Dogs & babies & helpers

[ssheng]

I am pretty sure that women who are working back home are also putting their babies in all day daycare, or have family around to look after them. So don't be too hard on yourself. You potentially give up a lot to live in HK, but there are advantages too, so don't deprive yourself of an advantage if you don't have to! Plus, as everyone says on this site, comparing life in HK too much to life back home is only going to make you frustrated. You have to take the best HK has to offer and be satisfied.

 

[shoni]

And in the West you generally have a garden for the dogs to do their business in and one long walk a day for training and exercise is fine. We have a lot of indoor space and outdoor space but no grass so our dog is walked 4-5 times per day. I have done it with a very young baby you can only handle so much and that was with just one dog. You probably do not need to have 2 helpers but ask around there may already be a dog walker in your area to cover the times when your helper is alone with the baby.

 

[eneri7]

Be Fair

Hi there,

I have 2 big dogs and a one year-old and I don't work. Either my helper or I take the dogs for their long walk in the morning while the other stays home with the baby. I really couldn't manage without her in the morning as he normally takes his morning nap when they have their walk, not to mention, he gets antsy in the stroller after 30 minutes or so. Only recently has he come out and enjoyed it (now that he's one). Besides watching the baby occasionally while I run errands, she still has plenty to do and the day goes by pretty quickly. She does all the cleaning while we're on playdates in the afternoon so I imagine it would be very trying to do that and constantly watch the baby.

Walking dogs, caring for a baby, and cleaning house is a looong day if you don't have any help. I would argue that it is unreasonable to pay a helper salary and demand that kind of day.

A dog walker would fit the bill for sure rather than a second helper. Also- be wary of helpers who "walk" the dogs when they do not. This is a common problem I encounter and thus made it very clear to my current helper that walking did not constitute sitting on a bench. If they don't seem too interested in the dogs, they're probably not going to do the job.

Remember, most moms do NOT clean their house each day while also caring for dogs and an infant. The latter is exhausting enough. No helper should have to do the same.

 

[clarehk]

I will also be in a similar situation to you shortly - I have 4 big dogs and baby due in 6 weeks. I am planning to get a dog walker to come once a day to walk the dogs when i have to go back to work, and a helper to look after baby. This way you know your baby is getting 100% attention and your dogs are well exercised, which means (for us anyway) they are quieter when they are home. You could at least try this for a period of time and see how it goes, which is what i plan to do. GOod luck!