Now, my DH and I both grew up in houses with dogs. There are pictures of me as an infant with my parent's terrier curled up next to me. I could not imagine raising a child without a dog in the house. I understand that some kids will have allergies, and, heaven forbid, if my baby has such allergies, DH and I will do what we need to do with our dogs (hopefully family and/or friends would take them). I'm in no way afraid that my dogs would harm a baby in any way on purpose. Now I know that an 80lb lab can easily knock a child over, but when you've been knocked down, you get back up again. Quite honestly, I'm one who believes that children today are pampered WAY to much. If you fell off your bike and scraped your knees, you washed it off and got back on the bike...we didn't have helmets and knee pads.
Get rid of my furbabies? I don't think so. They've been there with us, through this infertility journey, supporting us. They deserve to reap the rewards of a baby just as much as we do.
Sox...age 6 (pic taken a few years ago at age 2)...
Buddy...age 1 on Saturday
6 comments:
Cute furbabies! I am the same way with my doggies, although I do dress them up and cook them fancy meals!
I completely agree with you. They are part of our family.
Good post!
Yeah, that is ridiculous! I'm keeping our dogs.
CUTE doggies! And no way are we getting rid of our doggie!! That is unbelievable that people would even say that!
I get it. I feel the same about my cats. And oh my god, I never thought about a child having allergies. What a sad thought!
I've been a lurker all along, but wanted to add to what others have said here...I think its GREAT to expose your kids to pets at a very early age! And there have been studies done that show that children who are exposed to things like dirt, pet dander, pet hair, etc in small amounts (like having a pet) actually have LESS allergies because they can build up an immunity to it. So even now, you having your dogs while pregnant is enabling your baby to build up his/her tolerance to all those things!! :) Houses that are too sanitary are BAD, it makes our immunities weaker! So keep those doggies and be proud of it!! :)
~Hannah
What I have heard about dogs and babies is this: If you have dogs when your baby is born, that's great. Just make sure the dog knows how to behave with the baby. If you don't have dogs when you have the baby, wait until you have enough time to train a dog and your child is old enough to understand how to treat the dog. I haven't heard anywhere that you should get rid of your dogs when you have a baby. Sounds like that person should not have pets, since she regards them as disposable.
I'm sure you have trained your dogs well enough to listen to you. That and a watchful eye are usually enough to ensure the safety of your child. As far as allergies go - your baby will get used to breathing in doggie dander (the usual allergen) right away and probably won't ever even develop an allergy.
Every one has an opinion on how you should raise your child, and it will only get worse! My personal favorite was a friend who told me that exersaucers led to back problems - and then a year later had exersaucers for her twins. Ha! But seriously, don't ever let that woman get a pet.
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