Babies and Pets

[Blinkyspears22]

Do you have any pets at home? What can you say about keeping pets when you have a baby at home? Is it advisable? 

[neoow]

I don't have or intend to have a baby so I have three pets- two cats and my african grey parrot Alfie.

My sister had a dog before she had my nephew and so my nephew has grown up with the dog. Whilst it took some time for the dog to adjust to the sight, sound and smell of the new baby he did settle reasonably well and they are best buds these days. (My nephew is now 5). However I think the dog did get somewhat neglected when the baby was first born. My sister was quite ill throughout the pregnancy and afterwards and my brother in law had injured his knee and needed surgery/recovery so the dog didn't get walked very often for a while unless my parents or I stepped in to help. After that though things settled back down and the dog is well looked after and walked daily.

If you're looking for a parrot as a pet (or already have one) then you need to understand that parrots will suffer greatly if neglected in favour of the child. I do see a lot of pets (not just parrots) being rehomed because of a new baby, which is sad. Any pet still needs all the care and attention they normally do, regardless of a new baby being born. And obviously babies require a lot of care and attention themselves- so if it were me I would be asking some really hard questions of myself as to whether I was prepared to dedicate the right amount of time to a baby plus my three pets. I wouldn't want to be in a position where I feel my only answer is to rehome a pet because I failed at caring for them as well as a baby.

[SRSeedBurners]

I had my daughter at home as an infant when I had my first three parrots (CAG, Amazon and conure).   I don't ever recall having an issue with anything except my daughter constantly getting me up at 1am for months.  She barely lived through that haahaa!!!

[LNCAG]

A closed door between baby and parrot will help as you slowly begin to introduce them to each other with extreme supervision.  Also, giving the parrot some special one-on-one time (not easy, as a new mother you're going to be happily exhausted already)!  And, in making time for pets and children -- you absolutely are going to need to find some YOU-TIME too!  I hope you have a helpful partner!

Good luck.  For me, my pets ARE my children.  No doubt an easier road but not a choice, just how my life worked out.    

[Timbersmom]

I always had cats, and raised 3 children. When the kids are small (like toddlers) you have to be alert and teach them how to treat pets in the home. The cats were curious about the babies, but were never aggressive or problematic with infants.

That said, I got Timber because he was in a home with a 4 year old, and the mother feared for a bite to the 4 year old. My comment about that would be the same, you just have to teach the children how to coexist peacefully with the pets.

[Blinkyspears22]

My partner and I both grew up in households with dogs. It was fun and all, so we thought maybe we should adopt one for our family. You know, like a furry friend for our little one. But like @neoow said, I'm a little worried because the dog might feel neglected. I was just doing research about having pets when you have a baby, and there's a lot of info in this one... There really is a lot to consider, doesn't matter what kind of pet you get. Thank you all for the advice!

[Greytness]

My 4 kids grew up with all kinds of pets around them. It's all about the environment you've created as to whether or not you'll be successful.

My birds came later on after my kids were teenagers. But if I'd had birds when they were young, I  would have experienced concerns over them possibly getting out through a left open door, and subsequently would have set things up much differently than I have them now.

[neoow]

My sister and I grew up with a dog and we loved him dearly. He's probably a large part of the reason why we both still love animals and have pets ourselves.

It's not a bad idea- just needs lots of careful planning I guess. My sister's situation was fairly unique because my brother in law had managed to injure his knee so badly that he needed surgery and was out for a while with it (had to sleep on the sofa because he couldn't manage stairs etc for a while). At the same time my sister had a really rough pregnancy and was quite ill after my nephew was born. So they had a rough few months to start with. I realised I probably sounded really negative in my last post which wasn't my intention. At no point did they want to rehome the dog - it's just he had to cope with less walks and less attention when my nephew first arrived. My parents and I helped out when we could but there were days where he just couldn't be walked because my brother in law was laid up with his knee and my sister was too ill- all whilst they were trying to care for my newborn nephew. 

I always feel sad when I see animals are being rehomed because a baby arrived but I think this can usually be avoided with consideration and planning. It also helps if there are parents/grandparents or other family members who can help take a load off when things do get a little crazy!

I loved growing up with our family dog. We got another one some years later when I was around 11 years old so I went through my teenage years and early 20s with him. So if you can make it work then it's definitely worth considering.

[Blinkyspears22]

Thank you @Greytness and @neoow (again, hehe)! Yes, absolutely. Our parents dote on our child, I'm sure they could also lend some help when we get too busy. For now, we're still discussing things, and I really hope it works out.