Grandmother can't hold baby
Today I went to see my niece and her new baby with my sister, who is the grandmother. The baby is about 10 days old. At one point, my niece said she needed to do something and indicated that doing it while holding the baby would be a mild inconvenience. Her mother (my sister) instantly offered to hold the baby, but my niece said absolutely not.
Is this normal for new mothers? My sister told me later she was very hurt. I was too surprised to say anything, but I wondered if I should have? I can understand turning down a stranger, but the baby's grandmother? My own mother died when I was young so I never had a mother who could hold my babies; same for my sister. Seems like it's something you would WANT to share?
Also, my niece seemed obsessed with germs and made us wash our hands at the door in case we might make the baby ill, although the only person in the house who was sick was my niece, who has a mild cold. The baby is full term and perfectly healthy, by the way. Is it now normal to protect babies this way? In general, we felt very unwelcome, but I have no idea why... Could her unfriendliness be related to her just having given birth?
Asking