u/I-used2B-a-Valkyrie

Planning to go from NC to OR to pick up a new Great Dane puppy. My 6yo and I plan to fly, pick up the puppy, stay in a hotel overnight, and then fly back to NC the next day.

I was going to rent a vehicle as well to get us from the airport to the breeder, back to the hotel, and then to the airport to fly home.

We are planning a layover instead of a direct 6-7 hour flight, and paying to put the puppy in the cabin with us.

I am concerned that since the puppy will only be 8 weeks old, they will only have one round of vaccinations and I worry about puppy walking on the floor at the airport, at the TSA check point, pet relief station, and possibly in the airplane cabin if allowed.

What should I do to minimize risk?

Also we have to do a small soft-sided crate for travel which is less than ideal, but it’s only going to be about 11-12 hours total time, with potty breaks. I can bring travel food and water bowls so puppy can stay fed and hydrated. I was planning to layer some puppy pads in the bottom of the travel crate for accidents. Should I bring doggie diapers?

The other option is to fly NC to OR and then rent a vehicle and drive back to NC, but that’s like a 4-5 day drive with just me and a 6yo and a puppy, 11 hour days in the car, with very little training or play or socialization or room to roam. And I worry that potty breaks cross-country might be a greater threat to the puppy, pathogen-wise with exposure.

Puppy will be 8 weeks old, approximately 15-22 lbs, not neutered or spayed, not fully vaccinated yet due to age, and a Great Dane.

All suggestions and tips enthusiastically welcomed. Also this is for summer/fall 2027. It’s a planned breeding, I am just trying to prepare for next year. Experienced Dane mom, I’ve just never traveled cross country with an 8-week old pup before.

Thank you.

Without going into detail, close friend BOB is still currently married to ANN.

ANN is abusive, cruel and a gold diggger. Bob came into a large sum recently and Ann has escalated. She has kicked him out of the house he paid off, and has started parental alienation with the children.

Bob has been saying for the last 18 months that she is his soulmate and that once XYZ happens, things will be fine. Once he gets a new job, sells something, has surgery, etc.

It’s worse than ever now, she’s absconded with the kids “on a luxury vacation” and he has been advised to get an attorney but absolutely refuses. Now he says once she and the kids get back, he’s sure she will love him again and he can move back home and be a happy family.

Bob is delusional at this point and even with a family “intervention,” he refuses to see anything is wrong.

What is the kindest way to gently help Bob see that this is not a fairytale ending and he needs an attorney like YESTERDAY?

I’m a firstborn, married to a firstborn. Pros: we are both very confident, independent caretakers. Cons: we are both stubborn and willfully against showing pain or weakness.

We work amazingly well together as a team (11 years next month!) and it makes the relationship and everything from parenting to maintaining our home to how we handle adversity together go very smoothly. But neither of us likes to admit when we are sick or hurting and it makes it hard for the other one to care-take. Also we both have ridiculous younger siblings who make incredibly poor and destructive life choices, and it’s very hard to watch or try and help.

But again, since we are both the eldest, it gives us each a unique empathy for the other.

What about you?

I know this is WEIRD, but also it’s GP and isn’t everything about this also…weird?

Does anyone have issues with noises making nausea worse? I normally deal with all the symptoms and vomiting but sometimes if someone is talking to me, it makes it WORSE.

This morning I was making my daughter breakfast and I got a wave of nausea. She started talking about her syrup being cold on her pancakes and suddenly it hit me in a wave. I had to run to the sink and retch up foam!

I have noticed that certain sounds seem to coincide with sudden worsening but idk if that’s because my family is always talking to me and then I get waves of nausea, or because we have a house with a young child and there’s always some kind of background noise.

I haven’t had perfect silence to test this theory.

Does anyone else find that certain sounds of people talking to you makes it worse?