You also need to consider that if you end up having a caesarean section you won't be able to handle an energetic, bouncy puppy. A 10-20kg puppy who pulls and bounces about will be impossible to deal with during your recovery period. After my C-section I couldn't even use a vacuum cleaner for a few weeks and you will be limited for at least 2 months.
Only if you have 100% support from your family should you even think about having a puppy in spring.
My youngest daughter had just turned two when I got eight week old Charlie puppy. I managed because I had to, but I won't pretend it was easy. I actually ended up toilet training the two of them simultaneously - a feat which carries with it its fair share of disasters, I can tell you. They usually both needed to "go" at the same time, for some reason.
I am not sure how experienced you are at dog ownership (Charlie was my first dog), but I would say what you are proposing is just about do-able with the right support in place. You will need to be VERY firm with your family that you will need and expect their full support and help for many weeks and months after the baby is born. I emphasise that because in my experience husbands etc. are often very good at promising things, and they do mean well, but (I apologise in advance to many men for saying this ), they often don't have a full grasp over what it really takes to run a home, look after several children (I have three) and see to a "teenage" puppy at the same time.
Only your breeder can really say whether or not he/she is happy to go ahead with selling you the puppy. In some ways I hope that they are, as you have clearly built yourself up to getting one and it will feel almost like a bereavement if you don't. At the same time though, I would understand a breeder having some reservations, or at least asking some searching questions.
Good luck for the rest of your pregnancy. I hope all goes smoothly.
As a parent of two and having had dogs when both my sons were born, I would say that you end up feeling guilty over not giving enough attention to either one or other of them at different times. I personally would wait. You are only on a waiting list, its not as if you have paid a deposit or picked out a pup, there are a lot of things that could go wrong, the bitch might not get pregnant, you might not get the sex/colour you want, etc etc. Labs although they are wonderful creatures, can be bitey, full of bounce and do need training when they are young, not that easy when youve got a baby, even if you have help, are they always going to be around? Although people have said it is 'doable' why should something be only that, why not wait until it is something you can all look forward to and look back and say that you did things the best way for everyone.
Your baby will only be tiny for a short while, he or she will need ALL your attention and having had nearly 7 years between my two, I had forgotten what night feeds were like etc. I can remember my youngest son crying for a feed, taking nearly an hour to feed/wind/change, crawling back into bed (and Id had a c-section) just getting into bed and the dog would start barking to be let out for a wee, then the baby would start crying having been woken up. My OH was good but he had to go to work still and helped out as much as he can but it was just being torn all ways. It was like having two babies in the house all the time with completely different needs. I can remember putting my son on the floor and Rosie leaping the stair gate and just pushing past him and knocking him over, she was only a Cavalier KC Spaniel but she wanted his biscuit. She wasnt naughty, but she felt she wasnt getting the attention.
I ended up putting the baby into a travel cot type playpen when I went to the toilet so that our dog wouldnt lick his face or put a paw on him. Or I would put the dog behind a stairgate where she would howl. I honestly felt like I couldnt devote my total attention to one, without feeling guilty about the other.
You can always have a dog in the future, your baby will only be little once.
One breeder we'd spoken to said she didn't sell to people with pre school children as the houses were too chaotic but when I mentioned this to the (very good) breeder we found in the end, she basically said it wasn't always ideal but that's life, and so long as you do accept things like finding the dog a quiet child free space (we had his crate in the kitchen) and are sensible, she didn't mind.
Anyway, we found I was pregnant when we'd had Harry about 4 months. The trickiest part was taking him to puppy training in the evening when I felt exhausted and sick, and had to take my older 3 children with me as a/the trainer encouraged it and b/hubby was never around to look after them. I couldn't take him during the day the classes were when I was at work. Then I had to have a c-section so had to use a dog walker a lot when my husband first went back to work - they're big dogs and it was a good 6 weeks before I could manage the dog and the buggy (Harry was one by the time the baby arrived). I'd make sure, if you can, that pup's recall is good by the time baby arrives, as it's much easier to pop the dog in the car and let him out for a good run in the park than it is to try and manoeuvre a buggy and puppy and other kids on the pavement. And you might want to find a reliable dog walker as well for when you're in hospital/baby is tiny.
It was absolutely, perfectly doable, this isn't meant to put you off at all, just things I found when I was in a similar situation. Harry was always brilliant with the baby, thought she was some kind of furless puppy and sniffed her and gave her the odd lick. He is a very laid back dog, and the breeder did say this when we picked him up - apparently the one picked up before him was a total loon. if you do go ahead, and the breeder is happy, maybe talk to them about the personality of their pups and if there's a laid back choccie you could ahve!
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