Bath water is it ok?

[Miss Tazar]

Just wondering, does anyone know why it is so important to sterilise bottles and use boiled water when we bath babies in tap water?
I've been confused about this since we had our bub, if tap water is no good for her what happens when she sucks on the flannel etc?:confused:

[elissas]

I have water filters in the kitchen and on our bath and shower taps. Chlorine, dirt and other nasties are absorbed just as much through the skin as they are through ingestion.

The water actually feels more refreshing, it's amazing. And DS knows it too! He cries through every bath that doesn't use filtered water!!

[Tea Lady]

Hi Roxi, this is the exact reason I stopped sterilising - i couldn't see the point when she was taking gulps of tap water that her backside had been in!! My bub was fine. Maybe it depends a bit on how old yours is, but I agree it doesn't seem consistent, and no-one tells you not to let them drink the water, so I figure it's not a big risk. :)

[2littleprincesses]

And they go and crawl through the vege box and put a handful of dirt in their mouths and you think "hey I didn't sterilise that!" ???

I stopped sterilising, but I still use cool boiled water for formula. Bubs need a healthy amount of germs to build up their immune system. Of course that doesn't mean living in filth!

My parents told me about my (yuppie) cousin who was raising a DD on organic food. She was at a relos place one day and lunged at the cat food shoving it in her mouth. My aunt said "i bet that isn't organic!"

[drewid]

Hi Roxi, this is the exact reason I stopped sterilising - i couldn't see the point when she was taking gulps of tap water that her backside had been in!! My bub was fine. Maybe it depends a bit on how old yours is, but I agree it doesn't seem consistent, and no-one tells you not to let them drink the water, so I figure it's not a big risk. :)

Thats what I figured too - once Andrew was of an age where he was sucking facewashers and drinking bath water, sterilising was a non-issue!

[reAllytee]

My parents told me about my (yuppie) cousin who was raising a DD on organic food. She was at a relos place one day and lunged at the cat food shoving it in her mouth. My aunt said "i bet that isn't organic!"

Sorry i just had to say that almost made me wet myself :laughing:
Ahhhh awesome !

Yeah bubs loves sucking on his flannel but yet i still dont have the guts to stop sterlising. Ive started doing half half with boiled water & tap so at least thats something :yelclap:
Sorry as you can see i love the new smilies ! :smiliedance:

Man im still giggling over that comment .... Whats the saying "small things amuse small minds" oh wells maybe its better i have a small brain :p

[kyeaj]

:yelclap: I agree!!! My lo did and still does the same thing (sucking on the flannel) :D

I too, still use cooled boiled water for his formula, but stopped sterilising at 6mths as I was advised by my nurse who agreed it was pointless seeing as he would even lean forward in the bath to drink the water :laughing: ! I suppose that's how they build up their immune systems hey? Not game enough to let him drink the tap water though....

When do you let them now I think about it???

[KatherineIV]

When I went to our antinatal classes they told us NOT to sterilise anything. (we still used boiled water for formula bottles etc)

I once found my 9month old son sucking on the cats tail.. he also enjoys sand (as we have just built a new house and have no backyard.. not to mention all our camping trips)... He is is better health than most of the children whose mothers do go the full distance...Since birth he has had one cold (which we are in the middle of at the moment) but apart from that perfect health. he other children have had viruses, rashes etc

I don't know the "medical" benefits... but I personally believe Morgan hasn;t been disadvantaged for the methods I have used... and his health has definitely reflected it.

:ecomcity: Am I going on too much? hehe

[Kirstlea]

This makes me cringe to tell you all this but I stopped sterilising everything when my dd started letting the dog lick her tonge:eek: :eek:

I can't believe she does that, it makes my stomach turn everytime I catch her at it.

The bath water thing, well dd also likes to drink it, thats another stomach turner for me but to this day I can't stop her no matter how many times I say don't drink the bath water, you only drink from a cup. Anyone would think I don't give her anything to drink:o

We do still boil our drinking water though as Gardia is a problem up here and we also only have rain water tanks so who knows what is growing in the bottom of those.

I think we all sterilise to make us feel that we are doing the right thing for our children (which by the way we are) but when you see what they do once they start crawling you really wonder what all the fuss is about.

Sorry if I went on a bit :ecomcity:

[pegasus]

I was told to sterilise but my sister who's son is 3months now has said that the latest info is that no sterilisation is necessary. I've also read that on here - wash anything in warm soapy water instead.

I never gave my son boiled water - he never drank formula and I breast fed him instead of any water drinks - once I started giving him water, I figured he could drink the same water as me. I did sterilise the bottles I put his EBM in and will probably do the same this time - moreso for the reason that I don't want my steriliser to go to waste as this will be it's last use.:p

As for when I stopped sterilising his dummies etc, it was probably around the time that I started giving him solids - I figured if I was mashing banana in a bowl out of the cupboard, with a fork out of the drawer what else could I do? He wasn't much of a flannel sucker till recently when he thinks it's funny to put a flannel in his mouth and shake his head from side to side and pretend he's something!

[KatherineIV]

I find it interesting that with bottles we are told to sterilise but what about when we breast feed? There are a number of issues including lint, sweat... just to name a few...

I think as a society we have become paranoid about germs...

[lovemybub]

I think we do have to be careful of germs to a certain extent when our bubs are newborn, as their immune system is still a bit immature, but I've always subscribed to the theory that if it's not going to kill them it will only make them stronger!

I always thought it was funny that I could express milk into a clean glass (that wasn't necessarily sterilised) but had to sterilise bub's bottle. I figure if it's clean enough for me to use, then it's clean enough for her.

I think many people are starting to realise that wrapping our babies in sterile-hysteria only makes them more susceptible to germs later on.

I mean, how many of us used to rub our food in the dirt, or eat sand of the beach, or any number of things, and we all turned out okay? Didn't we...?

Well, most us...;)