If you have a newborn, do you clean with bleach?

[RNMOM]

You need to relax. Baby will be fine but it is good you opened windows and aired out the house.

I find it odd someone would come over and bleach things....JMHO.

We have become a germophobic society. Think real hard about how we all touch things all the time and realize nothing is "clean". It is impossible. Your baby needs exposure to germs to build up his immune system. If he is not allowed to develop this he will be at greater risk as he gets exposed to "foreign" germs such as when he starts school. All of us had to get exposed to colds/flu/normal bacteria and develop immunity to them. Hand sanitizers are really unnecessary. Teach your child to wash with soap and water and rub well.

Remember the recent movie "War of the Worlds"? What killed the aliens was bacteria and viruses. Things in our environment that we had immunity to but they have not. So, if you SIL wants to sterilize your house more, ask her not to. Good old soap and water and keeping things nice and clean as you normally do will work just fine for your little bundle of joy.

Relax and find yourself a good babysitter asap. You will need to begin getting away for your and your husband's sake. You are important too. I found several good sitters by posting at local colleges. Many have job boards and I was very pleased with my sitters who were all 19 or older. I like older sitters.

 

[KerriSue]

I always go by the motto----BLEACH IS OUR FRIEND

A little OT but, how was your coffee date anyway?

Remember to relax and although it is hard, enjoy that clean kitchen. When your done with your SIL send her to my house we could use a good bleach blitzing

I know how I was when my kids were little, so Im not sure I could give any other advise that wasnt already given. Hang in there.

Kerri

 

[bjgrazi]

I I'm debating going to sleep with him at my moms for the night (which would probably put dh over the edge...but so what).

I have a 3 month old please send your SIL to my house, I'd love for someone to help clean.

I feel bad for your husband that line that I quoted says alot.

 

[aprilgail2]

I cleaned with bleach when my daughter was an infant and no harm done! I LOVE the smell of bleach, its a clean smell to me and I clean the floors and counters with bleach. What in the world do you think will happen to your child from a clean house?? As long as she didn't give the baby a bath in bleach there is no problem. AS far as getting out of the house eventually you are going to have to leave that baby and go out so you best get used to the fact hat other people are ACTUALLY competant and able to watch your baby..
ahhh...the joys of first time motherhood.

 

[phillybeth]

Infants are not as fragile as we think- they can take alot, including inhaling a little bleach fumes.

Let the little guy spend some more time with your SIL while you catch a nap. It's hard to think straight when you are sleep deprived. And in a few years you will be laughing about this!

 

[Disneyrsh]

.

 

[kristen821]

The baby will be fine. As other posters have said dcfs requires day care centers to clean with bleach. You will have plenty of things to worry about the next 18 years (technically you will worry forever) Don't sweat the small stuff you'll drive yourself crazy!
Congratulations on your new arrival!

 

[jenrose66]

Thanks for all of your replies. I took your advice and tried to relax, the baby did not go to my moms for the night .

I do want to clear up that I did not flip out on my sil. I don't like to make people uncomfortable so I didn't say anything. I thanked her for cleaning the kitchen. It does look good and I did appreciate the help. It's just that, the softscrub is in the bathroom for the tub. I have a hoover floormate and a swiffer...I would just prefer that she not bleach my floor...

 

[NikiM20]

I find it odd someone would come over and bleach things....JMHO.

My best friend says that cleaning is theraputic to her. Soooooooo since I am the best friend in the world....I let her clean my house...just to save money on therapy bills ya know

 

[Allison]

I find it odd someone would come over and bleach things....JMHO.

My best friend says that cleaning is theraputic to her. Soooooooo since I am the best friend in the world....I let her clean my house...just to save money on therapy bills ya know

If she needs more therapy, send her to my house please.

 

[sameyeyam]

Figure the bleach topic has been covered sufficiently, so won't comment further on that. However, only being gone 1-1/2 hours when you have a trusted, competent SIL babysitter that cleans your house - now that's just plain crazy!!

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

Another preschool/day care worker here, in our infant and toddler rooms almost anything that can be bleached is. Changing tables, food tables, toys that go in their mouths, the fridge for bottles ect.. you get the picture, beach in one form or another is used at most restaurnts too as a sanitizing agent in the dishwashing area. The fumes from the soft scrub may have seemed a bit harsh, I don't ususaly notice it at work though but we use only bleach and water(no soft scrub). Enjoy your little one and the nice clean kitchen, get out when you can and try to relax. Now don' t go getting all nuts with the cleaning either remember... Into every life a little dirt must fall.

 

[Planogirl]

I try not to clean my babies with bleach, it's a little harsh.

I read it exactly the same way too. Classic.

 

[va32h]

OP, I hope you feel better about the bleach situation.

On another note, it is not bad parenting to spend a couple of hours with your spouse while someone else watches the baby. Many a marriage has gone down the toilet because a mother refuses to ever leave her child and completely dismisses her husband.

 

[katerkat]

I feel bad for your husband that line that I quoted says alot.

On another note, it is not bad parenting to spend a couple of hours with your spouse while someone else watches the baby. Many a marriage has gone down the toilet because a mother refuses to ever leave her child and completely dismisses her husband.

This is a little harsh, considering it's her first baby and he's only three weeks old. Plus the other day she started a thread about postpartum depression. I know when my boy was that age, I didn't want to leave him and was excessively paranoid about him, even around my husband.

Now, sixteen months later, anyone can have him for almost any length of time, plus he was playing in the backyard kiddie pool nekkid as a jaybird this morning. (And you know that thing isn't sparkling clean!!) The paranoia and such will die down and I'm sure the OP will be more attentive to her husband when things like sleeping and a somewhat normal schedule happen!!

OP, don't worry about the bleach (but send her over to my house to clean!) and don't worry about the baby. Things will get easier soon!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Thanks for all of your replies. I took your advice and tried to relax, the baby did not go to my moms for the night .

I do want to clear up that I did not flip out on my sil. I don't like to make people uncomfortable so I didn't say anything. I thanked her for cleaning the kitchen. It does look good and I did appreciate the help. It's just that, the softscrub is in the bathroom for the tub. I have a hoover floormate and a swiffer...I would just prefer that she not bleach my floor...

You are doing great and things really will calm down eventually if not very soon.

I know I've already commented about the floor, but I'll comment again...I agree about the floor--I have one of those wet Swiffer things that sprays the solution on the floor and the pad (looks like the mega Kotex) cleans the floor. I used to have the Hoover floormate, but it took me forever to clean my floor, or so it seemed. I do use the Softscrub on the counter stains, though.

As far as being a first time mom, when I had my first, I was so overwhelmed. Good thing that I had a 2BR apartment to keep clean because I don't know how I could have handled anything more and take care of a baby. I wasn't depressed, but it was all I could do to keep the place clean, groceries bought, laundry done and the baby happy. I didn't know how I'd ever be able to have another child and if I did, I figured we'd never make it out of the house. I did have more (3 more eventually) and our house size grew, but my standards changed, too. I knew that being a happy mom and taking care of my children (and my DH) were my main priorities and the other things had to happen after those things were taken care of. Of course they were important, too, but not at the expense of time with my family. You'll learn to juggle everything over time.

OK, pep talk over!

 

[golfgal]

Just wait until you have your second child and their pacifier falls on the ground and you wipe it on your jeans and plop it back in their mouth.

 

[antsss]

To the op: I totally get your anxiety over the bleach. When my oldest DS was 2 months old I came down with a really nasty case of strep throat on New Years Eve. I went to the Immedicenter for a culture and a prescription for an antibiotic. I was nursing the baby at the time and the doctor couldn't tell me whether it was ok for me to be on the antibiotic and nurse. I was almost delerious with fever, exhausted from not sleeping, in a huge amount of pain and discomfort and I almost had a breakdown. I finally heard from MY ob later that day via phone and he indicated it would be fine to take the antibiotic.

My point is that your imagination can run wild with a newborn. You will automatically latch on to the worst case scenario. This is normal (at least it was for me!)

My kids are now 6, 4 and 3 and I feel (most days) like a pro!

 

[kristen821]

Just wait until you have your second child and their pacifier falls on the ground and you wipe it on your jeans and plop it back in their mouth.

This is so true!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Just bumping this thread up to see how things are going.