How far do you really go..

[nori]

OK.. im sorry if im being greedy with the "ask a mum" forum but i have time on my hands now i'm on maternity leave and have so many things keep going round in my head for when my baby is here..

I saw a friend the other day and she said that you should wash your hands everytime you handle a newborn.. i didnt know this! I know they obviously have a lower immunity etc and you have to be careful but what do you suppose to do? Ask everyone who touches your baby to wash their hands first? Isnt this a little bit obsessive or am i being too much the other way?

Ive mentioned in other posts that another concern is my OHs relatives that smoke. I will NOT allow any smoking in the house or around the baby but ive also heard that if its on the clothes or hands then it can be dangerous too.. now im worried about that! I cant exactly tell them to go and have a shower and change their clothes?

Oh its all worrying me now.. im probably being silly but just want to do whats best for baby but also dont want to fall out with anyone. My dad is very much old school and believes its all got very silly and "in their day" they didnt worry about germs etc..and just got on with it and "we turned out alright".. im sure others have heard this before.

So what do you think?

Claire x

 

[Charlie:-)]

I've read that you should ask people to wash their hands before handling a newborn and Im pretty certain that it has something to do with Group B Strep which can be present on the hands (like im sure many other things will be).

I personally didn't ask anyone to wash their hands, I always wash my hands when I have been to the toilet and when I make any food so I didn't bother with any more hand washing than normal.

I think sometimes we can all be a bit too obsessive but you do whatever you think is right

 

[LisaJ1986]

They say not to handle a baby for about 30 mins after smoking, so i'd make them wait an hour.

I washed my hands after i did things, but not every time i went to pick her up. Things like putting dirty dishes away and feeding the animals. I just wouldn't put fingers in her mouth unless i washed my hands first.

 

[MummyJess]

Babies need to have their immune system challenged in order to make it stronger so I certainly don't subscribe to the 'sterilize everything and wash your hands every 5 min' brigade. But obviously this has to be within reason. So long as you have a reasonable hygiene routine then it doesn't have to be a big deal.

I keep a bottle of alcohol gel in my change bag so it is on hand for nappy changes, before feeding etc. And obviously very handy for when they are older and getting mucky too! Much easier than hand washing all the time.

I think I have got more relaxed with each baby. With my oldest, everything was sterile. But obviously this is can unrealistic in the long term. When my third daughter was born, she was poked and prodded by my older 2 all the time and heaven knows how many times they must have put grubby mitts all over her, including in her mouth! But if anything she's been the healthiest of them all.

With regards to the smoking issue, I think you are certainly right to forbid smoking near your baby but like you say, it is not possible to avoid baby having cuddles with people who smoke. My advice would be to ask people not to smoke just before they know they will be seeing your LO and if they say you are overreacting then sod them, it's your baby! Your dad may be old school but that doesn't make cigarette smoke any less dangerous. I agree that it is possible to over protect a newborn but where smoking is concerned then the proof is there that you just can't take risks.

Maybe make it into a bit of a joke? If they want to hold LO just laugh and say, no you stink of smoke!

 

[dannii87]

Babies need to have their immune system challenged in order to make it stronger so I certainly don't subscribe to the 'sterilize everything and wash your hands every 5 min' brigade. But obviously this has to be within reason. So long as you have a reasonable hygiene routine then it doesn't have to be a big deal.

I agree with this! I don't wash my hands every time I handle Miss Evie. I'd be constantly at the sink and I'd be handling her with freezing cold (slightly wet) hands.

I know you plan to BF too which will give your LO your antibodies which will help her protect herself to an extent against germs etc.

 

[nori]

Your dad may be old school but that doesn't make cigarette smoke any less dangerous. I agree that it is possible to over protect a newborn but where smoking is concerned then the proof is there that you just can't take risks.

Maybe make it into a bit of a joke? If they want to hold LO just laugh and say, no you stink of smoke!

Oh god, my dad doesnt smoke and would never say thats ok.. it was more the sterilising abosultely everything issue.. i still dont think he can get his head around the sterilising of dummys as he used to run them under the tap and throw them back in our mouth!

Claire x

 

[hennaly]

I really do believe that obsessive cleanliness is actually bad for a baby and doesnt allow any kind of immunity to build up, i think you need common sence, ie wash your hands after toilet etc and i probably wouldnt let a smoker pick baby up but im anti smoking so more my problem than theirs.

 

[MummyJess]

Your dad may be old school but that doesn't make cigarette smoke any less dangerous. I agree that it is possible to over protect a newborn but where smoking is concerned then the proof is there that you just can't take risks.

Maybe make it into a bit of a joke? If they want to hold LO just laugh and say, no you stink of smoke!

Oh god, my dad doesnt smoke and would never say thats ok.. it was more the sterilising abosultely everything issue.. i still dont think he can get his head around the sterilising of dummys as he used to run them under the tap and throw them back in our mouth!

Claire x

TBH, that's all I have done this time round with the dummies I did sterilize them with Chloe (my oldest) but by the time I got round to Roxy (youngest for now) I just rinsed and used! They used to be put in boiling water every so often to kill off a few germs but that was it really. I have prob been more relaxed than I should have been but like I said before, she has been the healthiest of the lot of them!

I would definitely be more careful with a newborn, but I was breastfeeding and she didn't like dummies at first so there was no issue with needing to sterilize anything. It doesn't take very long for their immune system to strengthen, especially if you breastfeed, even for a short while. Just do what feels right for you

 

[nori]

Your dad may be old school but that doesn't make cigarette smoke any less dangerous. I agree that it is possible to over protect a newborn but where smoking is concerned then the proof is there that you just can't take risks.

Maybe make it into a bit of a joke? If they want to hold LO just laugh and say, no you stink of smoke!

Oh god, my dad doesnt smoke and would never say thats ok.. it was more the sterilising abosultely everything issue.. i still dont think he can get his head around the sterilising of dummys as he used to run them under the tap and throw them back in our mouth!

Claire x

TBH, that's all I have done this time round with the dummies I did sterilize them with Chloe (my oldest) but by the time I got round to Roxy (youngest for now) I just rinsed and used! They used to be put in boiling water every so often to kill off a few germs but that was it really. I have prob been more relaxed than I should have been but like I said before, she has been the healthiest of the lot of them!

I would definitely be more careful with a newborn, but I was breastfeeding and she didn't like dummies at first so there was no issue with needing to sterilize anything. It doesn't take very long for their immune system to strengthen, especially if you breastfeed, even for a short while. Just do what feels right for you

That was actually going to be another question.. i actually read in the supernanny book that its better to NOT put dummys in a steriliser anyway!

Claire x

 

[Sherlock]

With regards to the smoking aspect, iirc the advice is anyone who smokes should not hold a newborn/young baby until at least 30 minutes after finishing a cigarette. The SIDS advice I think this came from.

I'd stick to that tbh. People stink after having a ciggy and the chemicals from them can't be good.

If someone is/was a chain smoker then they didn't come near LO in those early weeks, let alone hold him. Even now I don't like to let smokers hold him for long at all and certainly not if they have recently smoked a ciggy.

 

[Magic Monkey]

It is totally impossible to wash your hands before touching a baby, as Dannii says you would spend all your time at the sink. I have always washed my hands before doing bottles and after nappies. To begin with I didn't put my fingers in her mouth anyway, when she got a bit older I always washed my hands before letting her have a chew!

I did sterilise dummies to begin with, but once she started chewing on toys I didn't see the point.

 

[jennifer1981]

i always had a bottle of the alcoholic gel antiibacterial stuff on hand and before anyone touched him up until he was a few weeks old i asked them to use it. It only took a second.

 

[Hazel]

Connie munches on her hands and they aren't sterile. I've tried giving her the nice clean dummy but she prefers her hands .