Pages

Friday, June 14, 2013

My Issue With.. Germs

I have a major issue with germs. What freaks me out the most is that you can't see them. I'm all fine with getting dirty in the mud because I can look down and SEE that I'm dirty. But when something looks clean how clean is it really?

I wash my hands at least 25 times a day. My baby, Rex, is a thumb sucker so I was his hands a ton throughout the day as well. It's way easier to keep Rex's hands clean than it is Levi's though. I can carry a baby to the sink and he'll let me wash his hands but a 45lb 4.5 year old? Yeah, that's a whole different ball game! Levi knows my rule though. Whenever we get home from being somewhere he goes straight to the bathroom after taking his shoes off to wash. Also, before eating anything. If we aren't by a sink he knows that I'll get the hand sanitizer out.

Going out to eat with a baby makes me feel really uneasy. I can never seem to get the highchair or table clean enough. Every surface he might possibly be able to touch gets a thorough wipe down with a disinfecting wipe before he can go near it. And the menu's? Did you know they are one of the dirtiest things out there? And you touch them right before eating! Yuck. So, everyone knows the drill when we are done ordering. It's off to wash hands or get out the sanitizer. I've gotten a few looks and eye rolls from Andy when I bust out the sanitizer and hold it out for him but he humor's me and does it. If he get's sick I'm likely to get sick. I have to kiss him, don't I?

I would go through huge cleaning kicks once a week for our apartment. I've gotten a little better about letting some things go though. Once I start cleaning it's really hard for me to stop. And, it's hard for me to have Andy clean because I don't know all of the steps that he took. Yeah the sink looks clean but did he really wipe it off good with a disinfectant? So, I do the majority of the cleaning and he usually does something like the dishes and folding laundry to help out. What's that saying? If you want it done right, do it yourself? I think that's it..

I don't know if I would consider this OCD or just being overly cautious about keeping my family healthy. We really don't get sick that often. In fact, I've seen Andy sick ONCE in the 4 years we've been together. Rex is 10 months old without ever having been sick and Levi and I were only sick once last flu season. I'd say that's pretty good!

But I'd like to know.. am I a little overboard/just plain crazy? Are you anything like me when it comes to germs? Give me your input, advice, etc. I'd love to hear it!

1 comment:

  1. Okay, I finally made it to my computer! It is a little OCD but everyone has their OCD things they do. I was super freaked about germs with Bug and still am a little bit but I have relaxed a ton lately. Inside play places totally freak me out with germs and the kids are not allowed to go in those tunnels at Chuck E Cheese or other places. They have to use "handtizer" what Bug calls it whenever they touch toys or equipment when we're out. I hated using high chairs at restaurants and often would end up just holding the kids in my lap because they gross me out so much or we had a cart cover that I would use. Same goes for the table, I bought one of those plastic mats you bring with and it suctions to the table so they would eat off that instead of the table. I used to sanitize the grocery cart every time before I would even put the kids in it also but have totally relaxed on that one. As long as the cart doesn't look too bad I usually skip the sanitizer. My super OCD is locked doors. I have to check doors all the time to make sure they really are locked.

    ReplyDelete