After years of miscarriage and infertility, I'm finally expecting my first baby this December. My husband and I have been involved in animal rescue and have a lot of cats and dogs. We've cut back significantly on the amount of rescue work we do, and no longer take new pets into our home. I've been tested for toxoplasmosis, and my doctor told me I'm immune (at some point in my life I was exposed to it). My Dr. said I'm safe to clean litterboxes, but my husband is still doing it just to be safe. The question is, do any of you have pets and children (I won't tell you my #, but it's a lot). If so, how much did things change when you started having children? We have an indoor habitat in our barn for our cats, so most of them will be away from the baby anyway. People keep asking me if I'm going to get rid of my cats, and that's just not something I can or even want to think about. I really just want to hear stories of people who've had pets and made it work with the arrival of children. (I don't need to hear any more stories about people who neglect their pets or give them away- I've heard way too many of those stories, thus the reason for this post.)Thank you!
Hello ,My name is nicole im 44 years old have two grown sons,and the youngest is 25 and he and his wife just started their family just over a year ago..My grandson is now 14 months and has been around animals since he came home from the hospital..Her parents have two large Ch Labs and two cats all are indoors..We have 18 Cats and three dogs..They all come in/out..So for us We all were praying that little Noah would Not be allergic to Cats or Dogs.. Both our families knew animal hair can cause alot of problems with dander/breathing in infants and could cause allergies ect..But we got blessed I say..On both sides of our families we discussed what could happen and how we would handle it if our grandson Got ill,or had certain problems due to all our animals..Looking back I remember my son telling us all if noah had any reactions due to any of our animals he would Never let him come to our home or her parents home..My son and his wife both are registered nurses,so they have seen alot and also know more than we did on this subject...But in our case I must say,We and her family also has a deep love for our animals and Im not sure but I think it was that and also the fact that Betheny my daughter-n-law visited our home and her parents home and was around all the animals while she was pregant..I belive it was that and the good lord letting Noah be free of any illness after the birth or even during her caring him..Another point Id like to say is we and her parents both raised two kids each and we always had animals in the home and our children are fine to this day..I think the risk is there but I also think it is a small risk...As for the litter box..I made sure Betheny stayed clear of it all together,and she did.And so should you at all times..And even your little one after the birth....I hope all is well with your newborn and ill pray for the best for your family...Check out little Noah in my profile under my pic's,He is loving on one of our kitties..I would like to know tho how your doctor feels about all your animals,does he think everything will be ok with living with them and having a child....Nicole
Hi. I'm Nora and I can tell you lots of baby/animal stories. My oldest daughter, Lori, just turned 41. When she was born, every room in my house was a nursery. Kittens in the bedroom,bathroom basement and garage, puppies in the kitchen and Lori in the livingroom. She grew up surrounded by animals and is now very active in animal welfare issues in Ohio. Ten years after her birth, my son was born, also into an animal oriented house. Then came a second daughter and a second son. None have ever had any allergies or animal caused illness
Then the grandkids started coming. Anthony had a very serious 3 month illness where he was in pediatric intensive care and nearly died. The illness was not related to the animals, but when he recovered, the doctors told us he would develope asthma and we must get rid of the animals. We could not do that and Anthony grew strong and healthy. Then came some new information on animals, kids and allergies. Homes with multiple animals showed children with less allergies. The therory is that their immune systems develope better. I think Anthony is proof of that. He is 13 now and a very healthy kid with love and compassion for all living things. I now have 13 grandkids, all raised around multiple animals and all very healthy.
I hope this helps.
Nora
Thank you so much. I know we can make this work. We have talked about our options extensively, so I think we'll be prepared. Worst case scenario, we can add on to our barn and move more cats out there. It's a really great habitat for them and the ones out there seem incredibly happy (they have lots of hiding places, climbing posts, huge windows, etc.) I actually took a lot of ideas from Best Friends after visit and seeing their cat habitat. We're also getting rid of the carpeting in our house and putting hardwoods in. I'm hoping this will help keep things cleaner and have less hair. Our dogs don't have full run of the house, so they, too, will be separate from the baby (most of the time).
I've just had so many people tell me that you don't love your animals after you have children and you'll eventually neglect them. I don't believe that but it scares me. I know the baby will become priority, but I can't imagine not loving my pets anymore too. Ideally, I'd stay home after we have the baby, but I'm not sure we could afford it. If that was the case, I'd have more time for baby and animals. Fortunately, my current job allows me to work from home occassionally, so that might help as well.
Thanks again for your responses.