For my ‘adult life’ (I use the term loosely), I comically have been known to take advice from strangers. Weather reports from baristas, romantic advice from patrons at the bar I worked at, dog raising tips from random people I meet at dog parks and health tips from concert goers. I just trust strangers. I’m not sure if it is from being brought up in a small community of just my general gullible nature.
The day of the Boston Marathon bombing… the hour of the Boston Marathon bombing, Adam and I were driving back from New York City with the baby. When we got word of what had happened from a concerned friend that called us, we very soon after pulled off the highway – part for a dirty diaper change and part just to stop driving so we could process what the heck was going on.
We got off the highway in Massachusetts and stopped at a Dunkin Donuts. The only people there were a handful of old guys playing cribbage in the corner. After we got our coffee, a man who was playing cribbage motioned for me to come over to the table. He pointed at the pacifier in my hand.
Old Guy: ‘You know what they are saying now don’tcha?’
Me: ‘No’
My head: Here we go with the pacifiers are bad for babies lecture.
Old Guy: ‘Well how do ya clean that thing?’
Me: ‘We have these special wipes for them or I swap it out if it is really icky.’
My head: I know, I know… I am supposed to BOIL it every time it comes into contact with a molecule yadda yadda.
Old Guy: You don’t need those. They say now that moms should just wash them off with their own mouths. It’ll help the baby from getting sick and developing allergies’.
Me: Oh interesting. Thanks. Have a great afternoon.
My head: Why is my husband so damn slow all the time. I’m going to wait outside.
New Study on Cleaning Pacifiers
This week on the news, multiple sources are talking about a new study out of Sweden that says moms should clean their baby’s pacifiers with their mouths.
“By the time babies were 18 months old, those whose parents sucked their pacifiers were less likely to have asthma and eczema, and the researchers concluded that this was because parents exposed their babies to bacteria in their saliva, stimulating babies’ immune systems. There was also a trend toward a reduction in allergy signs.”
Whooooooooaaaa!
So who was that old guy at the Dunkin Donuts a month ago who told me the same thing? Was he a doctor? Was he from the future? Was he Dr. Samuel Beckett?
I may never know but he didn’t do much for my weakness of taking advice from strangers. He may have made my condition worse.
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, is a successful working mom.
