That's a really good idea .

Maybe if I keep the dogs downstaires during the day (as they generally stay down there now anyway as the bedroom doors stay shut from when we get up to when we go to bed), so he only gets access to his new luxury bed on the landing at night. Because at the moment, he knows when it's bedtime and gets all excited, if I can re-direct his excitement onto his new comfy bed then he might be happy with that.

We've developed such a naughty 'bedtime'! routine with Zeke..and he's has that since the day we rescued him nearly 5 years ago. Keisha's never been fussed...but Zeke gets so excited.

I bet naughty Keisha pinches it, i will have to get 2, one for her downstaires at night

It'll be closed doors and baby monitors when I have a baby. Rupe's not at all aggressive with babies or children but he's not the most gentle of dogs and is horrendously clumsy. Free access to a baby would most likely end in disaster.

I know..they're flimsy things.. I've already got a place for it to go downstaires during the day, the full thing between the end of the settee and a wall so it is physically trapped in there and i get the baby out from the bottom end of it..(the dogs could still make contact though via the settee or the bottom end but i don't think they'll bother, but if they do seem overly inquisitive, the mesh playpen is a good idea, thank you. I did think of doing that in the bedroom, between the bed and wall, sort of in the corner but that's actually not my side of the bed and i can never sleep on 'that' side so i kind of ruled that one out.

Putting the baby in the nursery from day 1 was originally an option because i don't want to be waking my hubby up too much through the night as he has to work, he has a tough job and needs his sleep, and i'm the one at home 24/7 so i plan to do all night time feeds, even taking the baby into the nursery anyway to feed etc, but i just worry about not being able to hear the baby wake, and the neighbours (we live in a semi - even thought the baby is going in there from a few months hopefully), also as it gets closer i feel i DO want the baby in my room with us, but I want my dogs too!

I know, that's exactly it. I know I have to keep them apart at night but

(Should i just put the baby in the nursery from day 1 and shut the door, get a baby monitor next to me on my pillow )


I thought this was mega frowned upon, something about cot death or is that just some parenting snobbery thing

Not snobbery. SID [Sudden Infant Death] or Cot Death can happen at any time, nothing to do with parenting snobbery.

There is no `correct` way to handle this. Just do what you want to do. It`s only for a short time after all. The baby will be in a cot pretty soon.

i know... but i'm sure i read having the baby with you in your room helps, i don't know how because that's just it, it CAN'T be helped

Parent snobbery i just meant as in my friends who have told me "ooo yes my baby was in my room with me, close to me, not shoved in another room all alone" - then they quote this so called 'fact' about SIDS which i did look up but can't remember how reputable the fact was, probably not at all .

I know xx I know what it is aswell, it's Zeke and his cancer, he's been in remission 8 months, and they said the Lymphoma is likely to come back between 6-12 months, then we have to let him go and I can't do this to him

*tut* crying now.

To be honest, you have already said that you want baby in the room with you, everone will do things differently but IMO that is the right thing to do, its easier with night feeds when the baby is next to you rather than moving around the house in the dead of night.
Also, you will probably find the dogs get fed up of the disrupted sleep with you up and down and the baby crying.

If you are going to make the decision to shut the dogs out of the room (babygate would be fine, surely?) then i think you should start asap, then the dogs dont associate baby arriving with losing something they enjoy- ie. sleeping in the bedroom.

Honestly, im sure you will be more bothered than the dogs, as someone else has said, if you are concerned about zeke then buy him a lovely comfy bed that he can possibly have on the landing outside your room?

I'm pretty sure when your little one arrives there will be no doubt in your mind that you want him/her close to you.