Thursday, May 22, 2008

Faux Paws

I think our furry children are in for a rough ride with Junior on the way.

Our oldest and smallest dog will probably take it the hardest. He has been around longer than all of the others and is extremely jealous of anything that takes our attention. If he is cuddling comfortably with me, for example, and my husband gives attention to our other dog or (even more horrifying) the cat, he will scramble over and stick his nose in the middle to get his lovin'.

Lately, as the baby moves more and more, I have taken to talking to him more and more. When he is moving, I talk to him about all sorts of things, including what a wonderful Baby he is and how much he is loved. Well, I think that I might talk to him in the same slightly higher pitched voice that I use to address the dogs. It drives our little dog crazy.

If I am sitting on the bed or couch, he will jump up and snuggle in, trying to nudge my hands off of my belly and turn my attention back his direction. If I am standing, he will prance around at my feet, anxiously whining and barking. My husband thinks this is funny, but it worries me a little about how he will be when the baby is actually here, and my focus will shift entirely.

Now, mind you, I can't see our furbabies getting completely neglected. But for our entire marriage, they have been the focus of our parental love and affection. They get a lot of attention. While I still plan on giving them the love and care that they need, until the dust settles, we are all going to be in for a readjustment.

We have read the books about acclimating animals and babies. We know to bring a blanket or piece of clothing home from the hospital prior to Baby's arrival. We know not to leave them unattended with Baby within their reach. We know to make introductions slowly and not expect a baby love-at-first-site-fest.

Hopefully, the dust will not billow for long, and we will all be settling into our new routines. I just hope the fur doesn't fly in the meantime.

11 comments:

Jen said...

I can relate. Our poor Cujo is definitely in for a shock. He is good with babies and kids, but of course it will be different for him when it's our baby at home all the time. As we worked on the baby's room this last weekend, he kept coming in and giving us strange looks.

HereWeGoAJen said...

Our little dog sticks himself in the middle whenever anyone else gets attention. He's in for quite a shock too.

Tracy said...

I worry about Gus, too...he's a big, big baby. I know he will be good with our new additions, but I worry that he'll feel left out a lot of the time.

He knows something is up, though. All of a sudden Mommy is home all the time, and there's new stuff being moved into the spare room.

Hmmm......

Waiting Amy said...

It's always a tough transition. Email me if you want some more detailed suggestions of things you could work on now to get ready.

waitingamy at gmail

AwkwardMoments said...

We are thinking about kitty przac..honestly

JJ said...

I have a feeling that when the time comes our 2 fur kids are going to have some major readjustments to go through!

Anonymous said...

I've also heard that you should cut down drastically on the love you give to pets a few weeks prior to delivery. Then when you bring the baby home, you reintroduce affection to the furry kids. It supposedly helps pets make a positive connection to the baby.

Anonymous said...

I wish you luck with this one. We don't have our furry child anymore, but he wouldn't have done well with a baby in the house.

Anonymous said...

Dear Katie,
I have given you the pink rose award because I think you and your blog is simply great.
Please visit my blog when you can.
Thanks

Anonymous said...

My little jack russel is also in for a rude awakening! She is our baby right now and is supremely jealous of me in particular... But I'm sure it will all work out in the end...

sara said...

Aw, I can relate! Our furbaby is our dog and she has been the center of our life the whole time we've been trying to get pregnant. I worry a little too about when the baby comes how she'll do. I guess we'll all be adjusting. Sounds like you're doing all the right things, so I hope it's a smooth transition for you guys too :-)