Concerned About Pets After Birth

joujouwish · May 2014

This may be to soon to be worried- but we absolutely ADORE our cats and want to do everything to keep them around after birth. I am REALLY worried baby will be allergic to them - as I was deathly allergic (landed in the hospital a couple of times times) to cats growing up. I now take allergy shots and have no problem being around cats and I LOVE them so much. I'm going to be that old lady with 50 billion cats one day.

But what if baby is allergic? I just can't imagine having to give up my little love buggies! Are there options here to make it work?

liladelphia215 · May 2014

Yes, there are options, but it's really a wait and see. If it's that bad, sacrifices may need to be made. You may need to give your child medication, which isn't the end of the world, but it's all in what you are comfortable with.

We have a dog and found out our DD is allergic. Her asthma only bothers her when something else is, like if she gets a cold. So we kept our dog and she just gets a nebulizer whenever she has an episode, but it rarely happens (Maybe twice this whole winter).

We were warned by our allergist that if her allergies get a lot worse, we may need to consider rehoming. But so far (once we found out WHAT her issue was), it's been very controllable.

There are other things you can try - air purifiers, keeping on top of the dander.

Honestly though, I wouldn't borrow trouble just yet. I'd wait and see.

LeadMitten · May 2014

I am a crazy cat lady myself and have these same concerns. I don't think there is much you can do until the baby is here and you know how they are going to be with the cats.

I plan to send my cats to the groomers and try and de-hair my house as best as possible before baby is born but that's all I got.

YaMrWhite · May 2014

My husband is allergic to cats but manages it with an inhaler. DD has yet to show any signs of being allergic to ours. Like PP said, you may just have to wait and see. I also do a spectacular job of keeping the house clean and I don't let the cats into DDs bedroom.

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AlfiesMOM · May 2014

I was really worried about this two. I have no idea how allergies work, as in if you are born with them or develop them over time. You will just have to wait and see. I will say I have read that kids that grow-up around pets have a higher immune system. Maybe the same is true with allergies? I also don't let the dogs go in her room but so far we have had no issues!

orangehills · May 2014

So, the other day, I had a meltdown about this same thing. I went to my cats and sat on the ground holding one bawling. My husband walked in and asked, Are you hormonal?? ha. I sat there crying and saying, I just can't handle it if our kid is allergic, I can't get rid of them, they are my babies!! And he just laughed and said, we'll get them medicine and make it work!! Don't know if that's true, but it made me feel better.

Anyway- I'm not allergic, and he is kinda. So I'm hoping that our kid won't be. If they are and it's nothing too serious, there is always medicine and allergy shots. If it's a horrible allergy, then they'll have to find new homes, but I'm just praying that won't be the case!!

orangehills · May 2014

YaMrWhite said:

My husband is allergic to cats but manages it with an inhaler. DD has yet to show any signs of being allergic to ours. Like PP said, you may just have to wait and see. I also do a spectacular job of keeping the house clean and I don't let the cats into DDs bedroom.

I plan to do this too- no cats in the bedroom, and just keep it clean.

Lanatir · May 2014

I keep the cats out of DD's room as much as possible, but when we were setting it up, we let the cats in to investigate. Idk if it's because our cats were born feral (DH's coworker trapped them and was going to send them to a shelter, so we took 2 of them and apparently other coworkers took all the rest in assorted numbers), but as we started setting up the nursery, our cats originally weren't allowed in and they started peeing outside of the door. Once we let them in and let them investigate (supervised, of course), they stopped.

In the beginning, the cats were semi curious about DD as a baby. Once she started crawling, they were more leery. By 8 months when she was walking, they were terrified of her and at this point will have nothing to do with her or her stuff, so they stay out of her room even if I leave the door open.

KJsbabe · May 2014

Studies show that children who spend the first two years of life around cats and dogs are far less likely to develop allergies to them.

Here's an article about how pets can actually help keep your baby healthier. https://healthland.time.com/2012/07/09/study-why-dogs-and-cats-make-babies-healthier/

liladelphia215 · May 2014

Oh and Yes! DD's room became a dog free zone!

WillCMyInk · May 2014

See I'm more worried about how my animals will act towards the baby, than about my baby being allergic to the animals...

Like everyone else has said, don't borrow trouble at this point because there is NO WAY you can know until after the baby is born if there will be any problems.

misslizzy82 · May 2014

I know there are different types of allergies, those that get better with more exposure to the allergin and those that get worse with more exposure to the allergin. There is no reason to stress right now, but I think keeping baby's room pet free is a great idea! I saw on pinterest that someone installed a screen door on the babies room so pets couldn't get in but mom/dad could still hear baby. Good luck.

WillCMyInk · May 2014

misslizzy82 said:

I know there are different types of allergies, those that get better with more exposure to the allergin and those that get worse with more exposure to the allergin. There is no reason to stress right now, but I think keeping baby's room pet free is a great idea! I saw on pinterest that someone installed a screen door on the babies room so pets couldn't get in but mom/dad could still hear baby. Good luck.

A screen door? That seems kind of extreme...I don't see why a baby gate wouldn't do the trick! I guess except for those cat people...those darn agile cats...

firespirit717 · May 2014

I've heard that growing up with pets can help prevent allergies and if you end up breast feeding that too can help prevent allergies.

orangehills · May 2014

WillCMyInk said:

misslizzy82 said:

I know there are different types of allergies, those that get better with more exposure to the allergin and those that get worse with more exposure to the allergin. There is no reason to stress right now, but I think keeping baby's room pet free is a great idea! I saw on pinterest that someone installed a screen door on the babies room so pets couldn't get in but mom/dad could still hear baby. Good luck.

A screen door? That seems kind of extreme...I don't see why a baby gate wouldn't do the trick! I guess except for those cat people...those darn agile cats...

That's why I'm planning to get a video monitor. I can still hear/see baby, but keep the door closed to the cats and dog!

joujouwish · May 2014

jconno said:

I haven't even considered the allergy thing, but I'm concerned about the cats trying to lay/sleep on top of the baby. Is that ridiculous? I know I can just shit them out of the room, but it still worries me.

Tehehhehe *shit them out of the room. lol! See this is why I can't believe I'm having kids yet. I am still so immature! But secretly love the typo

luciddreamer106 · May 2014

jconno said:
I haven't even considered the allergy thing, but I'm concerned about the cats trying to lay/sleep on top of the baby. Is that ridiculous? I know I can just shit them out of the room, but it still worries me.

That's more of what I'm worried about. They aren't used to doors being shut and freak out if it's closed. I'm sure we'll have to keep the door shut and get them used to it. And they've figured out how to open some doors. Sigh.

joujouwish · May 2014

luciddreamer106 we have that problem too. They will sit there and scratch the door silly until we open it...

Lanatir · May 2014

Seeing as DH just pulled a tick off of me (and it was biting me... Effing a...), make sure you check your newborn for ticks if you have any furry pets, even ones that don't go outside can still get ticks on them from being brought in on clothes or if one goes outside the ones that don't are at risk to get ticks, still... I FUCKING HATE TICKS. I want to move back to Alaska. No ticks there... Stupid Virginia.

hollywooeb · May 2014

I'm concerned about my pets too, but for a different reason. My toy poodle is NOT a fan of kids and I'm afraid it's going to be hard for her to accept a baby being in the house.

BookitBoo · May 2014

DS is not allergic to our cat, thankfully. When DS was having so many allergy symptoms this past winter (ear infections every other week!) we asked them to do a test to make sure he wasn't allergic to her.

For those worried about your pets accepting your baby, I was in the exact same boat. Turk, our cat, followed me around while pregnant and loved on my belly (she's not normally that attentive/ AW). When he was born, she was so protective. She would watch him from a safe distance and if he cried she'd either check on him from a perch like the bed or couch, or come get us if she felt like it was taking us too long. Even now Turk loves him; she likes to lay with him while he goes to sleep (she always follows me out, or is escorted). She loves to watch him bathe. And she almost always sleeps right outside of his door.

Which was great for me, because so many people were telling us we should rehome her because cats are 'evil.'

rainbows · May 2014

Im glad im not the only person who would have some serious struggles to give up a pet if the baby happens to be allergic. Pixel has been my baby for 6 years!

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