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October 2018 Moms
sammierose464
member
Adjusting the Fur Babies
sammierose464
member
I figured this would be a good topic since we are talking about it a bit.
Adjusting the cats, dogs, other pets to bringing home a new human.
Adjusting the cats, dogs, other pets to bringing home a new human.
Re: Adjusting the Fur Babies
Dandelion - October 2018
Angel "Aurora" - July 2020
Angel "Sawyer" - May 2021
Angel "Maxine" - January 2022
Angel "Violet" - March 2022
Baby Dove due March 2023
I've also accepted the fact that there probably won't be "dog" toys and "baby" toys, because any stuffed animal is going to be fair game for my younger dog, and once baby is older, she'll pick up all the gross dog toys. *shudder* Thank god my old dog hates toys, that's one less thing to worry about.
Im more concerned about my cats honestly. One Of them already tries sleeping on my or DHs head in the middle of the night so I'm worried they'll accidently smother a baby...
So the baby is going to o interrupt her schedule a lot and it worries me she will act out .
TTC since 2016
Due: October 12, 2018
Location: Ontario, Canada
Maybe bring the baby in while he's caged and sit in a seperate room with baby while DH let's the dog out to use the bathroom and get out some energy then have him give the dog a blanket with baby's scent on it?? And when the dog calms down you can come out with baby and slowly introduce them??
My mom is flying in 10 days before my due date, so fingers crossed, baby doesn't come too early and my mom will watch the dogs for us when I go into labor (I was 2.5 weeks early as my mom's first baby, so it's a worry of mine!). Otherwise, our backup plan is to drop them off at daycare/boarding.
One of our dogs is super jumpy, as in she jumps all over the place all the damn time, like a rabbit. Especially when she's excited. We're trying to get her to calm down a little but that's going slowly lol.
And the dogs are used to sleeping with us but we're getting them used to sleeping in their kennels since the baby will be in bed with us.
Dandelion - October 2018
Angel "Aurora" - July 2020
Angel "Sawyer" - May 2021
Angel "Maxine" - January 2022
Angel "Violet" - March 2022
Baby Dove due March 2023
Otherwise, I’m just planning to do as much rearranging and set-up by mid-August as I can. (Mom is coming for a week then for baby showers and organizing). That will help them get resettled before baby joins the household.
As for pet care during labor- if Blast comes on time, my Dad is in charge. He is welcome to be at the hospital, but not invited to participate in the labor. So- he gets to run for Arby’s and take care of fur babies. If Blast comes early, I have a couple of housesitters that I can call up. They are aware of what’s going on, and will make sure fur babies are taken care of.
And even though I have never let him on the bed at my house, that doesn’t mean that after 4 years he doesn’t still attempt it when he wants attention.
We came home with baby, Hank (dog) sniffed for about 2 minutes, and could NOT care less LOL. Went about his business. I second, @tinattt23 though, as Hank did step on DS once. Not on purpose of course, just his sheer size and trying to maneouver around.
We honestly had more trouble with our cat at the time, he peed on many of the babies items out of spite. Play mat, any baby blankets that were left on the floor. We loved him but he was a huge PITA.
Context: we live in a tiny house, so we don't have a door on the nursery, so we can't just close the cat out.
Haven’t thought about it until now but I’ll probably drop him off at the boarding kennel when I go into labor because I’m planning on a home birth. Otherwise he would have a party splashing in the birthing tub and God knows what else he’d do.
be reading all the tips. We may take the dog to doggy daycare for a few days when I come home to tire her out. Time will tell I guess.
After we got home was the most adjustment. Taught the dogs to respect DS' space, mostly with the sniffing his face. Other than that they're good - I thought Kara would hover but she backed WAY off, thought Max would back off but he was constantly attuned. The cat hated him and pretended he and his things didn't exist - would snuggle with us around him as if he wasn't there. Ha.
As DS started moving I worried Kara would freak and Max would play too rough. Max backed way off and is a little afraid of DS now. Kara let's him climb all over her and h's even let him poke her in the eye (we try to not let this happen obviously) without reacting at all.
Tl/dr: you can prep but the animals will do what they will do. And it may not be what you expect.
No clue about the cat. He's not big enough or coordinated enough to jump into the crib. Will have to watch he doesn't jump into the bassinet by the bed. But he does think that everything that moves is prey, so he might be on high-alert for a while.
The main thing we did and continue to do is we have a gate that blocks off the room our daughter is mostly in. They can still see/smell us, but it keeps a degree of separation for personal space. We leave the gate open most of the time now since DD wanders in and out, but the dogs know it is not their place to be. Cat comes and goes since her Cat tower is in the same room, she also likes separation from the dogs.
One thing I will say is you’re going to vacuum constantly. You have no idea how much animal hair is around until you are on the floor all the time. The gate has also helped with keeping her play area clean in that sense.
When we move to our house we are going to get two more and have them on each floor!
TTC since 2016
Due: October 12, 2018
Location: Ontario, Canada
It’s funny how as a dog house you get over the yuck factor of kid + dog very quickly. Dog licked the newborns face. Lord knows how much dog hair DS has eaten. DS now thinks it’s hysterical to get in the dogs face and open his mouth so she’ll lick inside his mouth. At least we’ve managed to avoid DS eating any dog poop? Can’t say the same about picking it up though. Builds immunity, right?
Start making up the nursery ASAP- for both cats and dogs. Let them explore it, while also giving them boundaries (no jumping on furniture, having them stop sniffing something that is a toy). Give them some treats or scratches for good behavior. For cats, a LOT of cats hate tin foil, so if you set the crib/bassinet up and line the inside with tin foil, they will jump in maybe once and never again, so you do that for the next few months before baby comes and boom, they never want to go inside the crib. You can also just use a baby gate to prevent them from going in the room in general- I am because my cat enjoys scratching that particular rug, but he is allowed to come hang out in there when we are, and we have let him, so he gets used to it.
For introducing dog/cat and baby, over the next few months, youtube the sound of babies crying. Put it on. Over and over and over. Give your dog treats for staying calm. Pet your cat. Get them used to the sound. Yes, bring home a blanket or hat that smells like the baby, and let them sniff it, and give them reinforcement. I recommend when actually bringing baby inside, have your dog outside and then let him in. That way its not the baby invading the dogs space, its the baby is already there, and the dog gets to join.
Finally, never, ever ever leave a dog and a baby/toddler alone together unless you are prepared for possible consequences. I don't care how wonderful your dog is- dogs have breaking points just like people do, and it is unfair when people punish a dog for normal dog behavior, like growling or snapping when the baby has been pulling his tail for days and finally goes after the food bowl and you werent watching to prevent it. Dogs need their own space as well to get away from an annoying toddler.