Woman asks if she's wrong for refusing to hold co-worker's baby

Ahh, babies. Most people love them, but many others just...don't. And that's OK. Or is it?

One woman took to Reddit's "Am I the A**hole" forum to ask whether she is in fact in the wrong for refusing to hold her co-worker's baby.

She wrote:

The poor baby was being passed around like a hot potato. I made some basic remarks of 'how cute' etc and tried to make a quick escape back to my desk, but then mom offered me the child to hold.

When the poster said "no thank you", the mother was insistent, and OP said that she hadn't yet had her flu shot. While that might seem perfectly reasonable, her coworkers disagree.

OP says that she is being labelled "Baby Hater" and has been uninvited to work gatherings.

Many commenters were on OP's side. One, the mother of a five-month-old, said:

She is definitely TA. I wouldn't dream of forcing someone to hold my child and I definitely wouldn't let someone hold my child after they said they didn't want to because of whatever reason.

Another said:

Many years ago I brought my newborn twins to my workplace and you’d better believe I only handed them off to those who clearly wanted it. What if OP is nervous about handling a baby? Back off, smug mommy!

A couple did disagree with OP, saying that she should just have sucked it up for a few mintues to save her rep.

One said:

It is basic social convention to acknowledge a new birth. This lady was sharing her pride and joy with her work family, and you diminished the moment. It would not have killed you (or the baby) to take 30 seconds to acknowledge the woman’s accomplishment.

The conversation also, perhaps unsurprisingly, kicked off a debate about vaccinations.

H/T: Reddit

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