Alarmist?

Not too long ago, we had a visit with our pediatrician. At that visit, everything went really well. However, our pediatrician told us that if she could have her way she would want no one under 12 to touch Hope for the next 2 years, but she would be happy with the next one year. She told us to instruct Shane and Liv to kiss Hope on her feet and the back of her head where germs were less likely to find their way into her nose and mouth. She recommended that we get some mosquito netting that attaches to her car seat and stroller to help keep dirty hands and kissing lips from invading her space. Her concern, and I totally understand it, is that with Hope's cardiac history, she is more likely to have some sort of respiratory distress if she were to get a respiratory infection. I understand the concern, and we'll do our best to follow her recommendations, especially around hand washing, but, hey, I don't think she needs to be kept in a bubble.

The other day I had Liv and Hope at the park, and of course I'd forgotten her mosquito netting, and just about every little girl in the park (and a few boys) kept following us around trying to touch Hope. Normally, with the netting this is not a problem, the netting is just opaque enough that one doesn't really see Hope without knowing she's in there or looking really hard. Regardless, this one girl about 4 or 5 years old was just about to touch her and I asked her not to. Despite my efforts to explain Hope's situation, this little girl was obviously disappointed to not be able to touch the baby. She walked off dejected. Later, I saw her on one of the climbing toys. She very matter of factly told me that I was not allowed to play on the climber. I was too big. Tit for tat? I think so. I guess we're even now.