After some much needed opinions here!

Just so it's said, I don't have a problem with smokers, it's their choice to smoke and I don't want to offend anyone!

My mum is a very, very heavy smoker. She's tried to quit many times and can't. She stresses easily and when she gets stressed, she smokes. If she feels pressured she smokes. If you mention anything about her quitting she gets upset.

Me and DH have talked about this a lot, and I still don't really know what to do! Basically, she's going to be seeing bubs a lot i expect and we're not comfortable with her coming straight in from a smoke (she already knows to smoke outside) and holding bubs straight away as she's going to smell of smoke. I know I wouldn't like to be that close to someone who's just had a smoke so neither should our baby.

All I want her to do, is wash her hands and wait maybe 20 minutes after having a smoke before she holds our baby so the smell has time to not be so fresh and at least her hands will be clean, but how should I ask her to do this without offending her because as I said before, she's very sensitive about it!

What do you think about this issue? What rules did you have about smokers and holding your baby? How did you politely ask them to wash their hands and wait a while? What reactions did you get?

Looking forward to hearing your responses!