Confessions of a Germophobe
For a germophobe, having a baby is like being in the middle of a video game: perils all around and a strange, highly situation-specific thrill when you avoid them. Allison Clare has had two colds, and I know exactly how and where she got them . . . in both cases, other babies were coughing up a storm right by her, and manners prevented me from leaping in to interve with my own body, an umbrella, or a spray bottle of Lysol. I don't mind people holding her, but I do groan inwardly when visibly sick people want to hold her or touch her hands, often strangers who have just coughed into their own hands. She sucks on her fingers ALL THE TIME, so anything on them is definitely entering her system.
Somehow, I don't mind the dirt around our own house; I let her suck on toys that have fallen onto the floor after just giving them a cursory swipe on my own t-shirt or jeans, if that. But public germs are different, particularly in the Germophobe's House of Horrors, the public rest room.
I have never yet used a rest-room diaper changing table. I once gamely tried, but the whole "family restroom" reeked so awfully that I high-tailed it out of there, unable to imagine even putting the changing mat down on something quite so filthy--because then the mat would contaminate the whole bag when I put it back in! I changed her as discreetly as I could manage in the stroller (which reclines so I can lay her flat), in that little quiet hallway off the mall. Then I thought, "This is a solution." I hope I've never appalled anyone who's happened to see me doing it, but I do carry everything with me, from changing pad, diaper, wipes, and vinyl "wet" bag, to hand sanitizer for use after putting everything back into the diaper bag. I'll use the rest room to wash my hands afterward--I just can't lay her down onto the surface.
I can't bear the thought of what I'll do when she starts having to clamber up onto a public toilet. I may just have to keep her at home in a turret of some sort until she's tall enough and old enough to be instructed in the ways of avoiding all contact with surfaces.
Somehow, I don't mind the dirt around our own house; I let her suck on toys that have fallen onto the floor after just giving them a cursory swipe on my own t-shirt or jeans, if that. But public germs are different, particularly in the Germophobe's House of Horrors, the public rest room.
I have never yet used a rest-room diaper changing table. I once gamely tried, but the whole "family restroom" reeked so awfully that I high-tailed it out of there, unable to imagine even putting the changing mat down on something quite so filthy--because then the mat would contaminate the whole bag when I put it back in! I changed her as discreetly as I could manage in the stroller (which reclines so I can lay her flat), in that little quiet hallway off the mall. Then I thought, "This is a solution." I hope I've never appalled anyone who's happened to see me doing it, but I do carry everything with me, from changing pad, diaper, wipes, and vinyl "wet" bag, to hand sanitizer for use after putting everything back into the diaper bag. I'll use the rest room to wash my hands afterward--I just can't lay her down onto the surface.
I can't bear the thought of what I'll do when she starts having to clamber up onto a public toilet. I may just have to keep her at home in a turret of some sort until she's tall enough and old enough to be instructed in the ways of avoiding all contact with surfaces.
posted by Tara | 10:40 PM
3 Comments:
I feel the same way about public bathrooms. But research does show that they are a lot cleaner than many other public spaces because they actually do get cleaned regularly.
Those are some grim moments, the first few (hundred) times your precious little, barely potty-trained girl has to use a public restroom. There just ain't other options sometimes, though. That's one of the very few instances in which I envied the moms of little boys.
Which is all to say, I don't blame you a BIT for your so-called germophobia (it just seems sensible to me!). Who pays the price when these well-intentioned sick people pass along their germs? You and your little baby. Not fair. :(
I miss your frequent posts, now that you're back in school. I check almost daily, though. I hope that you can indulge me with another post again soon.
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