Please don't smell my baby.

I have noticed that Vietnamese people have some odd infatuation with making my baby cry. The last incident happened when we dropped a friend off at her apartment. The baby (Kim) was in the backseat, and the friend went up real close to Kim while she was sleeping and smelled her really loudly on her face, which woke Kim up and made her cry. I wanted to punch the lady in the face, but my momma raised me better than that, so I just sat there shocked that someone would want to make a sleeping baby cry by smelling it... wtf?!?!

Has anyone else noticed this, and what is a polite (or at least semi-polite) method of handling these situations? I have also seen them pinch the baby, which made me want to pinch/punch them until they cry like the baby. Unfortunately, these people are friends of my wife, so I need to tone it down a little. Any advice? Why in the hell would a grown-ass person smell a baby loudly and make it cry on purpose? My wife says they think it is fun, but I am not laughing.

This is pretty common. I don't know it they are really smelling the baby or this is just how they react when they first see them (like people in the U.S. making baby noises). I've witnessed it a thousands times but never bothered asking. To answer your question you just have to tell them. Have your wife say it's bad luck to sniff, wake, or whatever it is you don't want them to do. Just have her blame it on you. For me, it works every time..

P.S. You're lucky it's not a boy or you'd have to deal with them pinching it's privates, seriously.

They don't see mixed babies very often, so they go ga-ga, goo-goo over them.

Hi,

This is the way here to kiss.
Your baby might be cute.
Just explain your wife that you don't like your baby to be kissed especially while she's sleeping.

Enjoy your fatherhood.
BR,

It's common everywhere to love babies but waking up and make them cry isn't really good  :)
I know someone ask politely to touch or pick up the babies.

My baby has come in contact with many Vietnamese people and I've never seen or heard of this happening. Maybe it's because I live in Phu My Hung and the Vietnamese there are more aware that this is not acceptable behavior - I don't know. But we also take her all around the city as well, and all VN people who see her are very polite. The wait staff in restaurants love to play with her, standing behind us making silly faces to make her laugh. But we've never had anyone get too close or inappropriately touch her.

mikeymyke wrote:

They don't see mixed babies very often, so they go ga-ga, goo-goo over them.


That is true. There is a whole facebook group page dedicated to half-Vietnamese half-non-Vietnamese babies. I'm man enough to admit that I joined the group and that the babies are unbelievably beautiful.

Anh Toan wrote:

Your baby might be cute.


Of course... my baby is the most cutest baby in the world. Luckily she takes after her Mom and not her Dad.  :D

SaigonMonkey wrote:

My baby has come in contact with many Vietnamese people and I've never seen or heard of this happening. Maybe it's because I live in Phu My Hung and the Vietnamese there are more aware that this is not acceptable behavior


I live in Houston, so you would think that people living in the US would know that this is not appropriate. Oh well, I guess I will just have to let them know that if they ever do that again they will not be welcomed around the baby. I hate to be an *** to friends, but this is my baby we're talking about.