Do HVs have to come to your home?

[lucyintheskyyy]

I’m only 22 weeks so jumping ahead a wee bit!

Just wondering if HV appointments have to take place in the home, or if they can be in a clinic setting? My dog is terrified of adult strangers inside the house and would 100% panic and bark like a lunatic if a HV came to our house! I could put him upstairs during a visit but I’d then worry about the HV thinking he might be a banned/dangerous breed (he isn’t) if I kept him away and reporting us to SS!

He is generally a calm, lovely and content dog and I feel fine about bringing a baby home to live with him but I know how scared he gets and the ungodly noises that come out of him when there are strange adults in the house due to being beaten in the past

HV service is optional so don’t worry about that you can opt out.

Please please never leave your dog alone with baby. If he has been beaten he will be overprotective of you and he may get jealous of baby or just scared as it’s a new person

Any chance a friend or relative could have the dog for an hour?

I think HVs do like to see you in your home to make sure there are no concerns.

I never said I’d ever leave any dog alone with a baby. I could have the sweetest-natured little dog in the world and still never would I leave ANY dog alone with a child!

No they don’t, you can opt out if you want. I didn’t have an antenatal visit this time round anyway, just post natal at about 2 weeks. After that they were all in the clinic, I imagine you could request them all in clinic if you want.

I did have midwives come to my house to check on us about 3 times though postnatally - day 2, 5 and 10 I think. Again, it may be possible to arrange to do this in clinic. Not sure this is universal as my sister had to go to clinic for her checks I think.

Yes, I could probably send him off out for a nice long walk with someone he likes! There aren’t many people he dislikes (he even likes the vet!) but he still thinks stranger in the house = murderer. I don’t imagine many HVs would be up for a 10 minute pre-visit walk to prove that they are friend rather than foe

I just thought it was worth mentioning as dogs that have been abused and then rehomed can form such strong bonds with a human who they love and trust that they can experience jealousy in some situations eg a new baby.

I saw one once - it turned out she was a student, and was very sure of herself. She told me that there's no benefit to breastfeeding or baby led weaning, and that she started solids at 7 weeks...
So, I stopped all contact.
No-one cares, or even noticed!
I also kept baby and dog separate. But then, I kept baby and rabbit separate. Baby was always with an adult. Surely, all babies are?

Well I leave my baby sleeping in the living room while I make a cuppa or go to the loo. I wouldn’t do this and leave a dog in there with the baby. Most babies will be left unsupervised in a room for a few minutes at a time id have thought?!

I had the health visitor come once pre-natally, twice post natally and a midwife plus student come once post-natally, I wasn't aware how to opt out but liked the support as a first time mum. My dog at the time was 16 years old, loosing vision and quite wobbly/prone to toilet accidents so I was a bit worried, but I said as they arrived please don't approach the dog and he won't get up to approach you (and he didn't). Obviously your dogs concerns are different so I'd just mention it and see what they suggest, do you have a garden if it's nice weather the dog is more comfortable in? Or I think the going for a walk with a trusted person is a good idea, although the times can be vague I was told they'd attend anytime from 8am for example at the post natal 2 day check, and if course they came bang on 8am when I was still in bed haha!