Pre-washing baby items, how crazy are you going?

Valancyy · May 2014

Just curious. I may have made a post like this before, quite a few months ago.

Anyway, are you guys washing EVERYTHING? By that I mean, are you washing the cover of your bouncer/swing/RNP? Are you washing every stuffed animal, every toy?

As a FTM I washed every single thing. By my 2nd I let a few things slide. This time around most of my items are previously used, so they have been washed before. We just bought a new bouncer and I'm debating whether I should throw the cover in the wash before the baby comes, or just leave it as is.

Not a terribly important, urgent problem, but thought I'd throw it out there. What are you guys doing?

tabaskoa · May 2014

I'm washing the obvious stuff...clothes, swaddles, burp clothes, etc. I don't think I'll wash bouncer or swing covers unless they look gross when I pull them out. Same with toys...probably only if they look gross, and then I may just throw them out (lazy, yeah).

+RBL+ · May 2014

It never even occurred to me to wash the covers or the bouncer, carseat, etc. with my first. Some of those items were washed after DS arrived do to poop or vomit, but I probably won't wash them before DD arrives, unless they look like the need it.

I will wash all of DD's clothes, sheets, swaddles, blankets, and burp clothes.

Valancyy · May 2014

Str31 said:

I assumed just linens, clothes, bibs and clothing. I never really thought about things like toys! We have some plush items.... I don't want to wash them unless I have to! Is that bad?!

No...I washed them (by hand, just wiped them down) with my 1st, but I didn't with my 2nd. I stopped being so crazy by then

Pretty much all of the stuffed animals have been thrown in the washer by this time (oldest is almost 4). When your child sleeps with a bunch of animals every night, and occasionally wets the bed still, you have to do what you have to do!

enigmasara · May 2014

I hadn't thought about the covers for things like the swing, bouncer, etc, that's a good idea, especially since they will be new & probably have some sort of chemical residue on them. I haven't yet washed any clothes. I want to see what all I have after our shower & decide if there is anything that I'm going to return.

As far as the toys & stuffed animals I'm not as concerned because she won't be playing with those until she is older & her immune system is more developed. If I get any hand me down toys, those might get washed.

We have 3 dogs & 2 cats so no matter what I do this kid is going to get exposed to stuff!

Allison7 · May 2014

I am a FTM, but I plan on washing clothes, sheets, changing pad covers, etc. I am not washing suffered animals or covers to thing like the bouncer unless they have a really bad odor. My shower is in 2.5 weeks, so we will see then what the clothing situation is. I have a feeling that I will get a lot of clothes in NB and 3 mo sizes, so I will exchange some of that for larger sizes right away. I am also only going to wash the NB sized outfit that I will take her home from the hospital in (also packing a different option in the next larger size). I think she will be totally averaged sized, but DH was a big baby so there is a chance that she might skip that size. I figure I can take the tags off and wash all of the NB stuff as soon as we get home if that looks like a good size for her and if she is too big, then I can still return it!

Laur110 · May 2014

Str31 said:

I assumed just linens, clothes, bibs and clothing. I never really thought about things like toys! We have some plush items.... I don't want to wash them unless I have to! Is that bad?!

This is my mindset exactly. I have some plush lovies that I hadn't even thought of washing, ditto for swing and bouncer covers.

I haven't washed anything yet!

HalseytoBe · May 2014

Anything that's used I'm definitely washing! But I'm also washing things like bibs, clothes, blankets, hats, etc. In terms of equipment, I'm washing stroller seat covers (it was used), and new bouncer/RnP/swing covers. I just feel like they have a weird plastic smell when they are brand new, plus I love the smell of Dreft. I will also ensure all things that will be directly in their mouths (pacifiers, teethers, rattles, etc.) will be sanitized. However, small toys and other items that I get new will probably just be cleaned and sanitized as they are used.

LilSip0611 · May 2014

My coworker had given us bouncers, swings, etc. and I just washed the covers for those yesterday. Anything new that we get for our shower as gifts I don't plan on washing. And I'm undecided on whether to wash new baby clothes. My best friend's SIL is a dermatologist and said it's really not necessary. She's also one of the most neurotic people I have ever met so if she didn't wash them, I'm not worried. ETA: Spelling

Valancyy · May 2014

LilSip0611 said:

My coworker had given us bouncers, swings, etc. and I just washed the covers for those yesterday. Anything new that we get for our shore as gifts I don't plan on washing. And I'm undecided on whether to wash new baby clothes. My best friend's SIL is a dermatologist and said it's really not necessary. She's also one of the most neurotic people I have ever met so if she didn't wash them, I'm not worried.

I was so much more lenient on this with my 2nd. With our first I remember my parents coming over with a cute outfit and my husband wanting to put it on the baby right away. I was like, "no! We have to wash it first!" The 2nd time around, I just put the outfit on the baby brand new with no washing.

SLMckinnon · May 2014

I'm washing just the obvious things like sheets, blankets, cloth diapers and clothes. I never even thought about washing the covers of things like the bouncer and swing. They're new so I kinda assumed they'd be ok!

herecomesthesun · May 2014

I figure we all lived through a time when our parents didn't wash every stuffed animal- and they were in the crib with us.

I'm washing anything used as we have lots of hand-me-downs (clothes, swing, bouncy seat, etc)

I'll wash new stuff too eventually.

We already use a free and clear detergent so I'm not buying special detergent either.

kaitm22 · May 2014

I am washing all the clothes as I get them. The cloth diapers I have been slowly accumulating I am waiting to prep until much closer to baby's arrival.

I had been thinking about doing the bouncer/swing which we just got from BIL and SIL this weekend, but I was feeling kind of lazy about those. Maybe I will go on a washing spree and be more concerned once my due date gets closer.

caballablanca · May 2014

I was clothes, blankets, bibs etc when they are itty bitty. Not so picky now that dd is almost 2 and has no skin sensitivity. I sanitized binkies, bottles etc when I first got them. Other than that, I left covers on and didn't wash unless they got funky.

MandMLeona · May 2014

Our first DD has very sensitive skin, and is also allergic to a lot of the chemicals they use in foam, etc. So I'll be washing anything that will come in contact with the new baby's skin. I'll also be airing out anything new so the chemicals can off gas before the LO is surrounded by it. After we've had time to determine how sensitive this one is, we can hopefully go back to a more relaxed approach.

mislogis · May 2014

Clothes and linens yes. Chair covers etc yes bc this is #3 and they have been in storage for 5 years. Yuck.

Fwiw I didn't wash any of it the first go round. Only after it was christened with bodily fluids or milk.

pmpkn219 · May 2014

I don't recall prewashing anything for my first, besides the clothes and receiving/swaddling blankets. But RNP/swing/carseat fabric/stuffed animals- all no.

This time I will wash the "gear", just because it's hand-me-downs from J, so they've been sitting in a spare bedroom, could be a bit dusty

[Deleted User] · May 2014

I'm not washing clothes yet until I see how much we have of each size. My sister left all the tags on things until she made decisions about how many to keep and what to exchange, and she always ended up exchanging a lot of things.

I am going to wash the things that were given to me used from friends...but I hadn't thought about washing things like the car seat cover, etc....maybe I should do that, too!

I'm waiting until the end of June to do that sort of thing, though, or they'll probably just get dusty.

ungraceful13 · May 2014

I already washed the clothes. I wash it as I buy it (used mainly). I need to wash the swing and rnp cover since they have been in storage a year. I wont wash stuffed animals.

Kelliwilsoca · May 2014

I'll be washing all bedding, swing cover, one sleep sack, a few clothes, some burp cloths, and some blankets. I don't want to wash everything because all my friends that did wished they didn't. One the baby didn't it into a lot of the clothes already... Too big for newborns. The other washed like 19 sleep sacks and the kid hated them... They never used them. The both wished they could have taken the stuff not used back.

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