@yellowrose314 I'm picturing my dog when we got him and then picturing throwing a newborn in and cringing. My dog was 12 weeks old when we got him generally easy to train but there were still many sleepless nights that we had to deal with before he got used to his crate. He also destroyed countless socks and dish towels during his teething days. I love dogs but no to getting one while having a newborn.
@yellowrose314 I wouldn't get a puppy this soon before baby. Especially a large breed dog. Large breed puppies are rambunctious and have a ton of energy. Its going to be very hard to have the energy to train and exercise a puppy that size with a newborn.
ETA: I obviously haven't cared for a newborn yet, but have raised a German shepherd from a puppy and that was exhausting when I was 23 and child less haha
@yellowrose314 I guess if I had to pick a side I'd say no puppy, but ahhhhh that's a hard decision!!!! Maybe wait and find one after the baby is a little older....
@yellowrose314 When we got our husky, we joked that it was good training for a baby because she would whine in the middle of the night bloody murder because she had to pee and we'd have to get up and let her out. And we had to take a week off work to house train her since we peed like every hour. There were lots of messes and chewed up baseboards and things that were so infuriating. I don't think I could go through that while caring for a newborn. But we are terrible because we are always on the lookout for another dog to adopt hahah
Thanks guys. It was definitely a hard choice, but practicality won out in the end. We do not want to be puppy and baby parents at the same time, and considering just how darn cute this dog is, she won't have any problem finding a home for her. Of course she had to throw in at the end that "oh by the way, she's only $50!" AHHH seriously!? It's just not the right time! Hopefully down the road we can look at adopting or buying a cute pup to add to the family, but right now we just want to focus on the baby.
Ugh. I guess it's still night. Been semi-up since a little before 3:30. Went to the couch to try to zonk out in a different atmosphere - tossed and turned and finally just woke up for the day about 10 minutes ago. Rawr. Going out to eat B-fast with the gal family in about 5 hours so I just scarfed an apple and some peanut butter to tide me over. I tell you what... this middle of the night stuff is yuck. At least with a baby I've got the purpose of BFing to be up otherwise I'm just kind of wandering around like "Now what?"
@yellowrose314 Awww. I know it was hard to pass on the puppy. Especially right now when you're all full of the desire to snuggle and nurture! But, I would agree with everyone else. It was the best choice to pass one up right now.
Puppy Story (Long - just warning).
DH and I got an 8 week old puppy in January 2015 and after the first
night (neither of us went to bed until after 3am because of puppy) I
looked at DH kind of blearily and I said "I think this was a mistake." It WASN'T a mistake, I was just overwhelmed. The puppy was SUPER SWEET but so much unexpected work that it took me a little while to get fully attached to her. Her best-worst moment? Probably chewing a hole in our new sofa AND destroying a bunch of our DVDs, which I'm still not sure how she even got off the shelf. All of the work actually made me adore her even more over time, though. It was all worth it but I can't imagine having done it with a newborn too.
Then, about 5 months ago we adopted a 5 month old puppy companion for our first dog because dog #1 needs LOTS of individual attention/affection/playtime that we just won't be able to provide after baby gets here, so we thought that doggie #2 would be a perfect solution. Actually, getting a second dog has been GREAT and the two are inseparable now and they don't need quite so much one on one... BUT that second puppy was just as difficult as the first even at 5 months. He'd already established a couple of bad habits that we had to work extra hard to train out of him AND he had anxiety (he doesn't now, thankfully) so it was a tough road, one which I would have lost my mind on if there'd been a baby present, for sure.
Sorry for the semi-novel of a post, but what else is there to do at 5:30 in the morning when no one else is going to be up for HOURS?!
And for fun here's a picture of our sweet little monsters (1 year and almost 2 years). The bigger one is the younger one. We probably should have named him Hoss.
@Bibliobebe We totally did the, "this was a mistake" with our puppy too. You couldnt pet her without her trying to lick your freakin hands and she wouldn't ever lay still. Not what we envisioned in a dog. We considered giving her away because we regretted it so much. But now she's the best thing ever
@lovelylauren86, I highly recommend these earplugs! DH is the world's loudest snorer and even though I resisted wearing earplugs at first (instead I encouraged him to get surgery), these things saved my sanity.
@lovelylauren86 Have you tried getting him one of those nightguard mouthguards for snoring? DH got one a few weeks ago and it's been blissssss. Of course now he complains that I snore, but I didn't prior to being pregnant, so he can deal. I've been dealing with his snoring for 7 godamn years, he can do his time now.
@lovelylauren86 we use a combination of a white noise machine on my nightstand and nose strips for H, so I can still hear DD if she gets up it calls / wakes up crying. Not perfect, but I don't wake up grumpy at him every single night like in my first pregnancy. August is a b$&@ when it comes to swelling and other crappy symptoms, but at least the snoring isn't as bad as cold and allergy season. Turns out I'm still awake in the middle of the night anyway.
My husband is the worst person to share a bed with. He always tries to snuggle me in the middle of the night when I just don't want to be touched and I have no place to go. We have a queen sized bed. If I want to roll over its like I'm on a damn rotisserie, and he's like a starfish directly in the center of the bed.
It wasn't until he started snoring that I was like "fuck it. I'm getting out my phone."
Tonight has been the first real night of me not being able to sleep,thank you leg cramps, indigestion, and a mattress on the floor since we are moving in less than 48 hours. Plus SO isn't used to me being up like this, so it makes him worry.. I hope that I won't become a frequent flyer on this one
Sorry, I was awake at 1:30 by pregsomnia, then just as I was about to fall back to sleep, my kid needed to be covered. Then she woke up at 5 for the day. Love these fun nights.
Gah - H is snoring! I actually have nightmares that hes going to keep the baby awake when hes in our room
Idk what we're going to do when baby is born, tbh. DH snores super loud but I'm sure baby is used to it in utero. I, however, wear earplugs or can't sleep. So I don't know how I'm going to get any sleep when DH and baby are out since I won't be able to wear my earplugs so I can hear baby.
I'm here, awake, bumping, haven't slept at all tonight. My head's killing me and I'm tired but, as usual, I just can't seem to fall asleep. Such loneliness...
@KimmySchmidt hope you're asleep now! Your rotisserie and starfish analogy had me trying not to snort out a laugh!
Im awake. At a friends house in DC. My oldest had a college visit (yikes!!!) and we knew after walking around all day that I'd be too tired to drive the 4h home (add Friday afternoon DC traffic on to that).
i was so tired I didn't eat much at dinner. And woke up at 4am starving. I know my friend wouldn't mind if I got into her kitchen pantry or fridge to find something but her floors are SO SQUEEKY! So I'm laying here trying to go back to sleep w rumbly stomach and little success.
I'm also here....blaming the acid reflux. Or, more accurately, the bowl of Fruit Loops that I ate at 9:00, that caused the acid reflux, that kept me up all night. @jensou, I say go for it! No one is going to blame a pregnant woman for pantry raiding!
@AlwaysAuntNeverMom, we had this dilemma with my second child and finally decided that if I was going to get up to nurse, I had to be able to get some sleep in between. So I continued to wear my ear plugs and DH kept the monitor by his bedside and just nudged me awake when the baby was up and ready to eat. If I had to haul myself out of bed every few hours, I didn't feel bad about him just having to smack me as his "contribution" to nourishing our child. He could always fall right back to sleep.
5am check in. I made my pump schedule so that I could sleep a longer stretch and guess who woke up anyways? Me. Might as well pump right? So since this isn't pregosomnia this is..being a worried mom?
@mom2adoodle Nice of you to pop in! I guess momsomnia is a thing too lol
@alwaysauntnevermom I'm glad I'm not the only one worried about that situation when baby comes. H has tried everything too (nose strips, mouth thing, steroid nasal spray from doctor) and nothing helps so he feels really bad
I barely slept last night at all (so glad for Netflix) and had a rumbly tummy at 3 am like @jensou and ate a toasted jalapeno cheese bagel with grapefruit juice. In retrospect, it now sounds like an odd combo.
Re: snoring, not only does my FI snore very loudly, he can sleep through nearly anything. I'm really hoping that having a baby helps to 'train' him to sleep more lightly. I fear him not waking / being able to aid me and I often sleep with earplugs.
@geminigirl16 my experience was that DH did not immediately wake up any easier after DS arrived - I did though. It was a little frustrating at first because I didn't trust him to stay awake while sitting with DS if I woke him up after I fed the baby. Now he wakes up super easy though. I think it just takes guys a little longer to adjust sometimes.
Sometimes they don't adjust. I still remember last year after DS2 came along my husband woke up one morning when DS2 was only a few weeks old and said "omg I can't believe he already slept through the night!" He got quite the death glare for that. Just because he didn't wake up didn't mean the baby didn't. In all fairness though he is very helpful at night but I have to wake him up to let him know when the baby wakes otherwise he doesn't stir. We'll see if it's the same this time around.
Re: Moms who bump in the night
ETA: I obviously haven't cared for a newborn yet, but have raised a German shepherd from a puppy and that was exhausting when I was 23 and child less haha
@yellowrose314 NO AC?! No way, no how. I'd be like a rhino in a safari.
I was always odd and loved motn feedings because everything is quiet and it's just you and baby. It's not so magical when there's no baby.
@yellowrose314 Awww. I know it was hard to pass on the puppy. Especially right now when you're all full of the desire to snuggle and nurture! But, I would agree with everyone else. It was the best choice to pass one up right now.
Puppy Story (Long - just warning).
DH and I got an 8 week old puppy in January 2015 and after the first night (neither of us went to bed until after 3am because of puppy) I looked at DH kind of blearily and I said "I think this was a mistake." It WASN'T a mistake, I was just overwhelmed. The puppy was SUPER SWEET but so much unexpected work that it took me a little while to get fully attached to her. Her best-worst moment? Probably chewing a hole in our new sofa AND destroying a bunch of our DVDs, which I'm still not sure how she even got off the shelf. All of the work actually made me adore her even more over time, though. It was all worth it but I can't imagine having done it with a newborn too.
Then, about 5 months ago we adopted a 5 month old puppy companion for our first dog because dog #1 needs LOTS of individual attention/affection/playtime that we just won't be able to provide after baby gets here, so we thought that doggie #2 would be a perfect solution. Actually, getting a second dog has been GREAT and the two are inseparable now and they don't need quite so much one on one... BUT that second puppy was just as difficult as the first even at 5 months. He'd already established a couple of bad habits that we had to work extra hard to train out of him AND he had anxiety (he doesn't now, thankfully) so it was a tough road, one which I would have lost my mind on if there'd been a baby present, for sure.
Sorry for the semi-novel of a post, but what else is there to do at 5:30 in the morning when no one else is going to be up for HOURS?!
And for fun here's a picture of our sweet little monsters (1 year and almost 2 years). The bigger one is the younger one. We probably should have named him Hoss.
It wasn't until he started snoring that I was like "fuck it. I'm getting out my phone."
Edit - I was candy crushing, instead of bumping.
The dog has itchy ears for some reason and won't stop shaking her head. the noise is driving me insane.
Im awake. At a friends house in DC. My oldest had a college visit (yikes!!!) and we knew after walking around all day that I'd be too tired to drive the 4h home (add Friday afternoon DC traffic on to that).
i was so tired I didn't eat much at dinner. And woke up at 4am starving. I know my friend wouldn't mind if I got into her kitchen pantry or fridge to find something but her floors are SO SQUEEKY! So I'm laying here trying to go back to sleep w rumbly stomach and little success.
@mom2adoodle Nice of you to pop in! I guess momsomnia is a thing too lol
@alwaysauntnevermom I'm glad I'm not the only one worried about that situation when baby comes. H has tried everything too (nose strips, mouth thing, steroid nasal spray from doctor) and nothing helps so he feels really bad
Re: snoring, not only does my FI snore very loudly, he can sleep through nearly anything. I'm really hoping that having a baby helps to 'train' him to sleep more lightly. I fear him not waking / being able to aid me and I often sleep with earplugs.