When you become a mom, you become immune to a lot of things that used to gross you out. You know what I’m talking about: poop, boogers, vomit… I don’t think I need to go any further. If you’re like me, you also became a germ freak. Germs are enemy number one as you boil and sterilize everything in sight. Toys, bottles, pacifiers: you name it and it hit the pot.
What if you didn’t boil or rinse off those pacifiers? What if you actually stuck them in your mouth to clean them and then stuffed them back in your baby’s mouth? OMG, don’t let your jaw drop completely to the floor just yet, because there’s more! What if spit cleaning that sucker actually could help reduce your child’s chance of developing allergies? That’s what experts say might be the best solution. To make a long story short, some researchers say germs are good. Depriving the body of them could lead to a weaker immune system.
Although I never sucked my children’s pacifiers clean, the thought actually doesn’t gross me out. Now, if it was someone else’s saliva, then this would be an entirely different conversation. In my opinion, there is no tighter bond than that between mother and child. This little person grew inside of you. You can’t get much closer than that, right? So, I don’t see why some people are getting so grossed out about this.
After having my second child, I can definitely say I think a lot of new mothers can be germ freaks. I should know, I was one. No one was going to go near my baby without washing their hands for five minutes and then hitting the Purell bottle…twice! Things change. Now, the “five-second” rule is the “twenty-second” rule. Now, forgetting the shopping cart cover in the car is no big deal (sometimes you don’t even bring it at all). The list goes on and on. I just think there are a lot more important things out there to protect our kids from than our own saliva.
Read the whole story here.
