill only when teething and she wasn't breastfed so im sure its because she has always been exposed to a bit of germs :lol: xx
  • I did very similar when Abby was little, and the world never ended - see how you get on though, if you find he's getting lots of ear infections (one of the main problems with dirty dummies!) then you can always re-think, xxx
  • G/C just to say - We don't sterilise our boobs??? Yet baby is fine! We just wash them and they are body temp - perfect for bacteria!! image xxx
  • I sterlise them when I do the bottles but if they land on the floor or my DS picks them up I just give them a wash and then run boiling water over them. A good wash is fine I wouldnt worry bout it I just chuck them in the sterliser at the end of the day for a big clean lol
  • i chuck them in the steriliser at the end of the day, and thats it
  • Good lord, no. We don't use dummies (he won't take one!) but if we did, I wouldn't be mithering around sterilising them. I have a baby. I have 25785790 better things to do, no spare time to do them in, and don't really eed to make extra work for myself!
  • woop woop - thanks for agreeing ladies that's the steriliser put away and forgotten about again!
  • Personally I chuck them in the sterliser at the end of the day with everything else, just because it's so easy to
  • As I pointed out since he is breastfed there isn't anything else going in the sterliser - seemed like a waste of electricity too for just a few dummies!
  • I bought 2 wee steriliser boxes from Mothercare...15ml of water and 90secs in the microwave and very handy to carry them round in. Have to admit I do them about once a week or if it's been on the floor outside the house but that's it.
  • before LO was six months we would chuck them in the sterliser each night and put them in the little box they came in untill needed, now hes past 6 months we just give them a wash in the sink
  • we dont steralise boobs because it's breastmilk. bacteria grows on bottles / dummies. not in milk ducts.

    dd only has a dummy very occasionally, so they are always steralised beforehand. she's 6 months so wont be having it for much longer either.
  • Hi both my girls have had dummies (lizzie still does) and i have never ever sterilsed any of them ever! and both are still here to tell the tell! lol.
    lizzie has been trying to chew anyones shoes she can find for the last 4 months and so i dont really see the point myself! although she is going to be the child who will eat the coal from the coal bucket if she finds it!!
    until she started putting everything in sight in her mouth i would rinse her dummy off if it dropped on the floor but nope i never sterilised them.
  • i sterilised mine once then not again ....if i was to sterilise every time it fell on the floor or my ds stole it of dd it would have been pointless having one as it would have spent more time in the steriliser,i just rinsed it!! i also think babies need to build up some immunity to germs and as long as we use our common sense they will be ok .
  • i've got a cold water steriliser so once they've been washed i just chuck them in there until i need one, BUT i will use the same dummy until i can't find it or the following day!! its constantly dropped and picked up and sucked by myself and the other kids and then shoved back in her mouth xxx
  • we dont steralise boobs because it's breastmilk. bacteria grows on bottles / dummies. not in milk ducts.

    Oooohhh! No need! image

    My quote about not sterilising boobs was offered 'tounge in cheek' as support.

    However, since you mentioned it. I have to correct you and point out that bacteria can grow almost anywhere and it can certainly grow on the surface of our breast image Although its not that common it happens.

    Quote (From medical publication):

    Breast infections are usually caused by a common bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) found on normal skin. The bacteria enter through a break or crack in the skin, usually on the nipple.

    The infection takes place in the fatty tissue of the breast and causes swelling. This swelling pushes on the milk ducts. The result is pain and lumps in the infected breast.

    Breast infections usually occur in women who are breast-feeding.


    My point is, there are bacteria EVERYWHERE from floors, to dummies, to skin but its all about common sense and as you can read most of us make a mental risk assesment and are pretty relaxed when it comes to a tiny ammount of germs. :\)
  • G/C but safe to say I was far more anal about sterilising with our first. Literally everything that went near him was sterilised, boiled, dettolled etc!! I'd learned my lesson by the time DD came along 3 years later and just used to sterilise bottles (obviously lol!) daily while washing dummies well and rinsing with boiling water when I remembered. We did have one of the little microwave dummy sterilisers though which was great til our microwave blew up!!!!
  • we don't all the packaging says is to wash under warm water before first use
  • I just drop them in a jug of boiling water after they have been used for a day and then keep them in a poly bag in my changing bag when I take them out the water so that if she drops one when we're out then I always have the clean ones on me x
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