by Kelsey Warren-Bryant
One of the first clues that I was pregnant came from my female dog,
Boo. A black Labrador Boxer mix, she stared at me from the foot of the bed, her face partly gray from middle age. I gently patted the covers as an invitation to join me, but she just stared, panting heavily as if something monumental had changed about me. A few days later, I found out it had!
Until I saw that little blue plus sign for the first time, my two doggies were the only babies I had. My husband and I adopted Houdini and Boo, a sibling pair from the same litter, from our family after they had turned five years old. They quickly became the center of our lives. For five years, our routine consisted of
walks, playing fetch, training, and nightly snuggles in bed. It was just the four of us, a married couple with a bonded dog pair. But then within nine months, everything was about to change — and in truth, nobody ever told me just how much.
Prepare Sleeping Arrangements Ahead of Time
One thing I hadn’t considered before bringing home our newborn baby was our sleeping arrangements. Houdini and Boo had slept in the same room with us for five years. What had become a comfortable routine quickly unraveled with the addition of our newborn daughter. With her waking up every two hours (on a good night), sleep became paramount for the next few months. Simple things that were just a way of life before — a sharp tail wag against the floor, a growl or bark, begging to be let outside in the middle of the night — became
downright anxiety inducing. Until the little one was ready to move into her own room, things had to change with our sleeping arrangements.
If we had practiced having our dogs sleep in the living room a few weeks before our baby’s arrival, it not only would have prepared us better for the change but also our pups. Remember that this is a big change for them as well, and anything you can do to make that transition smoother will save you and your fur babies some stress. Consider beforehand how often your animals wake you up on any given night and whether you might need to prepare your sleeping arrangements accordingly.
Stock Up on Pet Essentials
Becoming a first-time mom, I was clueless as to what I would need for the baby. Cloth or disposable diapers? Formula or only breastfeeding supplies? What baby items popping up on my Amazon were going to be necessary versus those that would just take up space and cost more money? There was a lot to think about when bringing a baby into the world, and with all of my planning for our little girl, I hadn’t considered what my pets might need.
Although our dogs might not have required a gift registry to keep them happy, I found that anything to make their lives and mine easier was helpful to have on hand. Of course that included stocking up on a few months’ worth of dog food and treats. More than that, my time and, quite frankly, my free hands became swallowed up for a while by my newborn. Doggy things that might have been helpful during that transition period would have been bones, puzzle treats, toys — anything to keep them engaged and active so my hands were free to hold a baby bottle.
Do Everything You Can in Advance
What are your pets going to need in the first few months of your baby’s life? Will they be due for shots or a grooming visit or more heartworm medicine? It usually takes several months for babies to start sleeping through the night. For my baby, it wasn’t until she was five months old. Because coffee and adrenaline can sustain you for only so long, I craved for everything else in my life to be as simple as possible until my baby could settle down for seven or eight hours at night.
Research all the tips you can on how to get your baby to sleep through the night. But just in case it takes longer than you expect, adjust all your pet appointments accordingly to make your first few months as smooth as they can be.
Be Realistic with Your Time
When I brought Zoey home for the first time, I thought everything would fall into place. Our parental instincts would kick in, our schedules would sync within a few days, and time for all my other responsibilities as an adult would just happen naturally. Boy, was I in for a surprise!
It was a tough lesson, but I had to learn that I was not capable of being a supermom — if such a person even exists. It just wasn’t possible to keep the house clean, do meal prep, run errands, work full time (after maternity leave was over, that is), be a good wife, and be the perfect parent to my dogs and my constantly needy newborn baby — all while running on three hours of sleep. To even try to accomplish everything to the standards I wanted would have meant that I neglected my own mental and physical health, which would have led to burnout and made matters even more difficult.
For a while, I had to embrace the fact that things were going to be different. Daily walks and training for the dogs were going to have to be put on hold, and my hands would too often not be available to give my pets my undivided attention.
I felt guilty about it at the time. Looking back, I’ve learned to cut my past self some slack. I did the best I could with the little time and energy I had, and you will too! Just remember that there is no such thing as a perfect parent.
Keep your pets involved by introducing them to the baby, and prepare for their needs as best you can ahead of time. The newborn stage is a short one, and after a while, you all will settle into a new routine. Even if the playtime is less and the walks are short, your pets will still love you the same, and the bond between you will never, ever fade away.
