when your fur babies have to adjust to your new baby

Before we had kids, our dogs, Boudreaux and Fiona, were everything to us. They were our little babies. We spent so much time doing fun things with them and we couldn’t wait to get home from work to see them every day.

When I was pregnant with Hudson, Fiona and Boudreaux never left my side. Fiona had puppies about a year before Hudson was born, so we felt like she was very much aware of what was going on.

As I prepared the nursery, I let Fiona and Boudreaux hang out in there if they wanted to. For the most part, they’d just sniff around and then go about their business. But one day I moved all of the stuffed animals into our study because we were painting. I walked by the study and found Fiona all nestled up in the baby’s stuffed animals.

Our labor and delivery nurse when Hudson was born, suggested we take one of the blankets that he had been wrapped in and let the dogs sniff the blanket to get used to the baby’s smell before we came home from the hospital. Todd brought the blanket home and showed it to the dogs a few hours before Hudson came home from the hospital.

We never had a single problem with either baby. Boudreaux and Fiona mostly ignored Hudson (and also Hayes) but would occasionally lie down beside him on the play mat or just sit near him. But they didn’t do a lot of sniffing or licking. It was just very sweet.

When I was waking up sometimes twice a night with Hudson in those first couple of months, I would sometimes get very lonely. A dark house in the middle of the night can be a little bit creepy. But every night when I’d tiptoe into Hudson’s room with a warm bottle, sweet little Fiona would be right behind me. She was our little companion during those feedings. She’d sit with me, loyally, while I fed, burped, changed, swaddled, and rocked sweet little Hudson.

I took this picture of her sitting in the nursery in the middle of the night. She had claimed Hudson’s little chair as her own and I could always count on her to be there with me every night.

As much as I didn’t want it to, having my babies did change how much time I had to give to my sweet dogs. I love them so much, and I’m glad that the boys are growing up and playing with them more.

To Todd’s credit, he still feels the exact same way about the dogs that he always has, but they’ve taken more of a backseat for me.

But when I stop to look at their little faces and try to forget about how the barking woke a baby, or how Boudreaux’s tail knocked someone over, I remember just how much I love them. I’m glad they’re with us and I’m so happy our boys get to grow up with two sweet dogs who love them.

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Comments

  1. says

    I absolutely love this post. We do not have any babies with two legs only one with four and she means the world to my husband and I. People always give us a hard time because we treat her like a child instead of a dog. I always worry about how she’ll feel when I have kids but I love to hear that TC still feels the same way about them. I know my hubby will probably be the same! Thanks for always writing posts that really hit home!

  2. says

    Ah, I love this post. You know I’m having serious anxiety & guilt about bringing a baby home with our sweet (fur) baby Winston. Even though I don’t have much in the room yet I’ve been trying to go in there 2-3 times a week & just sit in the sun that shines through the window with Winston. He seems to love the room & that he’s allowed in there. I don’t think he knows what’s going with me, but who knows. I hope that introducing the blankets to him does the trick, but I imagine some jealousy may happen.

    How are you?! I owe you an email! We need to catch up! xoxo

  3. says

    Erin- Thank you for posting this! With our new baby due in February, I’ve been thinking a lot about how our dogs will take it. I worry about barking, but deep down, I know our sweet baby will get used to them and they will love each other. I just know that my husband and I will have to make an extra effort to show attention to the fur babies. I do think that my Brussels, Prissy, will be my little midnight feeding shadow like Fiona 🙂

  4. Hailey says

    Oh that picture of her in the stuffed animals, too cute. Our dog is SO spoiled, I often wonder and worry how she will do being the big sister. Glad to see your two adjusted well.

  5. says

    It’s so great that your dogs and 2 little ones get along! Long before we became parents to 2 legged creatures, we had a much loved 4 legged baby named Bailey. Things got crazy hectic after we had our “real” babies (Sept 2009 and May 2011). Bailey did ok at first – she would occasionally lay down or sit by them, but generally would ignore them. However, as they got mobile and became interested in her and try to play with her, she began to show signs of aggression and we had to give her away. She’s living with my cousins so we still get to see her!

  6. says

    wow–this made me cry big tears. maizie is my constant companion… truly one of my best friends. I love my little dog more than life, and when I think about her taking a backseat to my future babies, I get so sad. I know the love I have for my human babies will be insurmountable, but being that I don’t know that love yet, I am content to just love all over my baby maltese. 😉 great post, erin!

  7. says

    I am so glad to read this….it brought a tear to my eye because this is something I have been really worried about lately! We have no children yet, but definitely have the dream of children. We just got a Great Dane puppy named Gracie last spring and we are loving every minute with her. The puppy stage can definitely be trying, but I feel exactly like her as you said you did about your dogs…she is my little one right now! But, since we got her, I’ve had this quiet worry in the back of my mind of how she will adjust to our real baby whenever we bring him/her home one day. I know that all dogs are different, but hearing how yours adapted so well to Hudson made my day. I pray that ours does the exact same. Thanks for sharing, Erin!

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