Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Things that will NOT kill your child

There is a lot to be nervous about as a new mom.  It seems like everything in the world is bad for you. You often feel that one wrong move could jeopardize your child's safety, health, or happiness.  It can be overwhelming.  Every time you open the computer, there is a story about something else that is going to cause some awful illness.  Almost worse is that having a child is pretty much the same thing as wearing a sign that says, 'hey stranger.  Please tell me what I am doing wrong.'  It is exhausting.

I know all too well how those "bad" things can consume you, so I thought I would help you out by giving you a list of things that will not kill your child.  I will admit that I am not a doctor though, so take it with a grain of salt.

1. Sitting directly on the cart at Target.  I spend a lot of time at Target and I can tell you that I am the only mother whose child's tush is sitting on the cart and not on some Egyptian cotton cloth seat barrier.  Seriously?! Like I don't already have enough crap in my purse when I go to Target.  The last thing in the world that I need is to add a giant, 5 pound cloth ball to my 50 pound diaper bag so that Moose's golden a$$ doesn't have to touch the seat.  Do carts have germs?  Yup.  Is that going to kill her?  Hasn't yet.

2. Eating Sand.  Trust me on this one.  Moose has been living at the beach for the past 3 weeks and, during that time, has eaten at least 6 gallons of sand.  At least.  I wish I was exaggerating.  This kid LOVES to eat sand.  It is her sole reason for going to the "beachy."  When she first tried it last year, I made the rookie parenting mistake of saying, "yeah, go ahead, let her try it.  She won't like it anyway."  Ha.  She loved it.  Same thing this year.  The first day at the beach, she looked around like she was in a giant vat of ice cream.  And much like being in a vat of ice cream, she immediately dug in.  And you know what?  I let her.  Why not?  You have to pick and choose your battles and it hasn't killed her yet.  Plus, it is a hell of a lot cheaper than the $5.00 pint of berries that she typically snacks on.

Happily eating sand on the beach


3. Having people touch her without first sanitizing their hands.  We have many friends who had us sanitize our hands before touching their newborn.  I have no problem with that whatsoever.  To each his own.  We did not do that.  And it didn't kill the Moose.  First of all, we had already decided that some germs were good for the baby.  Secondly, if you are in my house with my newborn baby to begin with, it means that I have great faith in your cleanliness.  If I think that you are someone who wipes their a$$ with their bare fingers, you probably aren't going to be invited into my home.  Obviously we wash our hands at normal times: after using the bathroom, after going to a store, handling meat, etc.  Beyond those extremes though, some germs are good.  Not only did this one not kill her, but she was a really healthy baby.

4. Formula.  In my post-pregnancy, breastfeeding nightmare, crazy hormone haze, I was pretty sure that this one was going to do her in.  Maybe it wouldn't kill her right away, but I bought into the propaganda that assured me that it would kill her eventually.  After all, the only way to prevent death by ear infection or diarrhea in this country is to breastfeed, right?   Turns out the answer to that is no. I was wrong.  Formula didn't kill her and it still hasn't.  In fact, she is healthy, happy, and intelligent.  Who knew?!

5. Not washing the paci after it hits the floor.  I was walking into Target one day (yes, my entire life takes place in Target) when Moose's paci hit the ground in a fit of rage.  There were two male employees behind me who saw it and said, in a teasing manner, "whoa, Mama, what are you going to do now?  Better go wash that off!"  My response was to pop the paci right back in her mouth.  The Target guys LOVED it.  Literally, they started to holler and clap (as a side note, it is so sad that I now get hollered at for things like that rather than for being hot...sigh) and told me that I was the first mother they have ever seen do it.  Are you kidding me?  If I chose to go through the entire store without her paci, I would be forever banned from going back (and then what would I do everyday?).

That being said, I do have some standards.  If it falls in a public bathroom or some other disgusting place, I don't put it back in her mouth.  Otherwise though, I give it a quick wipe on my shirt (gotta keep up appearances) and do the world a favor by popping it right back in her mouth.  Hasn't killed her yet.

Sucking on her filthy paci ;)

While compiling this list, I realized that I had way too many for one post, so this is going to be part 1 of things that will not kill your child.  Part 2 will follow soon.  Please share things that you know of that will not kill your child.  Have you been judged for doing any of them?

Disclaimer: Prior to having a child of my own, I had 15 years of experience working with children, including my most recent job of running a daycare center.  Without that experience, I wouldn't have been nearly as laid back about the above listed things.  As with all of my posts, there is no judgement.  Everyone should do what makes them comfortable.

16 comments:

  1. Right on board with you on #5, although usually I put it in my mouth for a once over before giving it back to her. Apparently it's better for them. That's what I tell myself. :)
    Linking up from the The Blog Strut!

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    1. I agree! I either put it in my mouth or give it a quick wipe on my shirt. It makes me feel like I am doing something. Did you see that there was a study recently saying that it is actually good for your kids to wipe the paci off with your mouth?? looks like what we have been telling ourselves to make ourselves feel better is actually true!! :)

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. I love this! I have to admit I was a crazy mom with my first child and was like "wash your hands first!" I wanted to hit myself in the head everytime I remember. With my 2nd child I was more lenient :D

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  3. lol! It is totally understandable to be like that with your first child. I think that I would have been like that if I hadn't had so much experience with kids before having one of my own. My pediatrician always tell me that I seem more like a 3rd time mother than a first. As you know, motherhood is busy enough..who has time to worry about the small stuff?!

    Thanks so much for commenting! :)

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  4. This is fabulous. Yep, used to lug that cart cover everywhere and then I realized really... way too much to carry. And now that I have two I doubt the second one will ever sit in one. We eat dirt a lot and I promise little miss has eaten food off the ground, target floor, restaurant floor etc. I am not proud of this fact, but lets be honest we cant keep everything out of their mouths. I too went through hormonal breastfeeding hell and honestly the first time around believed formula was from the devil (a post partum mom is allowed to be a little crazy) Of course both my kids were (are) supplemented with formula (starvation really will kill them...) and they are fine!

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    1. Lol...glad I am not alone in allowing my kid to eat off of the floor, even in places like Target. What can you do?! I only have so much time to worry about things.

      I LOVE your comment that "starvation really will kill them." Lol! It is so true, but when you are in that postpartum breastfeeding hell, you really don't see that logic.

      Thanks so much for the comment! :)

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  5. So easy to become nutty about this stuff and totally with you on a bit of muck being good for the immune system. We all survived eating sand, mud, worms & worse ;-)

    Thanks so much for sharing at the Friday Baby Shower, Alice @ Mums Make Lists x

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    1. Exactly! Some of my best childhood memories are of making "milkshakes" out of dirt, grass, etc. We then washed them down with water from the hose. And we are FINE!

      If you worry too much about the little stuff, you will drive yourself nuts.

      Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!
      Becky :)

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  6. haha I love this! As a first time mom, it took me a few months to pick this up, but I definitely learned it quicker than others! I remember thinking "OMG! she's not using a cart cover??? what is she thinking!?!" blah blah

    I was so naive ;)

    --Michelle @The MaMade Diaries

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    1. Haha! It's okay...being a first time mother is SO hard and it is like they market all of these products just to make us feel bad! If I hadn't had the experience of working at a daycare, I would probably still be falling into some of the traps of new motherhood.

      Thanks so much for the comment!! :)

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  7. Great post! I was uptight with my first one and WAY more relaxed with my 2nd child! Most of these things OUR Parents did and we survived! LOL!
    Jodi from http://thenoiseofboys.com

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    1. Exactly right! Our parents were SO much more laid back than most parents in our generation, which is ridiculous because, like you said, we all survived. In fact, we more than survived, I would say that we all turned out pretty well!

      Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!
      Becky :)

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  8. I can't wait to read Part 2! I love the "sitting directly on the cart" ~ I stopped caring about this one a while ago. But at first, I was one of those moms who whips out the little cart cover. It was such a hassle! No more. Thanks for linking up to It's Okay Tuesdays!

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  9. I totally agree! Who has the time to remember things like cart covers?! Thank you so much for reading and commenting, and also for hosting the party!

    Becky :)

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  10. Haha! As a brand new mom, I love this. I've literally never seen this cloth cart cover thing you're talking about, but I've also never paid much attention. Maybe now that I have a kid, I'll see them always. I'm glad I'm not a super paranoid new mom! You crack me up though. I'm going to follow you on Bloglovin'. Keep it up :)

    The picture "eating sand"? That's too much. Kids are so weird.

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    1. Thank you so much! Now that you know about the cart covers, you will see them EVERYWHERE! This is especially true if you go to Target during the week. It is awesome that you aren't paranoid. New moms have enough to do without worrying all of the time!

      And, yes, kids are totally weird. We figured that once she tasted the sand, she would realize that it isn't good. Ha! Instead, she realized that it was the best thing she had ever tasted.

      Thank you so much for commenting and following! :) I also follow you on Bloglovin and really enjoy reading what you have to say.

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Thanks so much for stopping by! I would love to hear from you, so please take a minute to leave me any comments, suggestions, funny stories, or advice about this journey called Mommyhood.

Becky :)