Babies and pets

SerinaandCarmine2017

Hi all,

We are currently pregnant with our first baby and wanted to know your experiences with having a baby and pets 

We have two cats who pretty much run the house, we love them very much and understand this will be a big change and adjustment. 

Your experience would help alot! Thank you! 

LHarris2000

In my experience, pets adjust quite quickly. 

knottief0f97a16b93a36ca

It’s my first too and I have two golden retrievers! I know that one loves children so I’m not too worried about him, but the other one has been spoiled rotten with attention so I’m not sure how he’s going to take it lol

beadorie

I'm in a similar boat, two larger dogs. I'm a little be apprehensive about how my male dog is going to respond as he's kind of been the "baby" of our family. He's super attached to me and sometimes possessive a bit so we will be on high alert. 

I've heard that the baby will probably smell familiar so they may act like they do towards their owners. Just never leave baby in a room alone with any pets. We love them but they are still animals and can still be unpredictable❤️

Knottie25d710089a2babc6

Our cat was okay with our daughter as a baby but now that she’s a toddler and is able to run and yell and try to “pet” (hit) him, he is SO not a fan. Instead of running away or jumping up where she can’t reach him he has started scratching her. So we are finding him a new home where everyone is safer and happier. She’s 20 months btw and it’s a bit overdue. 

breezybre2022

First time parents here.  We adopted a dog during covid and she has been really sweet and very protective over me even to the point of getting between my husband and I. LOL 😆 a child's erratic behavior scares her so I'm thinking she will adjust to the baby and grow to love them as they grow too. 

austinjl

We had a dog for 10 years before rehoming her.  We tried four years to make it work with the new baby in the house.  Our sweet dog was just too anxious.  We found her a retirement home with no kids.  I dream she’s living her best life.  

vrfoster

First time mama here. I know the cats will be okay with baby, though they might get jealous because of all the attention they'll lose. But I do worry about our big dog. He's such a sweety, but so hyper and loves being the center of attention. He's already curious about me, sniffing my belly. It's weird how animals sense changes about us. He's been very protective of me and when I lay on the bed, he'll climb up and put a paw gently on my tummy. It's like he knows! Any advice about how to handle bigger pets around babies is appreciated. ^_^

mamajaeda

First time mom here! I have 3 labs, 2 girls and 1 boy. I would love to hear advice on how other families prep their fur babies for newborn home arrival. I’ve read to start getting them used to seeing all the baby things, stroller, crib, smells etc… also to even play crying baby sounds on YouTube! I’m sharpening up their basic commands! They are big family dogs I’m excited and so hopeful they will accept our new family member. 

s_bartos

I am in the same boat as everyone. First time mommy. We have 2 cats and yellow lab. I am not too worried about our lab as he is very sweet dog. He is over protective of me and always attached to me like he is mommy’s boy. I was told by a neighbor to let you dog sniff your belly as you start to bump because they can smell the baby in your tummy. I am not sure on the cats though as they haven’t been around babies at all. Our female cat is really hyper cat. She running, jumping all the time where our male cat is calm cat. I am hoping they both are OK with the baby. I guess one step at a time. Good luck everyone with this adjustment. 

knottie841304d450230cdb

You know your pets best! Keep an eye on them, especially as baby eventually starts to move around, grab, pull at, and startle them. You will know what your pet looks like when they are stressed and needs some space. The most important part will just be to separate them and give them space when they need it. Even the best pets have their breaking points, and that's a hard bell to unring if it ends up rung.

Because we know our pet, we know that he will never be allowed unleashed around a baby that can walk or run. Not how I imagined my kids' first experiences with animals, but hey. It is going to be a challenge, but we are determined to keep them both safe and stress-free (and to trust our experiences and not to listen to the "psh, it'll be fine, they'll get used to it" people).

If you're worried, there are trainers that will come into your house and make sure things are set up well. I set up a training session for each of my nieces and nephews so that they could learn to give orders, give treats, bond and learn some limits. It was well worth it and actually a really fun day out.

silverdill

We have 2 large breed dogs, a toddler and expecting our second little one. Here are the things that helped us get through our transition:
I agree with the post about getting them some exposure with kids BEFORE the baby comes. It will help you to create the best action plan once you know how they might react. I know this sounds super weird but we would randomly play baby sounds off YouTube so they wouldn’t freak the first time they heard the baby (crying, screeching, babbling etc.). I also got a baby doll and would just sit with it and would invite my dog over for a pet (nothing more) they could respectfully sniff if they wanted but I basically controlled everything in that interaction so they knew which commands to follow. When we got our strollers we would wheel them around the house and take the empty stroller with us on walks. My neighbors probably thought we were insane ha! Once our toddler was born I sent dad home with a blanket that I had wrapped them in at some point so they could smell the tiny human. They are not allowed in our toddlers room and even though they are sweet with our little one they are NEVER left alone with them. But the biggest thing that I think helped was carving out separate time once a week for just myself and the dogs. For 1 hour each week we do something they love to do (go for a run, go play fetch, get a pup cup at Starbucks) my partner does the same thing so 2 days out of the week they get that one on one attention. We also did a lot of walking with the baby together once I was cleared to do so. A tired dog is a happy dog. Although I don’t have cats in our home at the moment. I would have done the same type of exposure with them and I would of made them something that was just theirs that was new (ie another cat tower, new cat shelves so they could climb high and observe/judge my mothering skills, etc.) also I would be sure to carve out alone time with them as well. Just fyi it’s hard to even find time to shower when you have a new human but whatever effort you can put towards your pets they will appreciate. They may surprise you with how they welcome the newest member of your family. 💜

bhobson64

I don’t have cats, I have 2 large dogs and I was super nervous with my first and did lots of research and planning. We got out all of the baby stuff before the baby was born so they were sort of used to those items in the house. We walked them every single day at that point, so we took lots of walks as a pack with baby in the stroller. A thing we did that I’d read about was that while we were in the hospital, my husband brought a baby blanket that my newborn had been wrapped in to the dog daycare/boarding place that they were staying and played with them & petted them and then let them sniff the baby blanket. 

When we got home, my husband immediately took them on a long walk to tire them out before we let them be around baby. When we did introduce them, we did it individually with each dog (first with the older, more dominant dog and then the younger). 
We never leave them alone with the kids but honestly the transition was easier than I’d have thought. They’ve adjusted really well. I hardly did anything to prep them for the second baby and they were fine. I think they know when I’m pregnant. One of my dogs is quite senior now and as long as the kids leave him alone, he could care less. I don’t let them bother him much. This will be my 3rd kid now and I imagine it’ll go really
smoothly. 

Remember that it’s different when there’s a newborn who can barely move versus a full blow child who will jump and run and act erratically. The baby slowly learns how to move more which makes it an easier and slower transition for the dogs. 

SerinaandCarmine2017

Thank you everyone for your comments and experiences!

I think my female cat would be okay- she is a little more social and curious, but I'm scared about my male cat. He is a scaredy cat and very nervous- just having adults over stresses him and he hides. I think all your suggestions about playing baby sounds and walking around with a doll will be helpful! 
Thank you!