To wash or not to wash? FTM is a total newb.

[michelle142]

Clothes, blankets & sheets for sure.

The rest is up to you, really.

I washed anything washable this time - RNP cover, bouncer/swing covers, carseat insert, playmats, washable toys. But with DS I didn't pre-wash any of that. I'm only doing it this time because it's been in storage.

[JEMandtheHolograms]

Everyone is going to have personal feels on this one. I'm in camp clothes (new born and 0-3 months), sheets, blankets and boil bottles. I will clean the pack n play, k'tan and car seat cover and related items per manufacturer directions.

As for the shopping cart cover--I didn't use that with DD until she was six months old or so (and for me, it wasn't worth the hassle) so I' would probably hold off on that one!

[krispy83]

I wash pretty much everything (clothes, sheets, blankets, etc.) I agree about holding off on washing the shopping cart cover because you won't use it for a while, but I would definitely wash that before you use it the first time.

[smyers2girls]

Jan 19, 2015 12:39:36 GMT -5 krispy83 said:

I wash pretty much everything (clothes, sheets, blankets, etc.) I agree about holding off on washing the shopping cart cover because you won't use it for a while, but I would definitely wash that before you use it the first time.

Yep. All of this ^^^
And I loved the shopping cart covers. You can also use them as high chair covers for restaurant high chairs. Shopping carts and high chairs are covered in germs, and with the flu and other virus' being so tough this year, I'll be all over using the cover!

[ambz06060]

Jan 19, 2015 12:29:54 GMT -5 JEMandtheHolograms said:

Everyone is going to have personal feels on this one. I'm in camp clothes (new born and 0-3 months), sheets, blankets and boil bottles. I will clean the pack n play, k'tan and car seat cover and related items per manufacturer directions.

As for the shopping cart cover--I didn't use that with DD until she was six months old or so (and for me, it wasn't worth the hassle) so I' would probably hold off on that one!

Are you not supposed to use soap to wash bottles? or the dishwasher?? I don't know!

[michelle142]

Jan 19, 2015 14:14:26 GMT -5 ambz06060 said:

Jan 19, 2015 12:29:54 GMT -5 JEMandtheHolograms said:

Everyone is going to have personal feels on this one. I'm in camp clothes (new born and 0-3 months), sheets, blankets and boil bottles. I will clean the pack n play, k'tan and car seat cover and related items per manufacturer directions.

As for the shopping cart cover--I didn't use that with DD until she was six months old or so (and for me, it wasn't worth the hassle) so I' would probably hold off on that one!

Are you not supposed to use soap to wash bottles? or the dishwasher?? I don't know!

You can use soap and the dishwasher on bottles. Just regular old dish soap and rinse well.

Boiling the bottles once in a while just sterilizes them. I do it to new bottles/nipples, or after LO has been sick to kill off any lingering germs.

[mrsclark731]

I think I was the one that mentioned the car seat liner and inserts.

I inherited a lot of baby stuff from my sister. The clothes were great--all washed, folded and sorted. I didn't have to do much. But all of her other newborn stuff was in storage for the past year. So I washed everything I could and wiped everything else down.

Other than that I stuck to the basics; sheets, clothes, blankets, towels, washcloths etc.

[pitdigger]

Of things that are new, I just washed clothes, sheets, towels, cloth diapers and covers, cloth wipes, wash clothes, bottles, and pump parts. Bottles and pump parts will be sterilized pror to first use. I also washed all of the stroller stuff, but that's because I got it used and it had been sitting for awhile. If I had bought the stroller new, I likely would not have washed everything for it.

[JEMandtheHolograms]

Sorry--cannot figure out how to quote on here without starting a new thread!

I boil bottles in the following situations:
1) To start with (either to get rid of manufacturer residue and/or they were used by DD and have been in the cabinet for a while)
2) About once every 2-3 weeks with LO is super tiny and not yet vaccinated
3) If there is any illness in the house

Once DD hit like 4/5 months old--the dishwater and/or handwashing was just fine. I hope that helps clarify. I know some moms who boiled every day, and some who never did. All the kids were fine. It will probably also factor if you SAH, drop off at daycare, have a nanny, etc.

[misshart00]

I've also used the madela steam bags for bottles occasionally.

[lrjjj08]

The medela steam bags are good, or I run the sanitize function on my dishwasher before first use. Then, every 2-3 weeks after that. I washed pretty much everything that was fabric, clothes, blankets, all covers including the car seat and RNP. It had been sitting in bags since my son, so just wanted them dust free!

[michelle142]

I have munchkin brand steam bags - those work well also. And they are a bit larger than the Medela ones.

[kmcookie]

Thank you for this thread! We were shopping today, and didn't buy special dish soap, bc I was pretty sure you could use your normal stuff. Then I flipped out, bc if I don't know about dish soap, how will I ever figure this out. So thank you. I feel better.

[misshart00]

Jan 19, 2015 17:59:08 GMT -5 kmcookie said:

Thank you for this thread! We were shopping today, and didn't buy special dish soap, bc I was pretty sure you could use your normal stuff. Then I flipped out, bc if I don't know about dish soap, how will I ever figure this out. So thank you. I feel better.

I think half the problem is all the companies out there telling you that you "have to have" special everything. When really, you don't.

[kmcookie]

Jan 19, 2015 19:06:13 GMT -5 misshart00 said:

Jan 19, 2015 17:59:08 GMT -5 kmcookie said:

Thank you for this thread! We were shopping today, and didn't buy special dish soap, bc I was pretty sure you could use your normal stuff. Then I flipped out, bc if I don't know about dish soap, how will I ever figure this out. So thank you. I feel better.

I think half the problem is all the companies out there telling you that you "have to have" special everything. When really, you don't.

Yes, that's definitely a lot of the problem. There's so very much out there that we don't NEED. I try to think about it in the context of another time period, which can help sometimes. Did my mom need that or something like it? No? Will it make my life a lot better than my mom's when she was dealing with babies?