Need advice/reassurance..

[thecooks]

I have a little problem, well not a problem but a concern.. I just found out I am pregnant (was a surprise) and am due around April 07.. The issue is this; about a year ago we had a "late miscarriage" (almost into the last trimester). So now I am terrified of something happening during this pregnancy. I know I still have what seems like forever to go but.. We have a new Puppy "Honey Dew" she is doing great but I am so worried she is a puppy so she likes to jump and pull on the leash and stuff like that.. I absolutely love my dogs and am in no way even considering finding them new homes.. but I just need advice/reassurance.. We have now banned them from the bed (where the formally slept) and they are doing well about sleeping on the floor next to us - with pillows of course but Honey thinks she is a lap dog should I worry about her sitting my lap (her favorite place) ?? Also we are working on the pulling and jumping.. Honey Dew will still be under one year old when my baby is due can we honestly expect her to understand that the baby is fragile when he/she arrives?? I hope that this is an understandable post.. What I am trying to say is “I am terrified has anyone been in a similar situation, and if so how did you deal with it.”

Thanks SOOO much for listening..

 

[Kaybie's Mom]

I have not been in your situation but I can understand your concern. But I can offer a bit of reassurance hopefully. I know a baby and a kitten are very different, but speaking in terms of how fragile they are, I will use them as a comparison. When Kaybie was only about 6 months old, I ended up taking care of an abandonded kitten that was only 2 weeks old. The kitten only weighed 6 ounces so was very fragile to say the least. Kaybie plays very rough and I was very worried she would accidently hurt the kitten. I took the time to slowly introduce them and finally just gave it a try. I set the tiny kitten next to Kaybie on the couch and to my surprise, she rolled on her back (she is a very dominant dog so this surprised me) and the kitten crawled up to her and tried to nurse on Kaybie's stomach. It was priceless. I ended up keeping the kitten who is now about 5 months old and her and Kaybie are inseparable. They play and rough house but Kaybie seems to know how rough she can play with the kitten without hurting her. (check out my gallery to see pics of Kaybie and Onyx (the kitten) together.

I take Kaybie to the dog park regularly and I have seen her play with different styles depending on big/small the other dog is. She seems to have a sense of what the appropriate style of play should be to not hurt the other animal.

I have to assume this would be similar with a baby as it would be with a baby animal. I think your puppy will do fine. One thing that I found really helped was that I praised Kaybie A LOT for when she let the kitten be by her and when she played nicely with her. If she got at all too rough, rather than scolding her, I just took the kitten away. This seemed to really work. Good luck with your pregnancy and I hope all turns out well. I'm sure the dogs will love their new skin sibling! =)

 

[Darbysmom1]

Dont worry!

I have not been in your position of loosing a baby at such a late stage. I am not a doctor but I am sure if you talk to your doctor they will tell you having a dog sit on your lap and be around you should not hurt your baby. I slept in the bed with my two large dogs through both my pregnancies. Jumping at/on the tummy is not allowed and I think you will be surprised at how fast they learn that. I too was very worried when bringing home our first baby. He was just 6 pounds 1 oz and I was worried the dogs may hurt him or something by mistake. We had an older bitch who we had raised from a puppy and never been around a baby as well as a 11 month old puppy and both adjusted very well. I think the big thing is dont keep the baby from the dogs. Let them see the baby smell the baby and still be a part of your family. There are a ton of book you can read too on different things you can do to help get the dogs ready for baby. All I have to say is dogs are smart we tried the fake baby thing our 11 month old wanted to play tug-o-war with it and I was so worried but when the real baby came he knew what it was and gave him great respect. Sure there were times when baby was on a blanket on the floor and the two dogs decided out of the blue to have a wrestling match. I treated them like I would have older kids and told them if they were going to wrestle they could go outside.

 

[Dham]

I worked as a veterinary technician for the first 4 months of my pregnancy. I picked up dogs and handled big dogs. Just be careful, don't obviously let her jump on you or into your lap. once you get bigger though it will probably cause problems, cause you won't want the extra weight on your lap.

 

[xpurplerainx]

You know not to lift things. Even big furry babies! I was in the hospital on strict bedrest for the last 2 months of my pregnancy. I still ended up delivering almost 5 weeks early. It's best to train your dogs to stay down now before the baby comes that way they aren't all over you when you're trying to feed him/him.

My mom has a female Great Dane who thinks she's a lap dog. She loves to climb on me. While I was pregnant. we bought a babydoll that cried and moved it's arms around. I would sit and hold it. We taught Bonnie that she had to sit (on the floor) beside me and be "easy" with the baby. I would also carry it around and wouldn't let her jump up to see it. We even put it in the bed crying, after a while, she learned when the baby cried to sit.

I hope things work out. I know it's nerve wracking!

 

[Ranvan]

Not personally having gone through pregnancies, but having personally gone through pregnancies...okay, I am the guy, but we DO have ALOT of experience as an observer! ...The general rule we were told for our four babies is that you can do pretty much anything you did before pregnancy but nothing new.

For example, you may do weightlifting...to a degree...only if you did it before. You may not start an exercise program if you did not do one before. I know there is a weight limit as to what you can lift, but I don't remember that there was any concern regarding what is on your lap.

I understand your concern. We lost a baby in early pregnancy. This does have an impact on the next one.

 

[thecooks]

Thank you..

Thanks all of you who replied.. it is so worrying.. but i dont want to go over board.. i love my dogs and they are really "my" dogs.. they love my hubby but they are my babies.. and i dont want to cause any issues in that relationship.. and i really want the dogs and the baby to have a good relationship as well.. thanks for the advice and reasurance.. you all are lifesaves (or atleast sanity savers)

 

[Shakira's Ma]

If you want reassurance about boxers and children just check out my gallery, I run a daycare in my home and my boxer ShaKira loves the children and as clumsy and big and jumpy as she can be she has never stepped on or jumped up on a child, now if you are an adult you are fair game There is a picture in my gallery where I have a very small baby laying on her, check it out, you will see that boxers and children go together and boxers seem to know just who to be rough with and who to be easy and careful with.

 

[lhsdavis]

Ashley almost 2 when my daughter was born and Noah was 6 months. Ashley from the very beginning knew I was pregnant, she would constantly smell my belly(never jumped on me), and became a little more protective that usual. Noah was still a baby, but he was a very easy going puppy, he hated to get in trouble so he was very easy to train, but he is the hyper one of the two. I worried especially when I came home from the hospital that he would jump on me(had a c-section), because when hes ready to play,its on. But the day I came home, after introducing them to the baby, and they were very curious, they were just glad mommy was home even with the new addition. I remember going to lay down, and Noah very carefully got on the bed, and w/o touching layed down with his nose to mine and just layed there with me for a nap. He is such a sweetie, when hes not bouncing off the walls, and he is my daughters best buddy. He has never once jumped on her, is very careful around her, lets her take his toys or whatever, and he just patiently follows her around(shes now almost 5). There have been some accidental knocking over when they start beaning but its quickly forgotten.

 

[Murp.mm]

I don't have any advice to give but to say congratulations on your pregnancy and I am so very sorry about your losing your last baby. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers that everything will go smooth for you. Take care and all the best.