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rivkaAlex has thrush, which is a minor and relatively common-in-babies yeast infection in the mouth. She's had it a lot. So we've got the drill down. When we're treating for yeast, we sterilize her bottle nipples after each use, and her pacifier every time we treat her mouth.
This morning I washed up bottles while boiling water fot my tea. I put the nipples and her most recent pacifier in a little pan of water and set them over a flame to boil. I poured my tea and fixed a bowl of cereal. I ate my breakfast while Alex played on the floor. We played some together. I went upstairs and put some files I needed for work on a thumb drive, and set up the work laptop on the couch. I fixed Alex a bottle. Here's what I did not do: maintain any recollection of the pot boiling on the stove.
Suddenly I heard a couple of pops and smelled something sort of electrical. I looked anxiously at the laptop, but it seemed fine. The smell continued.
"Oh my God!" I set Alex down on the floor and ran into the kitchen. Sure enough, the pan had boiled dry and her pacifier had begun to melt. The nipples had taken on a weird cloudy cast. I turned off the stove and ran cold water into the pan.
Accidents happen, right? Except that this is, conservatively, the third time Michael or I have ruined nipples and pacifiers while trying to sterilize them. I always laughed at the people who paid money for a separate sterilizer - why didn't they just use boiling water? - but now I'm beginning to get the idea.
This morning I washed up bottles while boiling water fot my tea. I put the nipples and her most recent pacifier in a little pan of water and set them over a flame to boil. I poured my tea and fixed a bowl of cereal. I ate my breakfast while Alex played on the floor. We played some together. I went upstairs and put some files I needed for work on a thumb drive, and set up the work laptop on the couch. I fixed Alex a bottle. Here's what I did not do: maintain any recollection of the pot boiling on the stove.
Suddenly I heard a couple of pops and smelled something sort of electrical. I looked anxiously at the laptop, but it seemed fine. The smell continued.
"Oh my God!" I set Alex down on the floor and ran into the kitchen. Sure enough, the pan had boiled dry and her pacifier had begun to melt. The nipples had taken on a weird cloudy cast. I turned off the stove and ran cold water into the pan.
Accidents happen, right? Except that this is, conservatively, the third time Michael or I have ruined nipples and pacifiers while trying to sterilize them. I always laughed at the people who paid money for a separate sterilizer - why didn't they just use boiling water? - but now I'm beginning to get the idea.
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no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 01:14 pm (UTC)Are you Steve Wald's sister or am I making that up? Hi, it's Elizabeth Wein here!
no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 01:36 pm (UTC)I'm not placing your name, I'm afraid, although it does sound familiar. Where/when have we met?
no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 01:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 02:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 02:13 pm (UTC)I getcha. But Steve knows, cause he spilled the beans to me and gave me your username. I'm Rachel's cousin Elizabeth, from Scotland--we met at their wedding. I write YA fiction. (I think you might have read my first book, The Winter Prince. you can go ahead and delete all this if you want to preserve your anonymity!)
no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 01:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 04:23 pm (UTC)Steriliser
Date: 2005-09-21 01:23 pm (UTC)What I would be very wary of is a cold water steriliser, because the whole bleach thing bothers me greatly.
I never realised bottle-fed babies got thrush. It seems obvious, now I think of it, but for some reason my head puts it in with mastitis as a breastfeeding illness.
Re: Steriliser
Date: 2005-09-21 10:11 pm (UTC)Medela micro-steam bags...
Date: 2005-09-21 01:25 pm (UTC)Re: Medela micro-steam bags...
Date: 2005-09-21 01:52 pm (UTC)You can also just use a plain old freezer bag, just don't seal it all the way. Ditto for a plastic Tupperware-type container, though in that case, if it gets too hot inside, the top will just blow off on its own.
Re: Medela micro-steam bags...
Date: 2005-09-22 04:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 02:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 03:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-23 11:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 02:33 pm (UTC)Forgetting pans-on-stove is unfortunately one of my bad habits.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 03:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 04:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 04:46 pm (UTC)- Enfamil formula with lipil.
- Organic brown rice cereal.
It's not a very complicated regimen. ;-)
Nothing I've read about thrush in babies suggests that it's diet-related, but thanks for your suggestion. I'm going to ask her doctor if she can takr acidophilus.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 05:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 07:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 07:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 06:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 10:17 pm (UTC)There's also Gentian Violet, which REALLY kicks thrush's ass. I had systemic thrush for about a year, did Diflucan, etc. What finally worked was GV. Screaming pain to cleared up in three days, and didn't come back for months. I finally went on a low carb diet and that got rid of it for good. Not practical for an infant, but the GV works like a charm. There are possible issues with side effects though, so investigate, obviously. I'm not a medical professional. And the GV stains everything it comes in contact with a lovely deep purple.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 05:31 pm (UTC)I also recommend the use of 1: a cake-rack in the bottom of the pan, 2: placing that cake rack high in a large pot and 3: the investment of a Sil-pat to place on the cake rack. That ought to provide enough insulation to save them, even if you forget.
Given my kitchen, I'd use the pasta boiler, in lieu of a double-boiler, but I have one, and not everyone does, nor has the space to put one.
TK
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Date: 2005-09-21 06:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 07:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 09:12 pm (UTC)That disclaimer being disclaimed, my first reaction was "timer!".
My second reaction was "could you use a double boiler for this?" Being the aforementioned clueless single guy, I don't know if the top of a double boiler would get hot enough.
My third reaction is to suggest that if you tend to boil little pans of water dry, use big pans of water. With lots of water. And maybe an extra timer...
no subject
Date: 2005-09-22 03:52 am (UTC)For practical purposes, that's probably enough, but it takes a long time to tranfer that much energy to the amount of water needed to make the nipples sterile. She'd probably have to refill the bottom at least twice, and the time spent reheating the lower water would lead to a slower response time, esp. if she forgot, and it boiled dry.
TK
no subject
Date: 2005-09-22 04:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-22 12:56 pm (UTC)If you have a microwave oven, get a microwave steriliser. I had four kids before i got one, boiled a million bottles, teats and dummies (pacifiers) into mush, and then with the fifth, never boiled another one.
I can't recommend them highly enough.
Of course, if you don't have a microwave, you need a timer that really screams.
Give my best regards to Jae. I'm glad Alex is thriving so well.
Emma
no subject
Date: 2005-09-22 04:21 pm (UTC)