Am I being crazy?

erin52288

I work 3Rd shift and dh works 1st. My DH grandmother watches ds for the in-between time of when he leaves and I get home. The other morning Gram and I were chatting about ds teething and she says "yea I felt around in there but didn't feel anything." Um, why are your fingers in my son's mouth? I'm a nurse and a bit of a germophobe, and let's not to forget to mention she has these wildly long nails and on more than one occasion I've noticed her touch raw meat and wipe her hands on a towel without washing them. Am I dwelling/blowing it out of proportion in my head? I can't stop thinking about it tho? Opinions pls!! >.<

dec15mum

Honestly I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe explain that as long as she washes her hands then it's okay but I don't really see much of an issue or at least one to blow up about considering she's helping you out

Mizuiro007

Just have a casual talk with her about hand washing and maybe bring up current CDC guidelines. We didn't even talk to my grandma about it. My mom had made a comment on needing to get better about it herself and that the hospital was pushing it that everyone washed their hands everyone before holding them when they were born. Then last time we were all down at my grandma's she's telling us "I washed my hands so I can hold babies!"

I don't think you're  crazy. The meat thing would drive me nuts and then thinking of where else her hands have been and when was the last time she washed them. Not crazy at all.

kksquared

My MIL let DS chew on her finger which bothered me and DH.  it hurt her feelings a little bit I would rather have my MIL mad at me then a sick kiddo.  I work at a hospital as a PTA so I know about all the nasty germs too lol.  

missphil

Understandable. My son chews on my sister's hand or arm and it bothers me, even though she always washes her hands before she holds him. That's why I don't say anything. But even my husband doesn't put his fingers inside my son's mouth!

MomofEv+1

Super gross. I don't necessarily like being passive but sometimes it just works, but my idea would require some self awareness on her part. So what if you said something like you saw someone else put a finger in the baby's mouth and you were worried about germs? 

My sister's new girlfriend put her finger in the baby's mouth and I wasn't aware until my husband told me. We have to walk on egg shells to maintain peace so I told my 4 year old nobody is allowed to put their fingers in the baby's mouth because guaranteed she will tell her and nobody will get mad. It's really silly to handle things this way but I don't have time/patience for arguing with my siblings these days.

celainev

Well, IMO they are babies and will, at some point, have dirtier things in their mouths then someone's fingers... Mouths are really good for fighting off bacteria. I'm a nurse too, and mildly germ-cautious in certain conditions, but I really have learnt to let go when it comes to baby. It'll make their immune system stronger.

LaceyH13

Ultimately it really isn't anything you can control, so how you feel about it will likely only affect you. Do you want to spend your time and energy dwelling on this? Is this a hill you want to die on or not knowing that when you aren't there you don't have any control over whether it happens or not?

taysun

I honestly don't care who lets DD chew on their fingers because I don't let anyone hold her who I'd have an issue of cleanliness with and she loves fingers. We don't have a lot of company but everyone knows to wash their hands because I was a little aggressive about that sort of thing while pregnant. 
And now that flu season is about over I'm much more relaxed. 
DD mostly just chews on mine but if she can she'll chew on anyone's fingers. It makes her happy and I hardly think it's going to hurt her. 
Just bring up hand washing in a casual non offensive way and go from there. 

poupoule

She will have worse in her mouth, as she wants to eat everthing already. Washing hands regularly is important though, maybe you could ask her advice : assume she is washing her hands and ask her how she manages to clean those nails during the day so she keeps her hands clean for your baby. She should understand its impprtant if she hadent realized before... You can emphasize by saying how you would like them longer, but you cant with baby, and how stressed giving him germs can make you feel ?

yl1m32015

I don't think grandma touching his gums to feel for teeth is a big deal. She's doing you a solid by watching baby everyday. Pick your battles

candace4erich

I think that you are both being crazy and not being crazy. You can absolutely be crazy about hygiene. We were VERY strict about hygiene when the girls came home. I got on to my mom many times for not washing hands or sanitizing. I still shower when I get home from teaching (preschoolers) before I'll pick up babies. You get to decide hygiene rules for your kiddo and everyone must follow.

But I think you (and other PPs) are overreacting to fingers being in mouths. Our babies chew on fingers all the time. It's hilarious. And using your finger to rub their gums can relieve a lot of teething pain. So I think if hands are clean and nails are short, then chewing on fingers is fine!

laurabwalker

As long as the hands are washed, I'm good with it. I'm a nurse as well so I'm always telling everyone to wash their hands before touching her.

Mother0fDragons

kdoak2015

yl1m32015 said:

I don't think grandma touching his gums to feel for teeth is a big deal. She's doing you a solid by watching baby everyday. Pick your battles

This 

Mother0fDragons said:

And this! 

ATolentino89

Mother0fDragons said:

Unrelated to OP but I still have not actually seen this movie. 

DandT2point0

@ATolentino89, the next time you are with a 6-year-old and have a spare nine hours you should ask "What happens in Frozen?"

suchaglencoco

ATolentino89 said:

Mother0fDragons said:

Unrelated to OP but I still have not actually seen this movie. 

I love his movie!!!!! I saw it when it came out with kids I used to nanny for and I was way more into than them.
 We named our frozen embryos Olaf ad Sven because of it. Part of me wanted to do it for the nursery. 
That being said, I'm sure I'll hate it when they're older and play it on repeat.