Homebirth and Pets

[gonnabeamom]

I'm still second trimester, but for some reason already getting obsessed about the logistics of my homebirth.

So I am wondering about those of you who have had homebirth and have pets, what did you do with/about them while you were laboring.

Our little puppy (okay 60+ pound 7-year old) is the light of our lives, a true fur baby. He likes to stick with me most of the time and was extra protective in my first trimester. I'm afraid that he'll want to be in the middle of things and we'll be distracting. OTOH, I'm having a hard time imagining kick him out.

What did you do?

[flapjack]

:

Me too- the dog is slightly smaller, though.

[alegna]

It depends on your comfort level and the animal. I played it by ear and our cats just hid most of the time I was in labor. I've read lots of birthstories where the dog was a comfort though. It's up to you.

-Angela

[hunnybumm]

At this point in time we don't have any animals in the house. However, when I was pregnant with DS we had 2 cats and 1 dog (min pin, so very small). We ended up having to get rid of the cats due to too many pets and other issues. In second and third trimester I couldn't stand my dog. She went from being my best companion to being a completely annoyance. My hormons didn't want her sleeping with me, didn't want her near me. I have no clue why that was! But I couldn't stand her touching me. She had always slept snuggled up next to my legs, but I just couldn't take it.

So if I was in that situation with those feelings I would probably take her to our vet and have her in boarding for the labor. But I would think they could be a great comfort, especially since they usually have a great sence about stuff like that.

[nancy926]

Hm, haven't thought about this. Our dog likes to be wherever we are, too, so depending on the time of day he could sorta get in the way. He's 6 yrs old though, not a puppy.

We have neighbors that watch him when we're away, so I guess if he's really annoying we can send him to their house. Or put him on the screened-in porch. but I am hoping he'll be fine. He's used to sleeping in my office during the day, so we may just put him in here if he gets in the way.

We also have an uberfriendly cat....he loves hanging out in the garage or on the screened porch though (esp when it's hot) so if we have to, we can put him there and he'll think it's a treat, lol.

[ZeldasMom]

We're having our Boston Terrier (the Zelda referred to in my user name) go visit her grandparents (she's their grand-dog-ter :LOL ) when my due date gets close just because I don't want to have to worry about caring for her shile I'm in labor. With DS she wasn't disruptive, but she could tel something was not right with me and I think this sstressed her out. She was 1 1/2 at the time.

[darkstar]

When I had dd, we put our then 4 year old 70 pound pitbull in the sunroom. What was crazy was everytime I had a contraction and was making noise durnig labor and birthing my dog was labouring with me. As she was moaning too. This time she hung out in the living room, while I was in the tub in the dinning room. Imeaditley after DS birth she came over and gave me a few kisses. And I have it all on video. I love my dog and was so happy she could be there this time. She is after all the reason I knew youwere just able to have babies naturally. After seeing her deliver 8 pups and just knowing what to do, I knew also I would just know naturally how to give birth.


darkstar

[gingerlane]

Our cat was nowhere to be seen.

Our 60 lb lab was in the room and just laid around, totally chill. In fact, look at her:

Maya

No matter how loud I got, she just kicked it! Wasn't at all the problem I feared it could be. My midwife was sure to make friends with her right off the bat, though.

[alexia_i_aa]

My mw isn't a big dog person, so I'll probably keep the mutts elsewhere in the house out of respect for her when things get hot and heavy. Early in labor, I"m sure the mutts will be where I am.

Alexia

[Guest*]

It depends on the animal and how you feel at the moment, of course. We have 2 large dogs. In my last weeks of pregnancy they stuck so close to me and kept the dogs at the dog park away from me.

When labor time came, one just hung out downstairs and came to check on me once in a while. She preferred to stay away though. The other dog, stayed in the same room, but only came close if I called her. She likes to lay with her head under the bed and did that most of the time.

My pets weren't a problem, but my midwife was telling me about a birth she attended shortly after mine. The dog BIT her!! I think they had to let the dog out or put it in another room or something.

I guess you could just wait and see. If your pets get in the way during labor, just have DH put them in another room and check on them periodically.

All the best,

[Spark]

With my first homebirth it lasted about 17 hours. My dog came and went as she pleased, then when things really got cooking someone put her behind the gate off our kitchen. She stood at that gate whimpering every now and then. Really sad!

With my second homebirth, she had this, "been there, done that" attitude and really just kind of checked in every now and then but totally not interupting anything. She laid down in the hallway and just watched.

[theelfqueen]

My dog insisted on being literally underfoot during my labor -- we had to send him outside in the end.

[amydidit]

We didn't have a problem at all... during the labor my kitten was my doula... he sat in my lap or let me hold him on my shoulder and squeeze him during contractions... towards the end when I was getting louder and crazier he disappeared along with the other cats (I assume under a bed somewhere). They all came back out a few hours after the birth when the midwives left and everything was calming back down.

[LoveChild421]

I was so in my own world the only thing I noticed about our 3 cats was that our female cat was doing this really strange gutteral sound while I was screaming as ds was born! She got right up by me and started what seemed like moaning with me!

Dh told me later that the 2 male cats stayed in the corner the whole time and seemed "in awe"

[Yemaya1]

My cat fell in the fishy pool being curious. She punctured holes in it trying to get out.

[BusyMommy]

REally, at the moment, my pets were the least of my concerns. The dogs stayed down in the living room w/the midwives and the cats actually camped out in the bedroom watching. No idea what was going through their furry little heads. I had been worried about jealousy, etc but I think "participating" cured that. We had NOOO problems at all.

Good luck!

[BusyMommy]

OMG re: the cat in the pool--yikes Kitty!!!

[BensMom]

We try to think of what the pets will do a lot. With Zoe : we can just put her out or in her room downstairs. I have a feeling she will bug the heck out of me. We call her nurse Zoe because when either DH or I get hurt, she is right up in our face "You ok, mama? Daddy, mama is hurt. Mama? You ok?" :LOL

One cat will make himself scarce when people are around, but he is the one who relaxes me and who I would want around the most. The other cat, is attached to me like glue (my first attempt at AP ) and LOUD! He will get right in my face, lay on my head and needle my skull while I am pushing if I am not careful. (kitty accupuncture?) And trying to lock him in another room just makes him louder. I can only hope I labor during the better part of his 19 hour daily naps.

[Belle]

I've got a 5 year old German shepherd/Husky mix who is normally very hyper and excitable. During labor she calmly sat next to me when I was leaning on my birth ball during contractions. When the contractions were over she gently licked me in the face and rubbed her face against my hand in encouragement.

[sarahwebb]

With my first, one of our dogs was really concerned. About twenty four hours into my labor, my midwife suggested we put them outside because when I would try to reassure the dog, my labor would slow down.

With my second, both dogs slept on their beds in the room where I delieverd. Occasionally, they'd look up like, "oh yeah, been there done this before." Then they'd crash out again.

I think if you can put them outside or in another room if you need to, then you can just play things by ear.

Sarah