This weekend we hung out with friends and their cutetastic 11-month-old twins. At one point, I noticed Max chewing on Cheerios one of the babies had already slobbered on and I let him keep going. I have a high tolerance for cooties, especially when Max is actually feeding himself. (Linda over at All & Sundry just did a great post about dealing with sick kids and, even more trouble, sick husbands.)
When Max was a tot, he didn't go through that stage when kids shove every little thing into their mouths just for the hell of it. He's orally sensitive, which is common among children who have cerebral palsy. So Dave and I gave him total freedom to explore the world in other ways, even if it meant letting him crawl on the mall floor. The first time Max ever pulled himself up to a stand—a tremendous milestone for him—was on a toilet seat in our first-floor bathroom. After that, he and the toilet seat were BFF's. (If you feel like chucking your bottle of Purell at me right about now, I understand.)
Something snapped after Max was born. He had a bilateral stroke; I had bigger issues to worry about than some measly germs. I did the usual baby-sanitizing things, I just didn't obsess, and once he was out of infancy I obsessed even less. We're lucky that Max and Sabrina aren't prone to getting sick—if they were, I'd probably feel differently.
How germphobic are you?
I never worry about germs. I always tell my kids, "hey 5 second rule". I do however get grossed out when my daughter decides to pull stuff out of the garbage and stick in her mouth. kids what ya gonna do?
ReplyDeleteI've never been a germaphobe, even before LilB. Like you, after LilB's 2 week hospital stay, it didn't seem as important. He's also not prone to ullnesses and has only been sick once, whereas I had the same thing and was sick for 2 weeks (thank you pregnancy).
ReplyDeleteI would like to say I am not a "germaphobe", but I will stand up right now and confess to the world....I HATE GERMIES!! I get so grossed out (to the point of gagging) when it comes to most things. I hate this about myself...I wish I wasn't so "girly". Daniel is my only boy out of 5 kids....and everyone says "Oh that poor boy...no bugs or dirt for you!". I really do have a problem eh?!?!? :)
ReplyDeleteOMG I am so germophobic. And you're right, I was ready to toss you some Purell. In fact I freaked out last night when I was elbow deep in sudsing the 3 year old's hair and Addison was sitting near the toilet, even though I'd just cleaned it. 5 months of inpatient after birth and various visits since have made it worse, I think. I love Purell, but I do wish it wasn't so drying. My hands are already cracking!
ReplyDeleteI am so with you, but I shouldn't be, as Nathan gets sick all the time. I guess I alwasy figured I have 100 other things to worry about, germs are pretty low on the list. But maybe I will start :-)
ReplyDeleteGermphobes and nongermphobes alike, glad to have you on my very sanitary blog.
ReplyDeleteEvan never put things in his mouth either, he does sometimes now but not enought where I have to watch him contstantly. I am probably in the middle with the germs. Like to be clean but don't obsess too much.
ReplyDeleteI am totally Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when it comes to germs. My upbringing and personal inclination is to not give germs a second thought.
ReplyDeleteBut, after Fletcher's extreme prematurily and living in the NICU for three months, well, that will change anyone's outlook (on so many things, germs included). I mean, we did have bigger fish to fry in the NICU, so to speak, but a fellow micropreemie born a week after Fletcher was back on a vent two weeks after discharge from the NICU thanks to RSV, so I knew I had to be careful.
So the first winter out of the hospital purell was my best friend. This winter, I wash my hands frequently, and purell when convienent, and do wipe down all major community property (lightswitches, remotes, etc) once a week. But otherwise, I am back to my germy ways.
First, a personal/professional confession. I'm going crazy! I have you in my blogroll and didn't even have your RSS feed. I was wondering where all your stuff was. Apparently, I'm not as efficient as I once thought...
ReplyDeleteAs for germs. I'm somewhere in the middle. My initial reaction is eeewwwwwwww. Then I do a mental calculation of just how sick my kids could get from whatever. Then usually end up with an "oh well". I don't mind sharing things, but only within family.
I am not at all worried about germs. I probably should be, but I'm not! I mean, I'm not wild about public restrooms, but household germs help build a health immune system.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to see this confession. I really do not worry too much about germs.
ReplyDeleteWe had my hubby's bday party at a park this summer and there were a ton of kids. Our little dude was covered in cheese puff crumbs and dirt and all of the other kiddos were perfectly clean since their Mommy's had run after them with Purrell all day.
I left the party feeling insecure that I was the bad Mommy who let her kid play in the dirt and have a couple of cheese snacks as a treat. Then I decided that was all part of growing up and that I treasure the memories of those things from when I was a kid.