Worried About 9 month old bumping head on metal play den

[hml1976]

Please do some research on babies and germs, he needs to be on the floor and exposed to normal household allergens in order to help protect his immune system in the future.

Exposing Babies to Allergens Early in Life Could Promote a Better Immune System Later - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

Getting the Dirt on germs

[MsMystie3k]

Originally Posted by hml1976

Please do some research on babies and germs, he needs to be on the floor and exposed to normal household allergens in order to help protect his immune system in the future.

Exposing Babies to Allergens Early in Life Could Promote a Better Immune System Later - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

Getting the Dirt on germs

Thanks for the article! I just checked out, and although it will be really hard for me, I'm going to try some of the suggestions. However, my real concern was the possible Salmonella/and or e coli from the chickens and dog possibly being present on our carpet, not so much allergy danger. The big allergen that worries me is peanuts. Do you happen to have any info on that? I've read conflicting things - it is confusing!

[hypocore]

Originally Posted by MsMystie3k

Hypocore, I'm considering do this because I have become a germophobe since having my baby and I would like to keep in on his play mat while he is in the crawling stage - I feel like I just can't keep the carpet and floor clean enough, as we had freerange chickens and a dog who was no doubt tracking all manner of cooties in the house.

Ah. I'm of the mind that a little dirt won't hurt anyone. None of my 4 kids have ever seriously been sick and the oldest is now 27.

I decided quickly that I wasn't going to spend my time constantly cleaning or worrying about things being perfectly clean when I could be spending that time playing with my babies instead. I'd much rather spend my time teaching them how to explore their surroundings safely and helping them learn social boundaries as they grow and explore.

Things I thought about....even if I kept her in her playpen she'd throw things out and they might get dog hair on them. That means I have to give her something new each time or wash what she threw out. Would I rather spend all that time chasing and cleaning or would I rather sweep/mop really good right before she played and not worry about one or two stray hairs I missed and be able to roll on the floor with her?

It reminds me of the 'story' about pacifiers.
With the first baby pacifiers are immediately picked up off the floor and boiled to sanitize.
With second babies pacifiers are merely run under the faucet before being putting back in their mouth.
With the third baby, the pacifier is wiped on mom's pants and puts it back.
With the fourth baby mom pops in it her mouth then back in babies.
With the fifth baby mom just pops it right back in.

There is some truth to it. haha

Also, regarding the chickens/dogs...unless you have thoroughly cleaned all the furniture, doors, cabinets, clothing and shoes etc., there will always be germs on them from the animals. Dog dander floats in the air. Feet walk on the floor then get pulled up under us so germs transfer to clothing and furniture. Doors and cabinets get brushed up against by the animals. And so on. So the floor is only one part to think about. And if the animals are still in the house, this set up will get brushed up against, your child may get their hands on the animals through the bars and the germs will still be there.

[hml1976]

Funny, I've heard the pacifier story with having the dog lick it off too

OP, I wouldn't worry too much about peanuts at this point. If you don't have a family history of peanut allergies than chances are, your baby will be just fine. My son was actually very underweight as an infant and we (at ped's recommendation) started him on peanut butter at 10 or 11mths. I'm not saying you should do that (don't) but remember that most kids aren't allergic to foods.

More importantly, as long as your house isn't dirty, and it sounds like it isn't, I think the benefits outweigh the risks, imo of course. I found the article that I was looking for originally. A friend sent this to me when my two year old (now 3yr old) went through a rampant dirt eating phase (yep, handfuls at a time!). Hopefully this will make you feel better

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/health/27brod.html?em