Learning something new

I'm really enjoying my microbiology class and I learned something new last night that I thought was kind of funny. There are millions of cellular organisms, mostly bacteria, that inhabit our bodies. In fact, 10% of our dry weight is microorganisms. Each person's flora, as they are called, is unique. People living in the same household will have many similarities but will still be slightly different. Your environment plays a role in what your personal flora is.

People living in one area of the country will have a different set of microorganisms common to them than others in a different community will have. This helps explain why when you relocate to a new community you are at risk for more illness, initially. It's been true for our family, upon arriving in a new town we usually catch some little bug, viral or bacterial, within the first few months but then we're fine as we adjust to our new microbe environment.

The funny part came in lecture last night. Building a flora begins at birth. My professor was explaining that while a mother may have an "instinct" to protect her new child from interacting with other people it is actually more beneficial to allow the baby to be touched by others. This will increase the amount of flora on the new baby and allow for greater immunity to these microbes in the future.

My professor, and class, know that I am a mother of seven so she was kind of looking at me when she said this. But I had a funny smile on my face because I've never really had that "instinct" she was speaking about. Whenever I've had a baby I have had a desire to share that child with whomever asked, or offered, to hold him/her. I've always felt that babies are like a little piece of heaven. (I know, sounds a little corny coming from me.) But it truly is how I feel. I've never wanted to deny someone the joy and peace that comes from holding a baby so I've always said yes when asked.

Now it turns out that I was following an even greater "instinct", to do right by my kids by allowing them exposure to increase their flora and be healthy kiddos. Maybe my mothering skills aren't too bad after all. I love what I'm learning!

Posts aren't truly complete without a picture so here is one of my babies. I won't tell you which one but if you hazard a guess I'll let you know if you're right. =)