Smokers handling Babies?

Haven't read all the posts but we were and still are the same, neither of us have ever smoked, but all my sisters do. It was made very clear to everyone that if they wished to hold my babies then they would have to refrain from smoking before they came round, or make sure they changed their clothes. They all know how strongly i HATE the smell of smoke, that and it sets off my asthma something terrible.

I have actually found i think my girls act very differently around people when those people have been smoking, they hate the smell too, which is good, Paris used to be very cuddly with my older sister until she began smoking again and after that Paris wouldn't go to her, even if she had changed her clothes and brushed teeth.   Paris is now at the age where she constantly tells my sisters that smoking makes their lungs and heart bad (lol, true daughter of a nurse), and she is really dumbfounded by the fact that they would do such a thing when they know it can make them sick. "but it will make you get sick aunty!" She tells them they smell yucky and won't go near them. And well, I don't think that's rude of her, if she doesn't want to cuddle them cos they reek of smoke, then i'm not going to make her.

We have a trickyish situation when visiting grandparent-in-laws though as both chain smoke, ie, light the next one with the other before it goes out. They live in a house truck so very very confined quarters. We tend to only visit them in good weather so we can all sit outside, otherwise it's just too much. I didn't know how to approach it when we first visited when Paris was 6 weeks old. It was cold, they had the door closed and grandfather just smoked the whole time we were there. We got home and everything, including my poor girl, smelt like it had been dippe3d int he ash-tray, even her hair stunk of it. And that was it, after that i thought too bad, stuff it, if they don't care enough to protect my kid from this then they just have no idea.

good luck

I saw the most disturbing thing the other day. We were stuck in traffic in Pakuranga, and beside us was a car with a woman, mebbe in her late 30's driving. She was smoking, and had the window up. Beside her was a young girl, perhaps 11 or 12, looking grumpily out the window and waving her hand round a bit (I assume she was fanning the smoke away). In the back was a guy, looked about 30 ish, and he was smoking. He was sitting in the middle. So anyways, after about 2 or 3 minutes I saw a little hand come into view in the back seat. I leant forward and saw a perhaps 8 month old in a car seat right next to the man I was so angry I couldn't believe, after all that we have learnt about babies being around cigarette smoke, that these "grown ups" would subject their baby to their filthy smoke.

My view is, regardless of whether you are a smoker or a non-smoker, it is your duty to keep your babies completely smoke free. No two ways about it.

You think thats bad, my DHs cousin smoked all through 3 of her pregnancys, smokes in the house, in the car, while they are on her lap. She says that they had smoke through them while she was pregnant so they can have smoke in them now.
Some people should need a licence to have children!!

It scares me actually that so many people don't get it. They don't get the connection between the cot death risks etc and smoking.

Ie: your baby gets used to having lower oxygen circulating due to having less oxygen during preg, or because they are constantly ina smoky environment. Hello.. the risk then is, that if baby does stop breathing at any time during sleep, their body isn't going to go "hey i'm getting low on oxygen and carbon dioxide is building up i better breate" cos it's used to it, so they don't, they don't have that drive to kick them back into breathing. Why would you do that?

Its harder than you think & some people are not as strong as others- I dont think people need a licence to have kids, we aint all perfect are we? But what i will say is im a young Maori women- its what we do & the stuff that we have been surrounded with, i do the best with what i know & it takes more than once to really knock something you have lived with & seen your whole life

Okay maybe what I wrote came out totally wrong to some. What I meant was (let me try a second time around)I dont know why I must get judged really harsly about my strict rules specially around newborns with smoking by the parent (that I was talking too). She kept on telling me that smoking cant harm a child at all. Second hand smoke is literally nothing and she cant see why I wont let a family member hold and cuddle my child for as long as they want due to this as she is smoking. Her parents smoked. No one has had asthma and is pretty healthy ect. So therefor she has never taken precaution around her child ect.

BTW I wasnt the one that brought it up in conversation with this woman. Now I am seriously not judging anyone what they do ect. And I have a few friends that said that it is difficult to give up and they wish they never started.

But we do have risk in our own family with SIDS (my sister was almost dead). So I wasnt about to take any chances so took a hard stand on this. And I knew I would step on a lot of toes with this, specially with family. But you know what except for one family member in Grants family and my mother everone was actually on with the plan and didnt minded at all.

Once again Glow and Emma, I am sorry if it came through that I might be judging you guys. It wasnt what I meant at all.

Okay hope this makes sense at all.

Glow wrote: But what i will say is im a young Maori women- its what we do & the stuff that we have been surrounded with

Just wanted to say that I am also a young maori woman and don't really appreciate being tainted with that brush. I have never and will never smoke- you may choose to but its not right to assume that others like you will make those same choices.

i,m with glow on this one i am also a maori woman and i smoke i have given up twice and strated twice smoking is a addection it is harder to g9ive up then most hard drugs i was brought up around smokers i smoke and so does my little sister we are both trying to give up its not as easy as some would belive

I have asked one smoker to put a 'special' folded flat nappy over their shoulder before they had a cuddle of catherine, ostenisbly so that they don't get any breastmilk puke on their clothes ... it has a spray or two of eucalyptus on it which also helps to dilute the smell of smoke to her nose.