My baby smells like a hooker

missfire

MIL got here yesterday and is staying with us to help for a week. She wears really strong perfume, and I bit the bullet and asked her really politely if she would be willing to wear less or put a blanket between her and the babies, since they both have colds and are congested. She said yes, really enthusiastically, and was embarassed that we could even smell her perfume. So that was awkward, but I was happy it went well.

Well, today she had showered and is supposedly not wearing perfume, but it still smells so strong! DD, who she was holding most today, smells like perfume head to toe, and is a lot more congested now (perhaps a coincidence). I smell like the perfume now just from holding my baby. I've changed DD's clothes and blankets, but I hate to give her a bath if her grandma is just going to pick her up again tonight.

It would be rude to bring it up again, right? I have to just live with this until she leaves?

KelleyBelly11

Strong perfumes can irritate baby's sensitive skin and make LO brake out or develop eczema.

Tell her to lay off of it if she wants to hold LO!!! 

 

KelleyBelly11

Maybe it's her body wash? You could purchase a fragrance free body wash and tell her to use it in the mean time. 

rdhmama79

I have the same problem with my MIL and her perfume.  I have no idea what to say to her.  Your LOs are adorable, BTW!

bethandjoe09

My Grandma was like that.  She'd always put perfume on before going out with my family (because it was special to go out with us and she wanted to smell nice), but didn't realize that after years of wearing perfume, her clothes, especially her coat, were saturated in it.  All she had to do was get dressed and she would have reeked of perfume without adding any.  I remember going out to eat with her once.  I wound up sitting next to her in the car because everyone else bailed first (it was that strong).  I could barely breathe.

Maybe you could  try to discreetly sniff her unworn clothes, and if they're the culprit either wash them or tell her she needs to get them cleaned for LO's sake.

NewFamily09

If it were me, I would probably just put up with it.  It's sounds like she's an overall nice person and doesn't mean any harm.  But I'm the type of person who puts up with stuff to avoid hurting people's feelings. 

TobleroneBar

I have this issue with DD who is 13 and wears whatever smells the worst...IMO.  I will not let her hold DS until she has changed and doesn't smell so bad.

 My mother is a different issue.  She is a smoker and to top it off, she smokes in her house and car.  I really hate for her to hold DS because she makes him smell like a nasty ashtray and I immediately have to change him after she is gone.  She will even be wearing clean clothes and shower but it doesn't matter.  The cigarette smell is in her skin and hair permenantly...I really wish she didn't smoke.