Читать книгу Welcoming Your Second Baby - Vicki Lansky - Страница 16

Whether your pet is a long time family resident or new since the birth of your first child, you’ll find your pet will have to make accommodations for a new baby in the house. A pet, like a child, may be put out more often by the changes in their routine than actual jealousy of the baby.

• Before bringing your baby home, take your pet to the vet for a routine health exam and necessary vaccinations. If you’ve been planning on neutering or declawing your pet, do so before the baby arrives. Have your pets get use to having their nails clipped on a regular basis.

• Be sure your dog is free of fleas. A trip to the groomer in your last month or while you’re at the hospital might be helpful.

• Allow your pet to explore and investigate baby items and furnishings before the baby arrives. You might even send home a receiving blanket or a piece of the baby’s clothing from the hospital before the baby comes home to introduce your baby’s scent to your pet.

• Invite friends with babies and toddlers to visit during your pregnancy so your pet can spend some time around “little people.”

• Don’t let a cat get use to sleeping in the baby’s crib. Discourage a pet from jumping into the baby’s bed or changing table by applying double-stick tape to some of the surfaces.

• Dogs, more than cats, can be disturbed by a baby’s cries. Make a recording of a crying baby during your pregnancy—(you probably have at least one friend with a crying baby who can accommodate you!)—and play it occasionally. Stroke your dog and speak in soothing sounds while the tape is played.

• If a baby’s room is off-limits to your pooch, you may wish to invest in a baby gate. If this is true for your cat, you may wish to install a screen door.

• Reward a dog for good behavior when around your newborn.