Pets and Your Preemie

msalinardi@live.com

Did anyone get rid of their pets before they brought their LO home? All the preemie books recommend that you should and our NICU doctor did as well. But how do you get rid of a pet? My kitties are like like my kids too. I vaccum a lot and DD doesn't seem bothered by the cat hair. Just wondering.

beachykeen1723

My doctor said we were fine keeping our dog as long as I vacuum and keep the hair in check.

KellyMichelle

No one ever recommended that I get rid of my dog, I wouldn't have anyway though.  My dog sheds some, but DS has never had a problem at all.

kassann

I've never heard this. Is it the lung and?allergy?issues they worry about?

SBMBride406

No way. DS and our dog love each other and our doctor said we wouldn't have to get rid of him unless he has a respiratory allergy to him (even a skin reaction wouldn't be a reason to get rid of him, according to our allergist).

Million$$Baby

No one at our NICU ever said any sort of thing to us like this, and they all knew that we had two cats and a dog. In fact, they gave us a lot of tips for introducing the pets to the babies, etc.

TriciaJoy

what books say THAT?

My doctor actively encouraged us to keep ours. All the studies show that children who live in homes with pets have LESS health issues such as allergies and asthma.

 

KLyn

this was one of the first things we asked about since our 2 cats are like our "first kids".  All of our doctors and nurses said that as long as we made sure to keep the shedding under control it should be okay.  We also did the whole routine of bringing things home from the NICU that smelled like the babies (swaddling, sheets, clothes) so the cats could get the scent of them.

kkh2002

We get the side-eye from a lot of nurses...but then we have seven dogs.  **In our defense, we're very involved with rescue, my husband works for our trainer and we have two performance dogs and a soon-to-be therapy dog.**  I've let everyone know that it's not up for discussion.  Period.  I work closely with my allergist and we'll keep things under control.

The preemie book I have by Dr. Sears suggests getting rid of animals.  If you can stand to do that, the book suggests you keep them outside.  It makes my blood boil to even think about it.

Mrs. Destructo

Dr Sears can kiss my @ss. What ignorant, ridiculous advice.

 Tricia is right - a ton of recent research shows that kids that grow up with pets in the home are far less prone to allergies. Having the dander around from day 1 is very good for their immune systems.

 We have 2 dogs and a cat, and we have had zero trouble with any of our critters or our children with regard to each other. Aside from our kids trying to feed the dogs their cheese sticks that is.

cfitz16

????   Why would you do this?  I have a preemie, he was fine with the dog.

NotJustAnAuntie

Our doctors never said anything about getting rid of our cat... we had agreed that if he ever took at swipe at Max, he was gone (he's kind of old and can be jerky to other cats, so we didn't know how he'd take to a baby) but they LOOOVE each other! They hang out together, and Geoffrey lets Max climb all over him! It's adorable!

See?

 

jcsntms06

Our NICU doctor never told us to get rid of our dogs. I can't imagine some doctor telling a parent to get rid of their dogs. Unless the LO has some issue. We were encouraged to bring home a blanket that the baby was using and have the dogs sniff it. Our two dogs are doing so well with our LO.

mek10976

We didn't get rid of our dog.  There is no way we could do that to her.  The NICU never said anything to us and they knew we had a dog b/c we were taking the hospital blankets home for the dog to smell.  We just made sure the dog didn't lick DS and when we put him down on the floor, we always laid a blanket down so he wouldn't get a mouth full of fur.  I can't keep up with the shedding

mrspaul07

I've never heard that.  We have a poodle mix so she doesn't shed.  My ILs did keep her  for about a month after DD came home though.