This has come up twice today so I thought it may be a good time to post about how I feed Lu.

Remember when my sister sent me this book?

Well I voraciously read it and I have to say that I almost completely agree with her viewpoint on feeding children.

I mentioned this quote before but I think it bears repeating:

"You can’t control or dictate the quantity of food your child eats, and you shouldn’t try. You also can’t control or dictate the kind of body your child develops, and you shouldn’t try. What you can do, and it is a great deal, is set things up for your child so she, herself, can regulate her food intake as well as possible, and so she can develop a healthy body that is constitutionally right for her."

The book also helped me to understand why I have some of the food issues that I have.  It was a wonderful “a-ha” moment.  It was originally written in 1978 and revised in 2000 so it is quite current but it also touches on some of the beliefs around nutrition from my childhood.  The author is a nutritionist and a psychologist and most of her beliefs are backed up by studies.  It’s a wonderful read and I recommend it to everyone!  I think it would be interesting to read even if you didn’t have kids but maybe I’m a bit weird (well I KNOW I’m a bit weird).

MANY people have commented about the variety of food Lu eats and what she’ll actually eat.  She is only 17 month old (almost 18-*gulp*) but I think that her “mature palate” has to do with the way we’ve fed her.  I hope that she continues to be adventurous with food and we don’t go down the route of PB&J at every meal.

Here’s what we do:

-First it started with introducing her to solids.  I made sure to give her all sorts of different homemade baby foods (it doesn’t need to be homemade-I just really enjoyed making it).  I didn’t let my preferences dictate what I gave her.  I HATE papaya but I tried it with Lu and she LOVED it.  I used Wholesome Baby Foods to guide me on what to give her at the different stages and I adhered (pretty strictly) to the 1 new food every 3 days rule.  It helps rule out any allergies.

-Once she hit about a year (maybe a bit earlier) she started getting what we ate.  I would cut it up in kid appropriate sizes but she mainly ate what we were eating.  At this point the only thing she wasn’t eating was shellfish and peanut butter so everything else was fair game.

-If she asks for something that I’m eating, even if I think she’ll hate it, I let her have some.  Except raw sushi and alcohol (or anything else potentially dangerous). You wouldn’t believe some of the things she loves! Beet juice anyone?

-Very importantly we sit down for dinner as a family every night. Very rarely do we not eat together as a family.  It makes for a hectic time after work but I feel very strongly that she should eat with us and that we should all sit down together.  On the weekends we eat breakfast (usually) as a family but not lunch.  Lu eats lunch at 11 and naps at 12-which is a bit early for us.  Sometimes I eat a snack while she’s eating lunch.

-She gets food at a predictable time and at predictable intervals. Breakfast is around 8, snack at 9:30, lunch at 11, snack at 2:30 and 5, dinner at 6:30.  Daycare helped to establish this schedule but it is important.  She shouldn’t ever feel like she doesn’t know when the next meal (or mini meal) is coming.

-She always has free access to water but milk is only given at meal times and at some snacks.  You don’t want the kiddos to fill up on milk and then not eat solids.  We normally don’t do juice but if we did, it would only be given with meals.

-I feed her wholesome, healthy, and good tasting meals that are high in (good) fats.  She needs it for brain growth.  A lot of time I add butter, olive oil, or avocado to her meals in order to bulk them up. 

-Additionally, she very rarely gets processed food BUT I don’t make it taboo either.  I give her “bad foods” on occasion and don’t make a big deal about it.  Ellyn Satter actually recommends giving your kid a plate of cookies and milk for a snack every once in awhile (NOT everyday) that way things aren’t looked at as “treats” but more just as food.  I tried this with Lu with Oreos-she hated them.  She does like other cookies though!

-On the treat note, she recommends giving your child dessert with dinner. She doesn’t get treats every night but when I think of it she gets her treats with dinner or none at all. Amazingly she’ll take a bite of cookie and then eat broccoli. She did that last night. This way she decides when she’s full. The theory is that if you offer kids cookies at the end of a meal, they may already be full but will eat it because it’s a treat which teaches them to eat past their fullness. She gets more of everything on her plate (if she asks for it) EXCEPT the dessert-that is a set amount. The first night we did this she asked for more but I explained that that was it and she got mad and then kinda shrugged and ate other stuff on her plate. She also now leave cookies uneaten on her plate when she’s full

-I don’t make “kid food”.  Sometimes I alter things slightly but by and large she eats what we eat.  I make sure to have something on her plate that I know she’ll eat-bread, crackers, pasta, rice but it’s up to her to decide what she wants and what she doesn’t want.  Her plate always has protein, veggies, carbs, and healthy fat on it.  It’s her choice to eat what’s on her plate. 

-She gets as much or as little food as she wants (except for the aforementioned “dessert” with dinner).  This even holds true for cookies at snack, the bread at dinner and so on.  If she wants more and she’s sitting in her high chair or at her table-I give it to her.

-We try not to let her roam with food.  We try to get her to eat it at the table or at her high chair.  Sometimes snacks turn into roaming but breakfast, lunch, and dinner are eaten at the table.

-If she doesn’t eat what we’ve offered and wants down from the table we let her down.  She doesn’t get anymore food until at least an hour has passed unless she wants to come back up to the table and eat what we’ve offered.

-I talk to her about all of this.  I tell her that it’s okay if she doesn’t want something but she will not be getting anything else for at least an hour.  Sometimes she reconsiders. 😉

-I try not to make a big deal about what she is or isn’t eating.  Sometimes this is hard though 😉

I *think* that’s it.  Do I always follow these rules 100%?  Nope but I sure try!  Is this the only way?  Nope but it’s working for me.  Could she become one of those kids who will only eat one thing and one thing only?  Maybe but I sure hope not!

Last weekend, while at the Farmer’s Market, Beth commented that she hasn’t been brave enough to cook her own artichokes.  I grew up on artichokes-we always used to FIGHT over the heart and my Dad would cut it up into little slivers for us.  They’re actually quite easy to make! Beth this is for you!

1. Get some artichokes!

2. Cut the stems off.

3. Cut the tops off.

4. Rip the little leaves off the bottom:

5. Trim the tips of the leaves with scissors.

6. Put about 1.5 inches of water into a pan with a steam insert.

7. Rub artichokes with lemon, place into insert-base of artichoke down, and squeeze lemon juice over the artichokes. Then add lemons in with the artichokes.

8. Cover, bring to a boil, and then simmer for 30-45 minutes. Make sure your pan has enough water throughout (I’ve ruined a pan making artichokes with not enough water). At 30 minutes, test for doneness.  Test by trying to remove a leaf-if it comes easily, taste it-if it’s the right consistency (not tough) it’s done.  If it’s still tough, cover and check every 5 minutes until it is the right consistency. 

9. Remove from pan and let cool.

10. Enjoy! I serve mine with mayo and reduced balsamic vinegar.

Lu liked them!

*Warning-pictures of meat-raw and cooked.  If meat grosses you out, read no further.*

I cook a MEAN steak.  My secret weapon?

McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning. I get it at Costco and use it on almost all of my grilled meats.  It does have one evil ingredient:

PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL *shudder* It’s worth it.  This stuff is amazing.  I cover the steak on all sides with the seasoning.

Meanwhile, I have a clean grill heating up, on high. Once the grill hits between 600-700 degrees, I throw the steaks on with my handy dandy temperature probe:

After about 6 minutes I flip the steak.  Then I wait for the probe to hit the desired temp (130 for medium-rare, 140 for medium, 155 for medium well, 160 for well).  If you don’t have a temperature probe total cooking times vary depending on the thickness of your meat but a good guide is: 10 minutes total cooking time for medium-rare, 15 for medium, 20 minutes for well done.  A medium-rare steak is soft, a medium steak is firm but yielding, and a well done steak (ick) will be firm.

Remove it from the grill and then let your steak rest for 5 minutes-it’ll continue to cook and will rise about 5 degrees.

I cooked Lu’s medium:

Shaun and I like ours medium-rare. YOM.

Work put on a women’s conference the last few days and the buzz phrase has been “Work/Life Integration” rather than “Work/Life Balance”.  This isn’t to say that you should integrate work into your life but more that your life should be integrated into your work.  A perfect example happened for me today.  They were having a Halloween Parade at daycare and I needed to leave work at 3:45 in order to get there on time and participate.  I got all my work done and could do this, so I did.  Integrating my life into work.

I’m so glad I went.  Where else would I get to see this?

There were some really amazing points made today that I want to capture.  I think the one that struck home with me the most was “Know what you CAN do and know what you WILL do.” there is a difference.  I could have made Lucy’s costume but I found it online and love how it turned out.  I could have made it but I will buy it (and DID!).

Another powerful point was do what you need to do to not feel guilty.  That doesn’t mean doing everything and doing it perfectly.  It means that you have to pick your battles and decide what is really important to you.  If you’re going to feel guilt about not doing something or doing something then make the right decision.  I would have felt guilty had I not gone to Lucy’s Halloween party, so I went.

Another aspect that I struggle with is that I need help.  I can’t do everything myself and that’s okay.  Even if it means it won’t be up to my standard. Shaun gets Lucy ready in the morning.  Sometimes that means that she goes to daycare with buttons not buttoned and sock that aren’t exactly right.  In the long run, who cares?  I’m sane.

There were many other fantastic points made but the last two that I want to talk about had to do with me time and us time.  Make time for it.  Make time for me and make time for us-Shaun and I. I always said that I would do this and I really haven’t.  Shaun and I have been on 3 dates in the last 13 months.  We need to work on that.  I also need to work on taking time for myself.  I’ve gotten better but I really HATE to be away from Lucy.  I feel like I’m already away from her so much during the week but I also know that I’m a better Mommy if I get some me time.  I go to Knit Night every Wednesday night and I’m trying to do something every weekend for a few hours just for me.  Sometimes that only means a bath but hey, it’s better than nothing.

Isn’t my little fairy princess adorable?

Exciting Delivery

So, I got my exciting delivery.  Maybe these will illustrate what it was?

Coffee? Nope. Guess again! This may help…

Did you figure it out? Do you think a point and shoot camera could do that? NO!  I got a new DSLR camera!!!!  It came today right when I had meeting and then I had the conference.  Starbucks was the first chance I had to play around with it and then I used it in the pictures of Lucy above. I love love LOVE it and can’t wait to see what it can do.  My fancy schmancy lens comes tomorrow.  Yay pretty pictures!

Popcorn made on the stove is seriously amazing! My Mom used to make it all the time and I decided to try it for myself last week. It’s really easy and so much better than microwave.

First get out everything you’ll need:

From left to right: A pot with a tight fitting lid, vegetable oil (or any kind of lighter oil), measuring cup and spoons, popcorn, salt, and a fun bowl to dump it in.

Next, put about a tablespoon of oil in the pan. Make sure that the bottom of the pan is coated. If it’s not, the popcorn will stick to the pan and burn.

Next, put about 10 kernels of popcorn in the pan.

Cover and turn the heat to high.

As that heats up, measure out your popcorn. For 1 person, I do 1/4 cup. This was for Shaun and me so I did half a cup.

When the tester kernels start to pop, you know the oil and pan are hot enough. Quickly add the measured popcorn and cover. Wait and listen for the pops! You can hold the lid and shake the pan (try to keep contact with the heat source). I don’t know if this does anything but my Mom always did it and it reminds me of popcorn so I do it.

As soon as the pops start to slow down, take the popcorn off the heat and dump it into the waiting bowl. Add salt and enjoy!

Yum!

I went down to Bakersfield this  weekend for my 10 year high school reunion.  It was fun but I over-indulged and had a 2 day hangover!!!  You know you’re getting old when your hung over for 2 days.

Lisa and I have been friends since 7th grade!

I woke up at 5:30 this morning but there was no way I could workout.  I felt like I was going to toss my cookies (again) so I took it easy today but will be back at it tomorrow.

I made a great dinner tonight!  Quick and easy and the whole family enjoyed it.  I took 2 salmon filets and put lemon juice, salt and pepper on them and baked them in a 450* oven for ~20 minutes.  I made whole wheat orso and chopped up some marinated artichoke hearts, capers, lemon juice, spinach, s+p, and parmesean (YUM).  And then I just blanched some brocolini.  It took me 20 minutes to makeand was delish!

After dinner I got a whole chicken with parsnips, potatoes, carrots, and onions ready for the crockpot tomorrow.  The chicken has a spice rub on it overnight and then I’ll stick it in the crockpot in the morning.  I’m very excited to use the temperature probe function in my crockpot to insure that I will not come home to overcooked chicken-SO COOL!

Here’s what today’s food looked like:

B: Jamba Juice (small) Mega Mango

S: Oatmeal with banana on top

L: Soba with fish broth and chicken breast

S: An apple with peanut butter sample from Whole Paycheck and a peice of dark chocolate

D: Described above

S: POPCORN!!!

Tomorrow’s food:

B: Larabar

S: Protein Shake

L: Leftovers from tonight’s dinner

S: Apple an nuts

D: Crockpot chicken and veggies

S: POPCORN!!!

Do you see a theme?  I’ve been OBSESSED with popcorn.  I started making it on the stove again, just like my Mom used to do and it is A.MAZE.ING!

But, my aunt gave me some funny popcorn this weekend.  It’s a popcorn still on the cob.  It looks like this:

You put it in a paper bag (I don’t have any of those paper bags that I used to take to school everyday so I just cut the top off of a grocery bag and put it in there:

Fold the top over on the bag and stick it in the microwave:

5 minutes on the microwave, start it, and then listen. When there is 3 seconds or more between pops, stop the microwave. You get this:

The best part? The kernals that didn’t quite pop off the cob-they’re really thick and just yummy:

I like the pan made popcorn better but this was fun!

Weaning has been a very emotional thing for me. I really fell in love with nursing. It wasn’t a question to me IF I would nurse but I didn’t know for how long and I was really scared that it would gross me out. It was the exact opposite. It was the most natural thing in the world and brought so much joy to my life.

First Time Nursing

I struggled through supply issues, pumping in airport bathrooms, bleeding nipples (yes the pump caused my nipples to BLEED) but I made it to a year! I’m so proud that I did and I’m so happy that Lucy and I got to experience that bond for 12 and half months.

First Time Nursing in Public

The BEAST (the dreaded pump)

When it came time to wean I had too many questions to count. I called the lactation consultant numerous times and consulted many of my online Mommy friends and friends in real life. I read books, I researched, I searched online. Still, going through the process was confusing and hard and most of all scary.

Six Months

I thought I’d tell you about my experience.

When Lucy was about 10 and half months old I started paying attention to how much she was nursing. At that point it was around 4-5 times a day. I decided not to just whip out the boob at any provocation and tried to only nurse 3-4 times a day.

The next thing I tackled was pumping. I reduced my pumping sessions from 3 times a day to 2 times a day. I was pumping at 10, 1, and 4 and I started to just pump at 10 and 4.

Six Months

Then we went to Hawaii and I was REALLY glad that I had my superhuman milk making powers! That 6 hour plane ride would have been hell without nursing! While we were in Hawaii, Lu nursed 2-3 times a day but while on the plane ride home she nursed almost constantly.

Nursing While Hiking in Hawaii-Almost 12 Months:

We got home a few days before her 1st birthday and I REALLY wanted to be done pumping. I tried to only pump once a day for 10 minutes (vs. the 30 minute sessions I was doing before). My plan was to reduce it each day by 2 minutes. On the second day I was super full and in pain. I ended up pumping twice that day, just to relieve the pressure. I did make sure to STOP pumping before my milk stopped dripping. Milk is totally dependent on supply and demand and I needed to let my body know that there was no more demand during the day.

By the end of September (her birthday is on the 22nd of September) I was DONE pumping.

I was still nursing morning and evening but I noticed that she was barely nursing at night. I decided to cut out the night nursing but continue nursing first thing in the morning.  I did start to nurse for shorter amounts of time but wanted to keep going. Our morning nursing was my favorite part of the day and I didn’t want to stop that just yet. I would bring her into bed with me and would nurse while I got a few more minutes of sleep and we would cuddle.

I was nursing at night on my right side and in the morning on the left side. I decided to try and let my right side dry out and continue to nurse on the left in the mornings.

After I cut out the night nursing, my right boob was fine. I thought that I was “drying up” already and this confirmed it for me.

Well, until 2 days later. Oh.My.God. I have never been in so much pain in my life. My right boob was engorged, hard as a rock, and painful to the touch. I decided right then and there that it was time to to completely wean because I didn’t want to prolong the process.

I had the added benefit that my in-laws were visiting and we we sleeping out on the couch (they got our bed) and so our routine was messed up anyway. They tell you NOT to go where you normally go to nurse when you’re trying to wean. Since, we wouldn’t be in our bed for almost a week, it seemed like the best time.

Instead of nursing Lucy that next morning I gave her her normal morning snack of string cheese as soon as she woke up (rather than after she nursed) and I gave her a sippy of water. She seemed fine with it.

To deal with the pain I was in I took hot showers. I massaged my breast in the shower. I wore cold cabbage in my bra (ahhh that felt so good-wear it until it wilts and then replace). I took anti-histamines at night (notorious for drying nursing mothers up). I drank mint tea (also helps dry you up). My left side did get a little engorged but it never got painful. Almost a week later and my right breast was still in pain. Like, MAJOR pain. My whole right side hurt. It was horrible. I felt my breast and discovered that it was completely soft except for one spot that was rock hard.

I had a plugged duct. I had gone 382 days of nursing with no plugged ducts and then this. The best way to get rid of a plugged duct is to have your ‘lil one nurse. I was hesitant to do that since Lu was doing so well not nursing.

That night I got into a really hot shower (heat helps with letdown) and started massaging. Then I pressed on the lump and milk SHOT out of my nipple for a good 5 minutes!!! No hand expressing, just pressing on the lump-CRAZY. I swear to you-that was the best shower of my life.

After that I’ve had no pain. I haven’t needed cabbage or anything and my boobs seem to be back to “normal”.

Emotionally-weaning has been hard but not as hard as I thought. Lucy has become a little cuddle bug. I get more cuddles now then I did when I was nursing-it’s fabulous! She has asked to nurse 3 times in the last week and a half and I was able to distract her and just give her cuddles instead.

I also have about 100 times the energy now as compared to when I was nursing. I didn’t realize how much it was draining me. I feel like the “old” me again.

If I had it to do over again would I stop nursing sooner to get the old me back? Never in a million years.

Last Day We Nursed

My supply took a big hit after I started working again.  Here’s what worked for me (thank you to all my friends at My Mommy Time who helped me with this!):

-Drink a ton of water. This is by far the most helpful. I drink about 100 ounces a day.
-Eat old fashioned oatmeal.  I make a big batch every Sunday and it keeps until Friday.
-Add flax seed meal to foods. I put it in my oatmeal every morning.
–Brewer’s Yeast (a supplement that can be found at GNC or Whole Foods) **Brewer’s Yeast is different than active or dry yeast** I also add a bit of this to my oatmeal every morning.
–Fenugreek (a supplement that can be found at GNC or Whole Foods)
-Blessed Thistle (a supplement that can be found at GNC or Whole Foods)
-I took a supplement called More Milk Plus that has Fenugreek, Blessed Thistle, Nettle Leaf, and Fennel Seed. The capsules are WAY better than the tincture. Expensive but worth it!
–Pumping for 10 minutes AFTER you stop dripping milk. If pumping while away from your LO you should pump for 5 minutes after milk stops dripping to maintain your supply. I pump for at least 20 minutes at a time while at work. If you don’t have it already, invest in a good handsfree pumping bra.
–Lactation cookies!! The active ingredients are the oatmeal, flax seed meal, and brewers yeast. I substituted coconut butter and applesauce for the butter-YUM. Only problem is I can’t stop eating them so I just add the elements to my oatmeal so that I don’t get HUGE.
–Try not to stress. I found that stress is the number one issue with my milk supply. I make sure to do something that isn’t stressful when I’m pumping (like write posts-HA!). If I work I don’t get nearly as much milk.
–Nurse as much as possible. I nurse Lucy as soon as I get home. Then right before bed. During the weekend nurse, nurse, and nurse and try to throw in one pump session a day.

I hope this helps!

This weekend I made blueberries, peas, green beans, prunes, and mango.

Here they are cooking away!

The blueberries were a frozen bag from Trader Joes and they did not turn out.  They tasted like dirt so I ended up throwing them away.

I’m not going to feed Lucy something that I wouldn’t eat.

Prunes

Prunes are really easy to make.  I got organic prunes from Whole Foods this time but I think I prefer Newman’s Own Organic Prunes because they blend up to a much nicer consistency than the Whole Foods prunes.

For prunes, place them in a bowl and cover them with warm water to reconstitute them.  I let mine soak for about 30 minutes.

Once they are nice and plump throw them into the food processor with some of the leftover water.  Blend.  Add water until the consistency you desire is reached.  I had to add all the water to these prunes this week to get to this consistency:

Lucy loves her prunes and Mommy loves what they do for Lucy ;-P

Prunes are just dried plums.  I’ve been looking for organic plums but no luck so far!

Green Beans and Peas

Green Beans and Peas are staples in our house and they are the biggest pain in the booty to make.  They taste SOOOO much better than the commercially prepated baby food so it’s worth it to me.  I get the frozen versions of both peas and green beans.

Green Beans

Peas

Organic green beans are really difficult to find-in fact I haven’t seen them since I started making Lucy’s baby food.  The frozen green beans are great because they’re already trimmed and there’s nothing I hate worse than trimming green beans!  And have you seen fresh peas?  Yeah…didn’t think so 🙂

I steamed both veggies until just done.  The green beans got a tad bit overcooked because Lucy woke up unexpectedly-I turned them off but didn’t take off the lid and they steamed about a minute too long.  They had just changed color but were still nice and plump-not mushy. I wish they were a little more vibrant but they still tasted really good.

I toss them in the food processor with a small amount (2 Tablespoons or so) of the cooking water:

Process for about 1 minute.  Until they look like this:

Green Beans

Peas

Then I go through the process of straining them.  I use a mesh sieve and push the peas/green beans through with a spoon.  I do a small amount at a time-if you add to much it doesn’t really squish through very well.

Green Beans

Peas

After I push them through with a spoon I run a spatula on the underside of the sieve to get the vegetables off.

I put the veggies that don’t push through the sieve into a bowl and process them one more time and go through the process again.

Left Over Green Beans

For both the peas and the green beans I steamed 2 pounds and got 1 pound of baby food-and a crampy hand!  I’ve tried just adding more water and not straining them and they make Lucy gag. You wouldn’t believe how much ruffage is in a pea or green bean.  When I make the baby food I always try to swallow it without chewing it.  If it gets stuck in my throat then I know it’ll cause Lucy issues. Both unstrained peas and green beans get stuck in my throat! Here’s what they look like when they’re done:

Green Beans

Peas

The fruits (ha!) of Saturday night’s labor:

Mangos

Unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures of the mango making but it was super simple and Lucy LOVED mango.  Yesterday was the first day I gave them to her and she ate an ENTIRE mango all by herself!  For the first batch that I gave her I just mushed with a fork.  It wasn’t super smooth but she “chewed” and got them down just fine.

The one thing to keep in mind with mangos is that the skin can cause rashes in some people so I make sure to wash my hands throughout the process of making them.  I also make sure to not get ANY skin into the puree.

The great thing about mangos is that you don’t have to cook them.  Just get a ripe mango, cut it up, (here’s a good tutorial), put it in the food processor (for a big batch-otherwise just use a fork) and process until smooth.  I found organic mangos for $1.30 each yesterday-I got 6 of them and I may go buy more since Lucy liked them so much.

A Tutorial on Sterilizing

I sterilize so many things now that it seems like common sense how to sterilize. I remember though, frantically Googling how to sterilize when I had to do it the first time. I had so many questions-Do I wash it first? Will the plastic melt? How long do I do it?

When you become a Mom you become a sterilizer! I sterilize probably once a week-new bottles, toys, pump parts, baby cubes-the list could go on an on.

This past weekend I bought more bottles for Lucy. I used to “only” have 3 sets for daycare but the washing of her bottles gave me major anxiety (it was yet one more thing I had to do in my already jammed packed night) so Shaun told me to go buy enough for her to have all week. I was trying to save money but Shaun reminded me that my sanity was worth more than a few bottles. So now we are the proud owners of 20 bottles-it sounds (and is) wasteful but I figure I’m saving water resources by not washing bottles every few days-nice way to rationalize it, huh?

Anyway, onto the tutorial!

Sterilizing is a good thing to do with any new plastic product unless the package says “DO NOT BOIL”. You never know what the product touched before it got to you and babies basically put everything and anything into their mouths.

First take the product out of the packaging and disassemble it (Lucy’s bottles disassemble into 5 pieces-no wonder I hate washing them):

Get a big pot of water on the stove and boiling.

Next wash with soapy water and rinse-make sure to get all the soap off:

When your pot has come to a boil, put the plastic pieces into the pot-my bottle sterilizing this weekend took 2 batches-it wouldn’t all fit into one pot:

Bring it back to a boil. Set the timer to 5 minutes and start it:

Boil, baby, boil! No your plastic will not melt!

After 5 minutes, take everything out (I use metal tongs) and put on a clean towel to dry:

Voila! Sterilized plastic goods!