My husband and I have been wanting a dog for several years. We were living in apartments that wouldn't allow them though, so we always put it off. When I began my job that allowed me to work from home, I thought that having a dog around the house would be perfect. But when we purchased our home we dove in to renovations and purchasing new things for the house - and the dog purchase was put off a little while longer.

At one point along our TTC journey we said, "If we aren't pregnant after a year, let's get a dog." We didn't think of it as an alternative to feel like we had a baby, we honestly just thought that maybe it would bring some happiness, joy, and distraction to the whole TTC process. Plus we want to add 1-2 dogs to our family on top of at least 2 kids, so we need to figure that into our life plans too.

Did anyone else get a pet during the process of trying to have kids? Does anyone else feel their pets are a huge help during this emotional process? I think long walks with a dog, and the companionship during my workday would be wonderful. But I also know it's a commitment too.