Babies and germs: Do babies need to be protected or exposed?

Question

Do you try to shield your baby from as many germs as possible, or do you think babies are better off facing the same germs as adults?

I'm not talking about obvious situations that everyone would avoid, such as a clearly ill person or someone with a rash. I'm wondering, do you make everyone wash their hands or use hand sanitizer before touching your baby? Do you sterilize your bottles? Do you use sterilized water to make formula or tap water?

You get the idea.

Answer 1

LOL Germ Terminators!!!  GERMINATORS!!!!!!!!!!  :)

Nah, that's SO not me!!  My daughter is 22 months old and rarely ill, never had antibiotics or an ear infection (which shocks me since her daddy and I had tons of them!).  She had her first trip to the mall at a week old, and has been held by many friends from day one, and we never insisted on sterile conditions.  We've never worried about sanitizing anything.  Dude, our dogs have kissed her basically from day 1!!!

Maybe I'm more laid back because she's breastfeeding, which really protects her.  Maybe it's my personality!   Whatever it is, it works for our family.  

Answer 2

I sterilize my daughters bottles for every use and her water to make her formula.  shes 6 wks old and ill probably do so for the next cpl months.  i think those two areas are important for a newborn.  

Answer 3

happy medium.

we dont go crazy germo-phob and make everything get sanitized in bleach before coming in 2 feet of our kids.. but we are really cautious with germs when the baby is really young..

as they get older you cant watch out for everything. plus it makes life more fun when you can roll around in the grass & mud and not stress out.

good luck.

Answer 4

everything in moderation

there were times where i couldn't sterilize his bottles so i didn't but i didn't freak out about it..

~MeL~

Answer 5

Germs are good and bad to be exposed to. The good thing about the human body is that what doesn't kill it makes it stronger. At the earliest ages in an infant's life, I would try to steer from germs if possible, for they are the most critical SIDS months, but when baby gets big enough to explore and get dirty, antibacterializing everything isn't protecting him as much as you would think. It is good for them to be exposed so that their bodies can develop the immunities it needs to help him survive through these germs for the rest of his life.

Answer 6

There is a healthy balance:

After 2wks of life, you should allow your child to be exposed to some

germs (such as taking a walk outside) or a stroll through the mall and

or grocery store ....I keep her hood up to keep the sun out of her eyes

and keep her out of sight for those people that will just touch your baby

without asking!

My daughter is 4wks, I do of course wash hands after bathroom ,cooking or touching my cat....but, besides that...I am not big on being a germ

phobe! Those whom are real sick will have to wait until they are better

to handle her..

It is very important that they are exposed to some germs, it helps

build their immune system (and for those whom don't believe me,

how can their immune system practice fighting of germs if they are never around any!)

I am a 1st time mommy and I am not a germ phobe ,my husband on

the other hand is when it comes to our daughter he is fretful!

Answer 7

Exposed. Sheltering a kid from germs doesn't allow them to build up a normal immune system. As for babys not having immune systems, thats where Mom's milk comes in. She passes antibodies to the kid threough breast milk to help protect until the immune system kicks in. I suppose a formula fed baby might need a little extra protection, but nothing extreme. I won't be investing in hand sanitizer etc. It seems silly and neurotic to me. -Neb

Answer 8

I plan to have the sanitizer ready for people wanting to hold and touch my baby! Germs are everywhere and I don't want someone touching/scratching their butt and wanting to hold my baby! I can't protect her for everything but I will protect her from what I can!

Answer 9

I am a total germ-a-fob! I know I'm a little on the crazy side when it comes to germs, and its probably not the best for my little guy, but I just cant help it! Everyone tells me how he needs to be exposed to germs, but I go nuts thinking about those nasty yucky germs. Up until he was about 2-3 months old I made everyone wash their hands before they could touch him. Then i had to go back to work, and my mother in law watches him, so I had to loosen that a little bit, and realize that I cant control how often they wash their hands. But, they are clean people and I'm comfortable that they are washing. I freak when my family comes over because they are not the cleanest. I used to sterilize the bottles twice a week now (hes 5 months) I do it once a week or so. I dont sterilize the water, but I have a filter hooked to my tap. He has so many blankets and I give him a clean blanket everynight after he has a bath. And, throughout the day if his blanket falls on the floor to much or touches the ground outside I put it in the dirty clothes. I wash my hands like crazy- If I do anything... put clothes in the washer, go to the store, walk out to my car... anything I wash my hands.  And, I'm always telling my husband to wash his hands.

Answer 10

i think there should be a happy medium. i dont make people wash their hands, unless they are smokers. i sanitized all bottles and eating accessories before the first use, but not after that... i do sterilize tap water to make formula and i use sterile water for his cereal aswell.

i wouldnt allow my baby to play on a store floor or something like that... but i dont want to completley shield him either, he has to build up some immunities of his own.

Answer 11

Well, with my first child I was anal like most first moms. I now have 4 kids and my youngest is going on 3 months old. It's very hard to keep my 21 month old from touching my 3 month old. So, germs are something I don't get too hyped about, except for the obvious like you stated. I don't sterilize the water and shh don't tell I use the microwave to heat bottles (15 sec, all microwaves vary...lol), amazingly my kids are all still alive and very healthy and no burns in the mouth...lol. I go with common sense. Doctors have to be OVERLY careful because of lawsuits. Trust your gut. If you feel better with sterilizing then do it, there is no harm in it. Just don't get obsessive about it, you can't escape germs all together.

Answer 12

Good question.

I personally feel that some exposure is good, and some is inevitable despite our best efforts to protect against it.  They need to build up immunities from something, right?  

The whole "wash your hands before holding baby" thing lasted, for me, about two days.  I don't have time to wash my hands every time my baby wants held.  If I was digging around in a pile of maggots or something, then yea, I'd wash them.  But most often, I'm just sitting on the couch or doing light housework.

My SO still washes his hands every time, but he's a nerd.  If I question someone's hygeine, and they want to touch my baby, I might ask "Are your hands clean?" before they do so, but that's pretty rare.

I formula-fed my first child, and have never sterilized a bottle in my life.  Bad call, maybe?  Who knows.  But he's fine.

EDIT- LMAO @ "Germ Terminators"

Answer 13

i think it is better to expose to some but with caution.  my oldest never got sick until it was the dead of winter which is common.  but just because she dropped her bottle or juice cup i didn't run to sterilize it, i'd rinse it off but no big deal.  it doesn't hurt to get a bit dirty crawling around either.  i'd appreciate it if people had clean hands before holding my baby but I'm not going to be standing there with a bottle of sterilizer to make sure.  with the water situation, with my first daughter I trusted the water in my town and used the tap, I drank it and it was just fine(i also had the water tested).  with the baby now I only use bottled water or sterilized(we moved to a different town).  

Answer 14

i am a first time mom.

i have a 9 month old.

i think its best to do a little of both. they need to be exposed to some type of germs to help better develop their immune systems. but you wouldn't want sick people or people with unexplained rashes touching your baby.

it seems like people who are germaphobes usually have sick babies a lot.

im some where in the middle.

i dont boil the water, but i do use bottled water. (because our tap water is so gross. its drinkable, but you wouldnt want to. it taste like dirt.)

i used to boil his bottles, but now we dont.

Answer 15

i am a registered nurse, so i think most ppl go overboard when it comes to germs; i do sometimes boil her nipples and vents for her bottles as directed, and i boil her water per her ped, but....i do not and would not sterilize anything daily or semi-daily...i wash her bottles and such, passys, formula pitcher in hot soapy water and rinse in  hot water; on rack to air dry and into cabinet...i think all this sterilization c**p is a gimmick to scare first time moms into buying all this c**p..LOL

i am a first time mom, but after working in a hosp i gave up the germ freak side a long time ago, i figure if i am gonna get it, i woulda got it by now....now, as for strangers touching her, that's a good way to start a fight, and i didn't take her much of anywhere until she got her first round of shots....i don't use sanitizer, but i do have folks wash their hands bc they could touch something and it not be a problem for their mature immune system, , but i don't want a 2 mo old with a flu virus or such, something they may already have an antibodies to...she must be exposed to things in order to build her immune system, i just know when the gprents have been out shopping their hands are probably dirty....now, in our home, the dog lives where we live and he touches baby all the time; we have 2 cats...as long as she doesnt' eat out of the litterboxes we are all cool...i don't fanatically wash her carseat cover etc every other day or anything, only when it is clearly dirty...or has been a really long time, and the car seat touches everything...when we go outside, she gets to touch flowers and such....i think with everything in life, there must be balance and common sense...and maybe a little more handwashing than years back simply bc of the amt of international travelers we have everyday from third world countries, the scores or idiots who are not vaccinating their children and put everyone else at risk, and the increase in the concentration of the population...sorry for the book, just wanted to be clear...good question, maybe some ppl will save some money..

edit

babies DO have immune systems they are just immature as they have not been exposed to all the different germs we have...they do get antibodies from breastfeeding, yes, but they do get some from the placenta==neither of these equals a mature immune system...the key is to let it build without overwhelming it else baby gets sick; you would be surprised everyday how many different antibodies ur little one is producing....that is how an immune system is built-exposure, annihilation, antibody...and to ppl who don't know what an antibody actually IS, it is basically the way an immune system remembers a particular pathogen so that it recognizes it faster the next time it is exposed and knows what killed it last time, so it repeats....that is why vaccines work, baby builds antibodies...and if he comes in contact with that pathogen, the antibodies recognize it right off and kill the invaders before they have a chance to multiply enough to make baby sick....

Answer 16

Babies need to be protected as much as possible. They literally aren't born with immune systems. I'm not saying to let them live in a plastic bubble.... but the safer you are at first the better.