Pet owners - what did you do with them when you L&D&R'd?

[flagger]

Trying to get ahead of the game, I called the kennel we use for boarding the dogs about six weeks ago and booked all three of them for about a week as our due date is close to Memorial Day (they do book all of their runs pretty quickly around major holidays). However this weekend we got to talking about that decision.

The hospital/maternity center is literally 10 minutes away from the house. There are a couple of people at her work and a couple in the neighborhood that could come let them out. My first thought was to have some baby time without having to deal with the dogs (weimaraners are not exactly what you would call low maintenance), but we also thought all of them would feel replaced if they weren't home when the baby came home. Then we added the $60 per day it costs to board three dogs seven times and felt that money could be better spent elsewhere.

She said she might even want me to leave for a bit to go let them out/feed them either during labour or after the delivery either because she is sick of me or to spend some alone time with the baby. She did say if it got too bad after we came home, we could always take the dogs to the kennel then. What did those of you who are pet owners do with your "kids" during L/D&R?

TIA

[Momof3Labs]

We headed to the hospital at about 6am after my water broke, so we took care of them for breakfast, etc. Had the dog walker come at least once during the day to let them out. Then my dad came up and stayed with them overnight (while my mom stayed at the hospital with DH and me). Then my mom stayed with them for the remaining two nights that I was in the hospital (I gave birth at 1am, so I was there three nights - if your DW's labor is longer, or she has a c-section, she could be in the hospital 3-5 nights easily). DH went home to let them out each day I was there, after Colin was born, because my mom was there to stay with me.

You might want to start interviewing dog walkers - some of them will even stay in the house overnight. It's a cheaper option (ours charges $12/visit) and less upsetting to the dogs than a kennel. They are also available on shorter notice. And you will probably run home a few times, just to pick up forgotten items. Most DH's do.

Note, too, that many first time moms deliver early or late, so it will be hard to plan a kennel stay precisely unless the kennel is very flexible!

[COElizabeth]

We had previously given a key to a friend so he could pick up our dog and take him home with him to play with his dog for a few days. We originally planned for DH to pick the dog up and bring him home before we came home from the hospital, but we ended up coming home first and having the friend bring Kenai home a day or two later. I had lots of people in the house at first and didn't want to worry about controlling him (he gets very excited with guests, and my mother, who has difficulty walking, could easily be thrown off balance by him coming over to say hi). DH did go visit him and take over the baby's hat for him to sniff. He wasn't too interested - was more interested in playing with DH and the friend's dog. For our dog, I don't think it would have made much difference if he had been home before the baby came or not, but I guess I can't say for sure. I will say that we live only 10 minutes from the hospital, too, and I was there for 60 hours after delivery, but DH never went home during that time. He went out for lunch with some relatives once, but the rest of the time he stayed with me or accompanied James to the nursery for his bath, etc. Your DW may well want you to get out once in a while, but it's nice not to HAVE to go feed the dogs at a certain time, and your getting out may be just to a diner down the street. If you leave the dogs at home I would recommend having people lined up to care for them. Then if you feel like going home, fine, if not, you won't worry about them.

Elizabeth
Mom to James
9-20-02

[alkagift]

I second the pet sitter vote. Many of my friends have used them, and when we had a dog it was a great option. The ones here (Critter Sitters) are a real company, not just a private individual, so you can interview them first and when you find one you like you can always request that same person. If that person is sick, though, there's a backup, which is great. They feed and play with the pets, and will even take in your mail/paper if that's what you need. Since they charge by the visit ($13/day, $3 each additional dog), it really is more cost-effective than the kennel, and you can pick a person who knows about high-energy dogs.

Maybe you can go out to www.petsitters.org to find one near you. I only have a cat now, so I haven't had the need!


Allison
Expecting #1 5/27/03

[Rachels]

My mom has a fabulous petsitter in Charlotte. Let me know if you want her name!

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[muskiesusan]

We lined up a couple of friends to come over and hang out with the dogs while I was in the hospital, however we didn't need to use them. My husband was able to go home to be with them in the morning and evening. This gave the dogs time and he got a break as well to shower and eat. One of the reasons this worked so well, however, was that we went to the hospital around 10pm, and I had an emergency c-section a few hours later. With a longer labor and delivery, we would have needed our friends.

HTH
Susan
WAHM to Nicholas 10/01/01

[egoldber]

We have two cats and a dog. My MIL actually arrived after I was in labor and before I had Sarah. She stayed at our place, so DH was able to stay with me in the hospital pretty much constantly (I was there 4 days). This was fairly ideal as far as we were concerned.

I guess it may depend on the person, but I did NOT want DH away from me any longer than he had to be. I ended up with a C section (and about 1 in 4 or 5 moms delivering in hospitals do) and without him there, I would not have been able to have Sarah room in.

The reality is that even though you live 10 minutes away (we live 5 minutes away), by the time you get to your car, drive home, deal with the pets, and get back (assuming no other stops), then it is realistically going to be at least an hour spent away.

Also, recall that first labors can take a long time. Do you really want to have to worry about running home to take care of your pets if you end up having a 24 hour (or longer) labor? At the least, I would try to find a petsitter with flexible arrangements. And also, recall that your "due date" is plus or minus two weeks (and I was 3 weeks early). Make sure that the person you decide to use is available during those times or else have a temporary back up plan until they become available.

My pets were fine when we brought Sarah home, but my dog is not a big dog. If it were me, I would want to have the dogs out of the house.

HTH,

[zen_bliss]

We have just been thinking about this a lot too. We are only about 10 minutes from our hospital. I'm due at the end of next month, and though we'd figured on the 'bring home a baby blankie so they can sniff', I realized that just the fact of my being away would put them in a high state of anxiety. (And of course I don't want DH to leave my side. He is a terrible lollygagger, and it would turn into a two hour affair.) So I decided that we should turn it into a positive experience for them so they meet the baby on a happy curve rather than an anxious one. Our dogwalker has keys to our place, so we can call him to stop by on his rounds and they'll go to stay at his home (which is doggie camp HEAVEN to them) until DH picks them up with a blankie and brings them home to me all settled in.

If we could someday find a childcare person we can trust like we do our doggiecare man...

Dogwalkers are worth interviewing... they are often much more economical than boarding at a kennel, especially if you have more than one dog ($20/hour visit or hike x 3 visits a day is roughly the same price as being ignored in a concrete run all day), and the care is lightyears better.

[khakismom]

My parents were in town and stayed at our house with the dog. My DH spent the nite at home while I was in the hospital--hey, I figured, at least one of us should get a decent nite's sleep! ;) He made sure to bring the baby's blanket home so the dog could smell it and prepare. Then when we came home with the baby, I made sure that DH was holding the car seat with the baby in it. That way I could greet the dog with both arms and snuggle. Since I had been gone for 2-3 days but DH had been home at nites, I was the one he missed.

Good luck! HTH

...Maureen

Mom to
Kathleen 3/22/01
Baby girl EDD 6/12/03

[nitaghei]

Here's what we did:

We have a dog-sitter who comes in to let the cocker out when we work. We had talked with her beforehand.

My pyscho PWD does NOT like the dog-sitter coming in when no-one else is at home. So we'd arranged to drop her off at her groomer (who also does doggie day-care/boarding) when we had to go.

As it happened - we ended going to the hospital at 1 am. We left the dogs at home then. DH left the hospital at about 6.30 am (labor was going nowhere) to feed the dogs and drop off the PWD at the groomer's. We has already called the dog-sitter about the cocker. Thankfully, we had signed up with a doula - so DH could leave without worrying about leaving me alone in labor.

I would highly recommend getting a dog-walker/sitter lined up, if your dogs are sensible enough to let someone come it to care for them. (My PWD is my special needs dog!) The dog-sitter came in several times during the day to let the cocker out, feed him, walk him etc. Labor was long (17.5 hours). DH did go home to sleep after the baby was born - there was NO way he could have slept in the recliner that was in the room ostensibly to be used as a cot! And the dog-sitter took care of the cocker all the time I was in the hospital. The PWD remained in doggie day-care. She did come home before the baby. (And I do empathize about dogs who are NOT low-maintenance :))

Best option - if you have a family member or a friend who is dog-person who can be trusted to take care of the dogs and your home, get them to come in and leave the dogs at home.

Also - bring home a blanket that the baby was wrapped in for the dogs to sniff before the baby comes home. And be prepared for chaos for a couple of days!! The cocker (my certified therapy dog!) howled every time the baby cried for the first day - but settled down after that. And my pyscho PWD has turned out to be a perfect mommy dog - very careful and gentle around the baby - though she's a typical exuberant, nutty, wildly tail-whacking, pawing, PWD with us.

It all works out!

Nita
mom to Neel, 01/05/03
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD

[muskiesusan]

We did the same thing in regards to bringing home baby blankets for the dogs to sleep with. I also came in the house by myself to greet the dogs and give them my attention. DH followed shortly with baby.

I know all dogs are different, but our lab and golden, each about 100lbs, were pretty indifferent to the baby and adjusted really well. They were the center of our world before Nick came and still get plenty of attention (even though they might tell you differently!). It wasn't until Nick started on solids that they saw the advantage of having him around, and are really good with him now that he is mobile and chasing after them constantly.

Every once in a while our lab looks at me with this face saying "wasn't I enough, why did we need him?"

Susan

[LucyG]

My dh brought home a blanket and hat for the dogs to smell, but they were not the least bit interested in them. Oh, well! They were very interested, however, in sniffing the actual baby once she was home. Something that did help, though, was to get some special toys for the dogs for when we brought the baby home. This is along the same line of thinking as having the new baby "give" an older sibling a gift when the sibling visits at the hospital, etc. Our dogs had a hard time understanding why we could not play with them as much as usual, and I think the toys helped. I had read that you should start paying less attention to the dogs as your pregnancy progresses, but I had a hard time doing that. After a month with the baby, our dachshund and terrier have adjusted well. They really need their nightly walks, though, or they tend to get worked up during the day when I'm home and can't get down on the floor for a game of fetch or chase whenever they want to play. Good luck with your pets and the baby! We had a lot of anxiety about how ours would react, but we've been pleasantly surprised.

[SASM]

My DH went home once the day of the delivery. On Day Two he went home once during the day and then slept at home. We just had our neighbors check in on Simon (a siamese) and China (a greyhound) several times a day, letting China out for runs. China is a very "emotional" dog so we figured that the kennel plus a new, loud baby taking away HER attention would be a little too much for her to handle. Our neighbors said that she was quite the well-mannered lady and she did BEAUTIFULLY with the adjustment to Ian :-)