I have a 3 month old baby and am hosting a bridal shower in a week and half. I thought I had planned around all the problems with being a new mom and doing this, like getting help and working well with a budget etcetera but today a new one has occurred to me: what if a blatantly sick person shows up at my door? By blatantly sick I mean sneezing and coffing all over the place with germs going everywhere.
I can have my husband take our baby in the back of the house of course, but when I looked up on baby forums about this stuff it said that germs can stay on surfaces for weeks and there is no way I can disinfect everything in my house before bringing my baby back out into it again.
So the problem is, it is of course safest for the baby to turn someone like that away at the door, but that is horribly rude to both the guest and the bride for whom I am co throwing the shower?
I have already suggested having it at another house for other reasons (the bride wants way more guests that can fit in my house) and they still want it here- the guest list has even been cut down to an amount of people who still can't fit in my house, but will at least be overloaded by a lot less.
Thank you for any insight or ideas you can give. I know I am being a paranoid new parent, but I can't help it.
As the mother of a premature baby (many moons ago) I understand your concerns but, really, you won't be able to keep your child in a bubble.
Most doctors will tell you that you would have to come into direct contact with the germs, like touching a faucet or having someone sneeze near you and then breathing in the mist. Since she isn't crawling or getting around on her own, she should be fine. Besides, the chances that someone is going to come to your home sick is probably slim. It would be rude to scrutinize your guests at the door. If you were to turn a guest away on the basis that you think they may be sick that would be insulting to the guest, insinuating (maybe rightly so) that they aren't bright enough or caring enough to stay away when they are sick. So, go ahead and have the bridal shower. Once all the guests leave, open your windows and spray some Lysol.
Have your husband take the baby to a friend's home for the day if you're worried about her being touched or sneezed on. But know that, unless you and the child stay locked up in your home 24/7, she may come into contact with people who carry a germ. Some say this is how we build up our resistance to future colds, flus and other airborne illnesses. If you're really worried, please speak to your doctor. Top Wedding Questions Forum Moderator - "Write your sorrows in the sand, your blessings in stone".
I couldn't agree more. Plus, no more than 35 guests should be invited to the shower. And you, as host, have the opportunity to set the amount of guests you wish to host. So, you can set that amount to 10 if you wanted. But, it sounds as if the invitations have already been sent at this late date, unfortunately. Rebecca Black, Etiquette Now
(This post was
edited by TWQadmin on Sep 18, 2008, 10:10 AM)
Thank you both of you! My husband will keep our son in the back room with him, where he was going to hide out anyway. They have a bathroom and cable, they can stay there indefinately if I bring them food. Another house wouldn't work just now because we are exclusively breast feeding without pumping just now.
The invitations have already gone out but it does make me feel better that you said it is up to me to set the guest limit since I did feel like a bit of a bully having to repeatedly say the list was too long. It was originally 43 people and I told her to cut it down to at least as low as 20. She then cut it to 39 and told my co host she couldn't cut it anymore. I told the co host she could get somewhere else for us to do it and I would bring the food, and then she finally came back saying the list was down to 20. That is still to many but with only two weeks notice and the couple having only met three months ago I am hoping for a smaller attendance than that.
Good for you! She really shouldn't have been insisting. After all, this is an optional party for which she should be happy someone wanted to host one for her. Hum. Rebecca Black, Etiquette Now
Sick guests and newborn baby
