How Are The Pets Adjusting To The New Baby?
It was the fall of 2013. I was 21, 6 months removed from graduating college, and living alone for the first time in my life. It took me 6 weeks to become lonely. I decided I needed something to take care of. A plant. So naturally, I ended up with two cats. It’s a long story.
Anyway, four years later in the early months of 2017, I decided that a dog was a good addition, so I brought Dallas aka Burrito into the mix. The cats were thrilled…
Now in 2022, I have a baby, two cats, and a dog. I regularly ask myself why I thought 3 furbabies was a good idea…
What I Did to Prepare The Pets For a Baby
It was important to me to do a few things before the baby arrived so they wouldn’t associate the changes with the baby and become resentful of him:
Kicked Everyone Out of My Bed & Room At Night - I couldn’t imagine getting up every 2 hours to feed the baby and tripping over the animals on my way to the bassinet. I also just needed to create some separation. It was hard at first. I missed them and I felt guilty, but I learned to love it.
Gates, Gates, and More Gates - I needed a way to control where the animals were. I have a gate in the staircase to regulate when they can come upstairs. I have gates downstairs to keep them out of the living room if needed. Since I’m alone most of the time, I don’t want the animals jumping on me when I’m feeding the baby, for example, and then I have to stop, get up, and kick them outside or something. It seems to work well.
Established Stricter Routines - For example, everyone goes in the backyard when I first come downstairs in the morning. I wanted them to get used to this routine so I’d have an hour in the morning to take care of the baby and get us ready for the day without the pets underfoot.
Things We all Had To Accept Once I had The baby
They understand there’s this new little creature that they find no use for.
Aforementioned little creature is granted safe travels in their domain because he is here under my protection.
They’re not going to get the same amount of attention they once did, but they will get enough attention.
So, How are The animals adjusting?
They’ve adjusted surprisingly well, despite wanting more attention than I can give.
August
Demanding, Stubborn, but Affectionate
Species: Feline
Color: Gray, White, Brown (calico)
Size: 14 pounds
Age: 10
I think she wishes the bebé was not around but she quickly learned to accept that he wasn’t going anywhere. She basically goes about her day as normal and occasionally wants more attention than I have time for. She has tried to step on the baby several times, but as you can see above, after a few months she has begrudgingly warmed up to him.
Willow
Caring, Sweet, but Shy
Species: Feline
Color: Black and White
Size: 10 pounds
Age: 9
At first she hid from the baby, but now she loves him. Every time he cries she comes over to see what’s wrong.
Dallas
Very Affectionate, Loving, but Protective of Me
Species: Canine
Color: Black and White
Size: 40 pounds
Age: 8
I was most nervous about my dog around the baby, but he seems very aware that he has to be calm around him. He’s never shown signs of aggression toward the baby. Of all the animals, he was the most sad about not getting as much attention, but he is slowly feeling better. I still don’t leave them alone and I might never, but I’m relieved by how well it’s working out.
My secret weaPon
I created a policy where if I walk past an animal on the way to do something, I have to pet the animal for 5 seconds. They all seem to miss me at different points of the day. This seems to help.
Overall, the transition seems okay for them. It’s definitely a big adjustment, but we are all making it work.
