Worry seems to be a part of having a preemie. I worry about
my baby’s scholastic future, her mental health, her physical health, cerebral
palsy, etc etc… Very little can be done to immediately address or control these
issues, so there is not much to their involvement in my life besides worry.
There is however something that I do have some degree of control over and that
is doing what I can to ensure that little Miss V does not get sick… which means
trying to ensure that I don’t get sick… which basically means being a
germophobe. That is why the transition from cold early spring to
warmer spring weather is bittersweet…
On the one hand, this means that cold and flu season is
coming to a close, however this also means something disastrous for my peace of
mind: it marks the time that sane people stop wearing gloves and mittens. My
glove wearing practices have been very important to me in that they have
offered an element of control over an otherwise intimidating flu season
environment; confronting a shopping mall door that sick people have been
fondling with their coughed-in hands? No problem I have my mittens. Checkout at
the pharmacy with an interac machine full of flu and chlamydia? Pass me the
chips because I have leather gloves. But when it comes to being gloveless, I am
about as internally comfortable as a man who just broke a bottle of tabasco
over his crotch. If I did not think that I would be harshly judged, I would go
shopping with latex gloves in the summer. That is it for now. Nothing comforting.
Just a bit stressed. Though I have made a couple of adjustments in anticipation
of the switch:
- I attached a small bottle of alcohol rub to my keychain
- I wash my hands before and after using the washroom or eating
- I wash my hands twice when I get home
- I have gotten into the habit of opening doors (towards me) where few people touch it. (you can figure this out by looking at a door handle with wear marks on it).
- I have gotten into the habit of opening doors (away from me) by pushing the bottom of the frame with my foot
- Before leaving the house I make sure that I make one of my pockets a “dump” pocket. I use my dump pocket to put “dirty” things like change that I get back after paying for something, and immediately after putting something in the dump pocket I use the hand sanitizer on my keychain
- I do not grab shopping bags by the handles if I can avoid it
- I try not to grab shopping items at the front of the row that may have been recently touched by a sick person (the common cold virus can live for over a dozen hours on objects)
Feel free to share any of your tips so that we can repost
them.
Xo
Dada
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