Germ-a-phobe!
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At my infant son’s first pediatrician appointment, I asked how long we should wait before I took him out of the house. 2 months, said the doctor. Keep him away from germs. TWO MONTHS? Being an observant first-time mom, I acquiesced and started planning for a long period of being house bound.
Two days later, my husband was unavoidably sent out of town. We ran out of milk (no cups of tea?) bread (no toast!) and laundry detergent (aaaarrgg!) The logical part of my brain told me it would be perfectly ok to take the baby out. The new mother part of my brain told me I could survive without toast for the sake of my baby. Logic won and out we went to the supermarket.
We survived the car ride. I took my baby out of the carseat, and clinging him to my bosom, in the manner of one escaping from a war zone, dashed into the supermarket, pushed a cart with one hand and collected what we needed. I paid, wiped my hands with antiseptic wipes and drove home, shaking. And panicked for the next few days that somehow, a germ had floated around the supermarket and infected my son. What if the handle of the milk bottle had been touched by someone with a horrible communicable disease? And the money, how many people had touched that?
Of course, he was fine. And once I’d calmed down, logic reminded me that as long as I was sensible, of course he could go out. I wasn’t planning to let him suck the change in the supermarket, or the handles of the milk bottles, nor was I going to let the random woman in the queue behind me hold him.
So we started going out. While he was tiny, we didn’t go out unnecessarily, but we went to the supermarket once a week, we visited a friend and her newborn daughter, we went out walking (well, one of us walked, the other rode in a sling) and we were both better for it. My son enjoyed all the outings, and my mental health was certainly better than it would have been housebound for 60 days.
Since then, my paranoia about germs has diminished some. I went through the cover on shopping cart phase, the putting baby on blanket not the floor for tummy time phase and the washing all the toys in very hot water every day phase.
It’s normal and natural to worry about germs. What’s nice is, as your baby grows and their immune system grows, your worries about germs gradually decrease. You will let your baby crawl around in the grass at the park. You’ll let your toddler eat puffs they dropped on your floor.
I still worry about germs, but not as much. We always wash hands before eating, of course, and after diaper changes, and I carry wipes around with me just in case toddler hands meet something gross.
And speaking of which, I’d better go - he’s heading towards the dog’s bowl.
Shannon says...
I’ve never heard of a doctor recommending such a thing. A baby will acquire some of its mother’s immunities through her breast milk so I would think that’s sufficient for leaving the house
brit says...
He was an older guy, very old school. We ended up changing pediatricians a few months later.
I was talking with my Grandma later on and she said “they did the same in my day! and they made me stay in the hospital for three weeks after my babies were born” Plus ca change!
Science-mom says...
That doc’s ridiculous! Recent studies show that people nowadays have weakened immune systems because they grew up in a very clean, almost sterile environment. Kids who grow up in farms are less susceptible to asthma and allergies because of exposure to potential allergens early in life!
Good for you that you chnaged doctors!