Why My Dog Lives with My Parents

Those of you out there with dogs may know this already, but having both a baby and a dog is tough! Or maybe it's just my crazy dog that makes it so complicated, who knows.

I have a fenced-in backyard, but Sydney (the dog) doesn't like to pee and poop there. She only wants to go for walks. When you let her into the yard, she may walk around a little bit, but she mostly stands there and looks at you and waits for you to take her for a walk. See, there aren't enough sniffs to sniff in the backyard! It's boring there - she wants to get out and experience the world, see other dogs and people, sniff all the wonderful sniffs out there, and mark to her heart's content. In the backyard, she lies in the sun, and holds it in. Plus, she can get out of the "fenced-in" yard (she's a little Houdini!), and has multiple times. So you can't really leave her out there, you have to either go out with her or stand just inside the door and watch her. Which I usually don't mind doing, but inevitably, the baby is hungry, or doesn't want to be held, or it's raining, or we're late to leave to get somewhere and the dog won't come in, or something.

So basically, I have to walk to the dog. And again, inevitably, she always seems to want/need to go out as soon as I sit down to feed Jordyn, or as soon as Jordyn goes down for a nap, or just when Jordyn has a big poop and needs to be changed.

The logistics of walking a dog and a baby, at least with my particular situation, are crazy. Down a million stairs with the dog and baby in tow. Get the dog on the leash before she disappears. Open the garage door and get the stroller out of the car (or basement) with one hand because you're holding both the baby and the leash in the other, close the garage door. Get the baby in the stroller while holding on to the leash, or while not losing track of the dog if you do the stroller before the leash. Now push the stroller while holding the leash, on crappy sidewalks, and be careful not to let the dog run into the street (yes, even on the leash), and the dog likes to walk in front of the stroller and then stop suddenly, or keep going and get the leash wrapped around the stroller's wheels, and don't forget to put the brake on the stroller when you stop to untangle the dog. The dog stops every 2.73 feet to sniff something, sometimes for much longer than the baby as patience for, and she starts crying for you to start moving again. And then the dog decides to poop, so you have to stop again, put the brake on the stroller, get the bag ready to pick up the poop, and then pick up the poop, which is in the furthest spot the dog can get to from you, while the dog is pulling on the leash to keep moving. Oh, and she's wrapped the leash around the stroller again while you were busy with the poop.

When you finally make it around the block, you have to put the bag of poop in the garbage, get the baby out of the stroller, along with the keys and your phone and the container of cheerios you brought just in case, open the garage door, put the stroller back in the car (with one hand because you're holding the baby in the other), close the garage door. Where's the dog?? Oh, there she is, on the sidewalk in front of the neighbor's house. Call her a few times until she finally gives in and comes (she doesn't want to because she wants to stay outside), or maybe you have to go to her and pull her a little by the collar before she gives in. Back up the million steps with the dog and the baby in tow.

Oh, and did you remember to put sunscreen on the baby, or make sure she was wearing a hat (which she pulls off constantly) or was completely in the shade the whole time? Or, was it raining, in which case the whole thing is 10 times worse, and then you have to dry off the dog as soon as you go in the house, and maybe change the baby's clothes because she's damp. Or, was it freezing cold? Snowing? Icy? This is New England, remember!

Or maybe, did you decide to walk to the dog before putting the baby down for a nap so she wouldn't whine to go out right when the baby fell asleep? Well, now the baby is asleep in the stroller, and she's not in her infant bucket anymore, so you can't carry her in, and when you pick her up, she wakes up, but she's only been sleeping for 15 minutes, which is negligible, but now she wants to play.

The baby gets into the dog food and water bowl (which of course happens sometimes at my parents' house, too, but there's more space there, so everything is more spread out). And she wants to play with her toys. And the dog thinks the baby's toys are hers. Jordyn loves Sydney, and Sydney... tolerates... Jordyn. The day after Jordyn and I spend the night at my parents' house, we don't have to bring Sydney home before going to an activity. Or just worry about leaving her home so often by herself while we're out doing things. One or both of my parents are home more often than Jordyn and I are these days, I think.

The kicker is, at my parents' house, Sydney can just be let out to roam and romp in the woods, run and sniff and mark to her heart's content all on her own, and then she comes back. She's a dog who needs that level of activity, and stimulation, and freedom. She's happy there, being able to do that. And Jordyn and I both see her when we're there, which is often. And my dad often brings Sydney with him when he comes to pick up Jordyn on the days my parents take care of her while I work.

So, it works. Since some point during my maternity leave, Sydney has lived with my parents, with a few jaunts back to my house when my parents were out of town (like Memorial Day weekend; see previous post). Do I ever feel guilty? Sure. But I didn't "give her up", like to a pound, or to some asshole who wants to run experiments on her. I would *never* do either of those things. She seems very happy at my parents' house, and I'm less stressed not having to take care of both a dog and a baby.

But sometimes I kind of worry... Does all of this mean I shouldn't ever have a second kid???