Hey Y'all!
I know I have been distant.... well for the past year! Oh and what a crazy, wonderful, BLESSED year it has been!
Since we last spoke, my little family has grown by one! On April 30th, we were blessed with a beautiful baby girl, Lennon Grace!
Of course, she is super goofy already {not surprised, considering who her parents are}!
As you may recall, we also have two fur babies! You may be wondering how they are adjusting to having the tiny human... Pretty well actually!
{FYI: the most said phrase in our house is "Stop licking the baby"!}
Penny, honestly, could care less, but we didn't expect anything else from her!
Rooney has really surprised us with how well he has acclimate to having the little Lemon Cake around. He has become very protective of his tiny human. He was skeptical when she first came home, but with help from us he has transitioned very well!
After reading many stories of how others introduced their precious bundles to their four legged loves, we were able to mush the advice together and have a safe introduction for all of our babies.
Here is my slice of knowledge on how we safely brought our Lemon Cake home.
PLAN:
Make sure you have a plan early on in your pregnancy of how you want to acclimate your pups to the new addition. You never know when baby will want to arrive {Sometimes 5 weeks early... but that story is for another day}!
EXPLORE:
Let your pups explore the nursery and all baby contraptions they will come in contact with. No, I do not mean let them lick and lay on everything, but let them sniff and be curious. If something makes noise, turn it on. It definitely got some of the barking out of the way in our house.
SNIFF:
While we were still in the hospital with Lennon, Mattie and my mom would bring home her swaddles for the dogs to sniff. At first, the dogs would go crazy taking in all the baby scent, but by the third swaddle, it was old news.
DISTRACT:
This was the best piece of advice I found. When we finally were able to bring her home, Mattie and his mom went in the house first. They got most of the pups excitement out. Next Mattie came outside to sit with Lennon so I could go in {you will be gone a minimum of two days, your dogs are going to miss you like crazy}.
This is where distraction comes into play. Right before we brought Lennon into the house, we gave our pups their favorite chew toys. We made sure to act as though the Lennon was nothing exciting. At first the dogs did not realize she was there. They saw us bring in the car seat, but it had been sitting around the house for weeks.
TIP: Have something that is more interesting in the room than the baby!
PUPSONAL SPACE:
When it was finally time for our four legged babies to meet their tiny human, we wanted them to be calm and comfortable. We did not force or even encourage the dogs to meet Lennon before they were ready. They needed to know that it was okay to walk away if they wanted to. They were only allowed to meet here once they were calm and disinterested in her.
DISTANCE:
When Penny & Rooney finally noticed Lennon, we allowed them to sniff her, but we made them keep their distance. We continue to make sure the dogs keep their distance. They are allowed to approach her if they are calm and she is in our arms {often when they sneak their wet kisses in... Sneaky! Sneaky!}.
As much as I trust my fur babies, they can still be unpredictable! I am happy that now Penny, Rooney, Lennon & I can snuggle together!
I hope our experience is helpful for any of you!
Please post any questions or any slice of knowledge you'd like to share!
While we were still in the hospital with Lennon, Mattie and my mom would bring home her swaddles for the dogs to sniff. At first, the dogs would go crazy taking in all the baby scent, but by the third swaddle, it was old news.
DISTRACT:
This was the best piece of advice I found. When we finally were able to bring her home, Mattie and his mom went in the house first. They got most of the pups excitement out. Next Mattie came outside to sit with Lennon so I could go in {you will be gone a minimum of two days, your dogs are going to miss you like crazy}.
This is where distraction comes into play. Right before we brought Lennon into the house, we gave our pups their favorite chew toys. We made sure to act as though the Lennon was nothing exciting. At first the dogs did not realize she was there. They saw us bring in the car seat, but it had been sitting around the house for weeks.
TIP: Have something that is more interesting in the room than the baby!
PUPSONAL SPACE:
When it was finally time for our four legged babies to meet their tiny human, we wanted them to be calm and comfortable. We did not force or even encourage the dogs to meet Lennon before they were ready. They needed to know that it was okay to walk away if they wanted to. They were only allowed to meet here once they were calm and disinterested in her.
DISTANCE:
When Penny & Rooney finally noticed Lennon, we allowed them to sniff her, but we made them keep their distance. We continue to make sure the dogs keep their distance. They are allowed to approach her if they are calm and she is in our arms {often when they sneak their wet kisses in... Sneaky! Sneaky!}.
As much as I trust my fur babies, they can still be unpredictable! I am happy that now Penny, Rooney, Lennon & I can snuggle together!
I hope our experience is helpful for any of you!
Please post any questions or any slice of knowledge you'd like to share!
