Sanitizer

Last year, during flu and RSV season, the nurse who came to our house to give Buzzy her RSV shots gave us a small tag we could attach to the car seat. It read, "Please wash your hands before you touch mine." This is more than just a friendly reminder, though. It is the mantra of the household that has a preemie.

Conventional wisdom says that a baby should be exposed to other people and their germs in order to build their immunity. This is great advice for children who are born with an immune system ready to work. Following such advice with a preemie, however, could prove fatal. Preemies are not ready to fight off infection, and an illness that would manifest itself in a full-term baby as the sniffles would almost certainly put a preemie back in the hospital. Thus, the number one rule around a premature baby is to sanitize.

When visiting Buzzy at the hospital, we had to stop at the sanitizing station to remove all jewelry, push up our sleeves, and scrub up to our elbows. Only after doing so could we go back to our daughter's room where we also used the dispenser of hand sanitizer on the wall before touching her. When Buzzy's sister was allowed to visit, she, too, learned to use the "tanisizer."

Parenting in a sterile environment presents its challenges, especially when there is a school-age sibling. It was impossible to control Buzzy's exposure because I could not control what germs came home with her sister. Therefore, any cough or sneeze was accompanied by the admonition to cover, then sanitize. If she later develops a fear of germs, we will not have any problem identifying the cause of her neurosis.

Outsiders may indeed think that the parent of a preemie is neurotic. Obsessive hand washing can be a sign of such a problem, and the instruction to others to do the same may not be well-received. However, the person who does not receive the instruction to sanitize will likely not be received into the household again. It's not a neurosis. It's a necessity.