I have a niece who has a 6 week old daughter. She thinks it is o.k. to put her finger in the babies mouth if she can't find the babies pacifier. She is also staying with me for a week and I noticed that she does not sterilize babies nipples to bottles. Has something changed I have a three year old and I boiled steril;ized or sanitized or whatever with him. I was wondering did they come up with a new discovery that says you do not have to sterilize the nipples or pacifiers anymore?
2006-09-08 17:27:28 · 29 answers · asked by rosiejac 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
First child: Not only do you have your bottles lined up neatly in your baby bottle cabinet, color coded for breast milk, formula, juice, and water, but you buy a sterilizing kit and routinely boil nearly everything that comes in contact with your baby's mouth.
Second child: You buy a convenient plastic rack to hold baby bottle lids and nipples, and pop everything in the dishwasher.
Third child: Remember the five-second rule for when a piece of food falls on the ground?
Yup. It's pretty much like that. No harm really it seems.
2006-09-08 17:40:42 · answer #1 · answered by blankit 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
You live in the stone age. Here's my question to you. How do you sterilize a mothers nipple? If you can't sterilize the mothers nipple than why would you sterilze the other nipples? As for the finger thing why not. I do that with my daughter. My hands are clean and not soiled. Sometimes I actually think that sucking my finger is better than hers because it don't cause a habit.
But hey thats my opinion.
2006-09-09 00:55:51 · answer #2 · answered by evrythnnxs 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I have 6 kids and while I breastfeed as much as I can, when I have bottle fed I don't sterilize the nipples or pacifiers. Mine are all doing great. Alive and well. Do what you are comfortable with and yes a clean finger is an easy way to pacify a baby when a pacifier is unavailable.
2006-09-09 00:32:09 · answer #3 · answered by slingnmom 2 · 7⤊ 1⤋
Nothing new about it. Dirt is a fact of life. I'm not saying things shouldn't be properly washed, but sanitization is too over the top for anyone. Your Niece has the right of it - that kid is going to be sucking on her own toes, eating earthworms, chewing on shopping cart handles and heaven knows what else before long - do you think an unsanitized bottle nipple or pacifier is really going to make that much of an impact?! The kid will be fine! :-)
2006-09-09 00:39:39 · answer #4 · answered by Brutally Honest 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
As long as it's a clean finger, it's not a problem.
As for the bottles and such... we only boil our daughter's bottles, bottle caps, nipples, rings and pacifiers before their first use. After that, we wash them in the dishwasher or by hand when we've been away.
Our daughter is alive and well after 8 months of this with only minor bumps in the road that had nothing to with cleanliness.
2006-09-09 00:36:20 · answer #5 · answered by gonefornow 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Ok whoa...to all you negative people saying this woman is a lazy and bad mother! Shame on you! Do all of you keep your children in a bubble? Germs are everywhere! Think of your childs toys for example. Do you know how many germs are on them? Millions. No matter how many times you clean them they are still there. But you still let them play with them right? You can not protect your child from every germ out there! First off, as long as her finger is clean what is the problem? Second, it is not necessary to sterilize nipples or bottles as long as you clean them properly. Look it up and you will see that experts say this does not need to be done. They are also saying that you do not need to use nursary water for bottles and that tap water is ok to use as long as you live in areas with clean water.
People come on here to ask advice, not to be ridiculed for how they raise their children or take care of their children. Unless they are neglecting, beating or treating their child like crap then offer ADVICE and NOT OPINIONS!
2006-09-09 01:16:47 · answer #6 · answered by myexisajerk 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
the big thing that has changed is the immunizations we all got as kids and most diseases that used to be life threatening are not life threatening anymore, it is perfectly fine to clean the nipple or whatever with soap and hot water the baby will not get sick , sterilizing nipples actually melts them shut so the baby can't get enough fast enough, one of the best ways to pacify a teething baby is by rubbing the gum with your finger, your baby will not get thrush unless you have a fungus growing on your hands and in that case wear gloves cleaned with soap and hot water before sticking your fingers in their mouth
2006-09-09 00:43:36 · answer #7 · answered by Joe M 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is nothing wrong with sticking her finger in her babies mouth. (just as long as it's clean!) And if you read the instructions on the nipples, you only need to sterilize them once because if you do it more it may ruin the nipple. It really depends on the brand. Just as long as the nipples are washed with warm water and soap everything should be fine.
2006-09-09 00:39:55 · answer #8 · answered by Who? 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Yes, she should be sterilizing everything. At least until the baby's about 3 months old.
About the finger thing- as long as it's CLEAN, it's ok. I remember when my baby was a couple of weeks old and I took her to the doctor for her checkup- she was rooting (hungry), and about to cry so the doctor stuck her finger in her mouth for her to suck on (although she probably had on a surgical glove).
2006-09-09 00:52:41 · answer #9 · answered by catwomanmeeeeow 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If she's washing the bottles in the dishwasher, or doing them by hand in hot, soapy water, they're okay. After all, that's what you do for your family and they don't keel over. Nipples can be a little tricky to get clean but as long as they are rinsed promptly and stored safely, they don't have to be boiled unless the baby has thrush or something of that sort.
2006-09-09 00:35:38 · answer #10 · answered by old lady 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋