hands off

I have a conundrum. And no, it is not that I like to throw SAT vocab words into my blog posts. People keep touching my baby. I am not a quiet, shy person. I have no problem telling people my thoughts and opinions. But for some reason, I cannot tell people to keep their filthy hands off my little one.

I know some people hang signs like this one from My Tiny Hands on car seats and strollers. Other people just flat out glare at anyone who comes within 12 inches of the baby and their mom radar goes off.

But I cannot seem to speak up when people feel the need to touch Lila. I guess on one hand I want them to admire how cute she is. And I don't want to seem rude. But there is that split second when I know they are about to reach over and rub their probably unwashed germ-infested hand on her cheek. Or grab her finger (that in about 90 seconds she will stuff into her mouth and slobber on).

I guess I don't know what to say without sounding mean or rude or offending people. Again though, offending people isn't usually of any concern to me. Not sure why I care now.

What do you say to strangers (or just familiar dirty people) when they try to touch your baby? Please leave me a comment with your best lines. Maybe you don't have a baby and have had someone say something to you? Were you offended? Did you throw out a Stephanie Tanner "How rude!" but then calm down when you thought about it later?

Now before we do this,

let's go over the ground rules.

Rule number 1, no touching of the hair or face.

~Will Ferrell in "Anchorman"