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MUM’S BEST FRIEND?

1
‘Oh, a baby and a dog – you’re brave’. Random strangers often say this to me. I’d like to point out that we had our dog, Audrey, before we even thought about the baby, and a trade in wasn’t on the cards. But, I’m polite so I usually just laugh and agree with them.

There is a slight amount of bravery involved in combining fur and human babies, although mostly it involves navigating the streets with a dog and a buggy that want to go in different directions, or trying to ignore the fact that the dog just licked the baby, again. And yes,

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there are days when it’s cold, wet and windy and you’d rather not go out, but when you have a dog that needs to go, you just get on with it. As my husband likes to remind me when I’m moaning – ‘there is no bad weather, only bad clothing’. Easy for him to say as he sets out for his toasty office every morning.

Irritating husband quips aside, the more I think about it, the more I wonder if a dog really is a mum’s best friend. Are they better than the latest, greatest nappy bag or high tech buggy? Let’s see.

1. A dog gets you out and

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about
Dogs need to be walked. So thanks to our pet pooch, I’ve never been stuck at home with post-baby cabin fever. We’ve even made friends with other dog/baby walkers in the park, so now our outings are regularly punctuated with coffee stops and play dates for both baby and dog. I’m certainly getting my money’s worth out of that hideously expensive buggy, and it’s covered in mud to prove it. Oh yes, we’re out in all weathers soaking up fresh air and getting some exercise, which brings me to point two…

2. Forget buggy fit and get doggy

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fit
Pre-baby, I was very fit. I trained hard, and wouldn’t have counted walking as exercise in a million years, but you know what – I was wrong. I truly, honestly, in a non-Hollywood actress ‘oh-the-weight-just-fell-off’ kind of way, actually did lose my baby weight through walking and breastfeeding. (I did once perform both at the same time, but that was an exception rather than the rule.) These days I firmly believe MyFitnessPal needs to add an exercise category called ‘walking dog with baby in bjorn’. It really is that good.

3. Hands

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up if you want a good sleeper?
Possibly one of the all-time best selling points to sleep deprived mothers is that my son, Otto, sleeps brilliantly. Barring sickness, he sleeps for 11-12 hours, in a row, every night, without fail. Gina Ford I am not, so I’m convinced that we achieved this holy grail of parenting at least partly because he gets so much fresh air. After all, isn’t that why Scandinavians stick their babies in boxes and leave them outside in the snow to sleep?

4. Bye-bye messy mealtimes
You can forget the dustpan and brush when you

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have a waste disposal that automatically moves itself to the location of any area requiring a clean-up. And the doggie version is a lot quicker than the flashy robot version. If I’m a bit slow with the wipes, the dog even helps with the baby clean up – much to the delight of my son and the horror of my mother-in-law. And before you cringe at the thought of a dog/baby saliva combo, children living with dogs are reported to have stronger immune systems because they are exposed to a wider array of bacteria. Worth a few licks here and there, no?

5.

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Free baby entertainment
Much as I hate to admit it, the dog was responsible for the first real belly laugh from our son. I’d been labouring for weeks with funny faces, noises, tickles when all I really needed to do was roll around on the floor to scratch my back and hey presto, laughs a plenty. Now that Otto is on the move, there are hours of fun to be had chasing the dog around the house, playing fetch, and ‘accidentally’ dropping food over the side of the high chair. That last one isn’t so great, but hey, there’s a downside to everything. Oh
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and, while ‘Mama’ and ‘Da-dee’ seem to be interchangeable terms for many, many things ‘Au-dee’ always means ‘Audrey’, so the dog has definitely made an impression.

Image: mommasgonecity.com

Motherhood is different for all of us… if you’d like to share your thoughts, why not join our Network & start posting?

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By

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- 20 Jan 15

‘Oh, a baby and a dog – you’re brave’. Random strangers often say this to me. I’d like to point out that we had our dog, Audrey, before we even thought about the baby, and a trade in wasn’t on the cards. But, I’m polite so I usually just laugh and agree with them.

There is a slight amount of bravery involved in combining fur and human babies, although mostly it involves navigating the streets with a dog and a buggy that want to go in different directions, or trying to ignore the fact that the dog just licked the baby, again. And yes, there are days when it’s cold, wet and windy and you’d rather not go out, but when you have a dog that needs to go, you just get on with it. As my husband likes to remind me when I’m moaning – ‘there is no bad weather, only bad clothing’. Easy for him to say as he sets out for his toasty office every morning.

Irritating husband quips aside, the more I think about it, the more I wonder if a dog really is a mum’s best friend. Are they better than the latest, greatest nappy bag or high tech buggy? Let’s see.

1. A dog gets you out and about
Dogs need to be walked. So thanks to our pet pooch, I’ve never been stuck at home with post-baby cabin fever. We’ve even made friends with other dog/baby walkers in the park, so now our outings are regularly punctuated with coffee stops and play dates for both baby and dog. I’m certainly getting my money’s worth out of that hideously expensive buggy, and it’s covered in mud to prove it. Oh yes, we’re out in all weathers soaking up fresh air and getting some exercise, which brings me to point two…

2. Forget buggy fit and get doggy fit
Pre-baby, I was very fit. I trained hard, and wouldn’t have counted walking as exercise in a million years, but you know what – I was wrong. I truly, honestly, in a non-Hollywood actress ‘oh-the-weight-just-fell-off’ kind of way, actually did lose my baby weight through walking and breastfeeding. (I did once perform both at the same time, but that was an exception rather than the rule.) These days I firmly believe MyFitnessPal needs to add an exercise category called ‘walking dog with baby in bjorn’. It really is that good.

3. Hands up if you want a good sleeper?
Possibly one of the all-time best selling points to sleep deprived mothers is that my son, Otto, sleeps brilliantly. Barring sickness, he sleeps for 11-12 hours, in a row, every night, without fail. Gina Ford I am not, so I’m convinced that we achieved this holy grail of parenting at least partly because he gets so much fresh air. After all, isn’t that why Scandinavians stick their babies in boxes and leave them outside in the snow to sleep?

4. Bye-bye messy mealtimes
You can forget the dustpan and brush when you have a waste disposal that automatically moves itself to the location of any area requiring a clean-up. And the doggie version is a lot quicker than the flashy robot version. If I’m a bit slow with the wipes, the dog even helps with the baby clean up – much to the delight of my son and the horror of my mother-in-law. And before you cringe at the thought of a dog/baby saliva combo, children living with dogs are reported to have stronger immune systems because they are exposed to a wider array of bacteria. Worth a few licks here and there, no?

5. Free baby entertainment
Much as I hate to admit it, the dog was responsible for the first real belly laugh from our son. I’d been labouring for weeks with funny faces, noises, tickles when all I really needed to do was roll around on the floor to scratch my back and hey presto, laughs a plenty. Now that Otto is on the move, there are hours of fun to be had chasing the dog around the house, playing fetch, and ‘accidentally’ dropping food over the side of the high chair. That last one isn’t so great, but hey, there’s a downside to everything. Oh and, while ‘Mama’ and ‘Da-dee’ seem to be interchangeable terms for many, many things ‘Au-dee’ always means ‘Audrey’, so the dog has definitely made an impression.

Image: mommasgonecity.com

Motherhood is different for all of us… if you’d like to share your thoughts, why not join our Network & start posting?

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Susan Horn lives in Melbourne, Australia. Before children, Susan worked in PR and Marketing Communications and was a complete Triathlon geek. She is currently a full-time Mum who squeezes a bit of exercise in between indulging her chocolate and coffee habits.

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