How Clean is too Clean?

We live in a world of anti-bacterial soap and disinfectants.  When you have a newborn you develop a new appreciation for cleanliness.  However, when is too much? 

I agree that when your baby is tiny, it is important to boil and sanitize all their equipment.  But after a while, once baby is out and about, where do you draw the line?   Now that my little one is ready to sit up by himself,  a lot more things are going in his mouth. There are so many products available to help keep baby clean, and I am trying to decide which ones I need.  But I think that we shouldn't over sterilize items around him, or he won't build any immunity. 

And while occasionally (before I can stop him) the dog will lick baby in the face.  My latest purchase to protect baby is a shopping cart cover.  There should be more concern with the germs on shopping carts because of the risks from raw meat present in supermarkets. Salmonella, Ecoli, and others are bacteria that can be very dangerous to children, a great reason to protect them.  I ordered a Babe Ease from http://www.babysteals.com/, that also doubles as a high chair cover for restaurants. I can't wait for it to arrive to see how it works!