Pets & Pregnancy/Pets & Babies #2

[blueiris]

Well i've had to make one major change now for the dogs & this is for my own sanity. Our Lab has become really affectionate towards me now & all of a sudden he's gone back to needing to sleep on the bed again.

Only problem here is that since becoming pregnant i've gone from a deep sleeper to a light sleeper. For 5 night i had constant broken sleep as every time our Lab got on the bed it woke me up. The last night it was almost hourly. So i made the decision to kick them out of the bedroom & they now sleep in the spareroom. They don't like it but i'm now getting some decent sleep.

I'll see how things are when bubs is born,they might find their way back into the bedroom again. I do miss them too,they've always slept in the bedroom with us so i held off for as long as i could before kicking them out.

[MummyTummy]

Blueiris, it sounds like a sensible thing to do. Especially if you end up like me co-sleeping with your baby in your bed. We never planned it, as far as we were concerned bubs was going in his cot in his room, but he hasn't yet slept a night in there. It felt very natural to put him in our bed with us and that is where he stayed. My cat used to sleep on my bed most nights but now she just sleeps in the dogs bed with him.

[sonicallyanimated]

What a sweet thread.
At around 5 months when my cat (long haired tortie) realised what was happening, she was quite angry, wouldn't give me any affection!!
She's always been very independant but would still give me a few cuddles per day. Now she's back to normal, if not slightly more affectionate. Still very independant of a day but she has always been kept inside overnight (ever since she went missing for 5 whole days!!), and she sometimes sleeps on the bed with me and comes to give me some love & cuddles of an evening.
When DP went away for 5 nights recently she was even more protective, following me around, going back and forth to bed as if to say 'please come with me, I'm ready to sleep'.
This Sat and last we had a afternoon nap on my bed togethor which is unlike her.
I love her so much, she's about 14 so very treasured and I really hope she copes ok when babe is here.

[Inertia]

When I had DS3, we had this beautiful pure bred Rotti named Jack. We got Jack a couple of years before hand in January when he turned up on our doorstep as a 6 month old pup. Someone had just dumped him at the lake near our place and he walked from there, past several other houses and chose to sit on our doorstep like a Chinese dragon. At first we were concerned he may be dangerous and wouldn't let the kids out. We didn't feed him at all and hoped it would encourage him to "go home". After 2 days, my DH couldn't stand seeing the poor guy sat there looking at us longingly and starving and went out and got some food for him. After he had eaten, DH took him to the vet to check for a microchip. There was nothing at all. He turned up at an interesting time though because we were due to move only a couple of days later, and the day we moved, I left DH with the option. Take him to the pound, or bring him with us. DH turned up with the last load and a big black dog in the back seat.

Jack was there for my whole pregnancy with Harry, but we felt horribly guilty because the townhouse we were only meant to be in for 6 months didn't go away after 6 months, and Jack was still left with very little room. I pondered sending him to my sisters to live because his coat was rough and dry and it just didn't feel right, but Jack refused to leave.

Not long after, Harry was born. Jack would look at us through the window, but I kept Harry inside and warm the first few weeks of his life. I did worry how this would make Jack react to him though, and did try my level best to ensure Jack got the same amount of attention he got before. Jack first met Harry a month later when I had to hang out some washing. I took Harry out first and introduced them. Jack took a good whiff and his tail wagged, so I got DD1 to get the washing and put Harry next to me in the bouncer. Jack lay down next to the bouncer and watched Harry smiling at mum and the "goggie".

2 years later, Harry would lay down on the veranda and play with his cars, and his goggie Jack would be lay down next to him. We could talk to people over the fence without any problems, until Harry would walk down - then Jack spent the rest of the visit 'warning' them to stay away from Harry. He had given many 'warnings' to people playing with Harry, and my favourite moments would be seeing Jack laying on his (Jacks) bed, perfectly still but watching everyone walking around while Harry slept soundly next to him.

Sadly, May last year our Jack walked up to the back of the yard and died silently of a brain tumor. The kids were all heartbroken, and Harry now clings to a small rotti coloured stuffed toy we got him for Easter. For several months, if he saw DD1 with the toy he would snatch it off her proclaiming "My Jack!".

We have since gotten a new pet, a German Shepherd cross with Alaskan Malamute. She doesnt seem as bright as Jack, but then again, she is still very young too. She knows I am pregnant and has definitely been more gentle with me since she worked it out. Hopefully she will feel as protective of this baby as Jack was of Harry.

[tk1999]

Does anyone know about getting parrots prepared for bubs arrival... the bird hates me... yes it is a strong term but this bird is a one owner person and it loves DP to bits (I think it is a girl parrot but DP says it is a boy, that is what he was told when he got him and there is no changing his mind!)

The bird has never attacked me... well it has tried to bite me when I am tending to his cage but doesn't fly to attack if that makes sense... he can fly (despite having his wings clipped in January 09 and being told they only need to be done once a year)

My main concern is the sqwaking... I know it is better to have bubs sleep somewhere with noise so that they don't get used to only sleeping when it is quiet but I think general noise and a parrot sqwaking because it has separation from DP anxiety are slightly different - so just wondering if anyone has experience with parrots and bubs

[nicjay]

Hi there tk,

We have 2 pet parrots, mine not DH's , but they pretty much like both of us equally. We had them before DD arrived 5 years ago today, and honestly there was not a lot we could do to prepare them for her arrival. They don't mind her now LOL and of course she loves them to bits, but we have had a couple of accidental "de-tailing" incidents in the past - only happened to each parrot once though LOL

Anyway, to the squawking. Mine can be pretty loud, especially my boy parrot, and I found that it didn't bother her much as a newborn. As she got older though, it did disturb her sleep during the day. We had them in a room near hers too, so I moved them out into our living area away from her room to give her peace and quiet, and they were happier out there as well where they have plenty of company. I agree with you on the general noise versus squawking too BTW, I never kept the house totally quiet, but the squawking is loud and I found that sudden loud noises were quite disturbing to her KWIM? Anyway, I guess what I am saying is basically have your DH's parrot away from where bub is sleeping, sounds like you won't be able to silence the parrot LOL so I think that a bit of distance may be the key.

Good luck!

[Kirley64]

I have two indoor cats. One is almost 3. she is a beautiful Balinese cross..... she is queen of our house. she only likes pats when she wants them and she will meow angrily at you if she wants something that you aren't giving it to her. lol. you can just call her name in an angry manner if she is doing something wrong and she knows and stops what she is doing or leaves the room she's not meant to be in. The other one is just a domestic short hair. he is 1 1/2 and fat lol. he is sooo smoochy and is my baby. he follows me around the house, meows for food or attention. He doesn't really listen like the other one does, however when my husband yells at him he knows he's in trouble (or if you take a step towards him when calling his name he runs); to dicipline him we flicked his ear and he learnt that he gets that when hes being naughty. When i do it, it doesnt' always work, however he doesnt' like it when my husband flicks his ear. He just has to hold his fingers in front of his face like he's about to flick him and he stops what he is doing.

Our cats have hardly ever been allowed in the room that will now be the nursery however they do love to explore it. we have always just had a board up in front of the door (it is low enough that they can jump it sometimes but in a year they have only ever jumped it about 5 times which is pretty good odds), so i am just going to replace it with a solid baby gate. they do like sleeping in the bed at night, however for the last month i have started locking them out at night. My little boy doesn't like it, he wakes up every morning at 4.20 and scratches continueously until i get up and either feed him or yell at him several times. I physically have to make him sit on the couch and tell him to stay. Trying not to get into a habit of feeding him.
Some days it works some it doesn't. If we leave the door open he comes and lies at my head and insists i pat him. Dont really want him to lie at the babies face like he does to me.
alot of family are warning us about cats and babies, trying to convince them otherwise but they dont seem to listen... wow sorry for the long post

[tk1999]

Does anyone know about getting parrots prepared for bubs arrival... the bird hates me... yes it is a strong term but this bird is a one owner person and it loves DP to bits (I think it is a girl parrot but DP says it is a boy, that is what he was told when he got him and there is no changing his mind!)

The bird has never attacked me... well it has tried to bite me when I am tending to his cage but doesn't fly to attack if that makes sense... he can fly (despite having his wings clipped in January 09 and being told they only need to be done once a year)

My main concern is the sqwaking... I know it is better to have bubs sleep somewhere with noise so that they don't get used to only sleeping when it is quiet but I think general noise and a parrot sqwaking because it has separation from DP anxiety are slightly different - so just wondering if anyone has experience with parrots and bubs

Thanks Megsmum for the advice re parrots! Sorry I didn't reply earlier

Well to update... DD arrived early and we hadn't really got a chance to get Tyson (parrot) used to the idea of a little one being in the house.

DD was in SCN for the first 15 days of her life and when she came home DP introduced Tyson to her... he was not phased in the foggiest.

He still sqwaks but not as much as he used to but it doesn't matter really as DD sleeps through it... from the loudest and most frequent sqwaks to the little irritated sqwaks!

[BOC]

My dog definitely knows something is going on. In the first few weeks she was constantly sniffing me, I guess she could smell the change in hormones. By about 10 weeks she had stopped trying to climb all over me & would just sit quietly on my lap with her front paws resting on my belly. My DH thinks she's "protecting" me. She never leaves my side when she's inside.

The other night I was reclining on the lounge and she came and laid across my lap with her head against me, her ear against my belly. It was sooooooo cute! It was like she was trying to listen to the baby. I only wish I'd had the camera with me. It didn't last long though, bubba wasn't impressed and gave her a kick. She gave me a bewildered look as if to say "What was THAT???" and then climbed down and sat on the cushion beside me