Hubby and I are first time parents to an infant. Being pregnant during the pandemic, giving birth, and then going through the newborn stage without really being able to leave the house was tough. Couple that with being together 24/7, working remotely the entire time, and not being able to kiki with my besties has really taken a toll on my mental health. Oh, and then there’s the post partum anxiety/depression I am still going through.
Baby is healthy and has been from day 1 but my hypochondriac husband overreacts to EVERY single cough, sneeze, you name it baby has. And in his ‘old world’ thinking (he’s from a traditionally conservative European country but has been in the US for over 20 years), air conditioning is pure evil. Did I mention we live in the southern US where it’s hot and humid about 5 months of the year. Baby is huge (95-98th% in length, weight, head size) and still very healthy. Baby boy caught a cold after his first week of daycare. Hubby went into full on hysterical mode. Yelling about how he knows it was bc daycare had A/C blowing all day on his spreading biological warfare grade germs all over our precious angel. He then says it’s also my fault bc we ‘run the A/C like crazy’ at home (thermostat is set to 78F and 77F if I can slyly bump the temp down. The point being it is very much not Siberia here. It’s been a constant battle for us and I’m over it.
@pleed Tell him that for SIDS prevention the ideal indoor temperature is 62-75 with optimal range being closer to 70. They can't relate their body temps efficiently until about 24 months. Also, SIDS prevention... A/C actually keeps the air moving and circulating which prevents carbon dioxide building up while baby sleeps.
So yeah you need the ac and you need it lowered... for the baby!!!
@pleed Haha my husband is Polish and he blames the AC blowing on us for most illnesses. First time I got ear infection in our relationship he’s like you got blown? I’m like excuse me? He’s like the AC was blowing you !!
@katrina2017 Logic and reason don’t matter! I tell him that hospitals INCLUDING the one baby was born in keep them temp pretty chilly. You don’t see millions of babies dying every year with the diagnosis of ‘death by air conditioning’ hubby’s response? ‘ it doesn’t matter’
@pleed Want to tell him that if he gives you a five page research report with at least three sources from scholarly articles, you'll reconsider your position on air conditioning?
Maybe he'll teach himself enough so he doesn't have to be worried about blowing air anymore.
@pleed Sit him down with the pediatrician and let them explain it in little words if that's what he needs. The South without A/C is way more dangerous to an infant than A/C is. We moved out a few years ago to a place where it's normal for many houses not to have A/C and I flat refused to live in any of them. Now we're having a heat wave and I'm cheerfully rubbing it in Mr. "We don't need A/C here!"'s face.
@b_eves4god Same with where I live! So many places don’t have AC but I insisted we spend the extra for one that did. We keep it set on 74 and that’s still warmer than I’d like- I can’t imagine how bad it would have been with no AC when it recently went over 100 degrees. No thank you.
@principiatheologica I’m so happy we are renting in a place with ac right now.. I’m in Vancouver and we have a heatwave it’s currently 43 degrees (110f), however there is no breeze so we have a heat warning saying it feels like 50 (122f). If I did not have our temp inside set to 68f I would be losing my mind!!
@pleed I’m an Easter European transplant myself, my parents (still living there) are in deep AC is the devil mode. I had so many arguments with my mom freaking over ac and fans.
Here’s my take: in the south baby is much more at risk of overheating and having trouble due to that than being too cold. Babies that are cold cry. Babies that are too hot may pass out.
I get where my mom is coming from. Temperatures there in the winter easily go to below zero F, heating can be spotty and is off at night. Even in the heat of summer nights can be chilly… keeping kids warm is a priority. But we were in Texas. In July. With bad AC…
Good luck. But keep explaining that extreme heat is very dangerous for babies too.
@pleed I would be so sick if I were that hot all the time. Cold babies cry, hot babies die is the mantra I've always heard. My husband could go put a sweater on but I would be making it a colder temp that is comfortable.
@pleed oof you live down south and keep it at 77 or 78 ? wow im up north and in summer its at 68 or 67 . I've never heard the ac is bad for us? then again its only real hot here like 3 months a year
@faithandlove8 Holy cow, hubby would act like he’s on his deathbed if he ever stayed a night at your place . Most of our neighbors keep their thermostat around 70-72. Our HVAC units are pretty powerful so that would be a bit much for us. Ideally I would like 76 but that ain’t gonna happen as long as I’m with him
@butbeyedoersoftheword Similar to the other poster married to a Polish, these crazy cultural beliefs are hard to get over. He also reacts emotionally first where logic and reason are hard to come by but I didn’t give him a choice about the baby getting all his vaccinations (he thought there too many) nor hubby getting his covid shots
@pleed Just here to high five, as someone with a STILL 99th percentile kiddo (never got below 90th in the past ten years)! And also for your resilience in the face of all this BS.
but my hypochondriac husband overreacts to EVERY single cough, sneeze, you name it baby has. And in his ‘old world’ thinking (he’s from a traditionally conservative European country but has been in the US for over 20 years), air conditioning is pure evil. Did I mention we live in the southern US where it’s hot and humid about 5 months of the year. Baby is huge (95-98th% in length, weight, head size) and still very healthy. Baby boy caught a cold after his first week of daycare. Hubby went into full on hysterical mode. Yelling about how he knows it was bc daycare had A/C blowing all day on his spreading biological warfare grade germs all over our precious angel. He then says it’s also my fault bc we ‘run the A/C like crazy’ at home (thermostat is set to 78F and 77F if I can slyly bump the temp down. The point being it is very much not Siberia here. It’s been a constant battle for us and I’m over it.
hubby’s response? ‘ it doesn’t matter’ 
. Most of our neighbors keep their thermostat around 70-72. Our HVAC units are pretty powerful so that would be a bit much for us. Ideally I would like 76 but that ain’t gonna happen as long as I’m with him 
