Your due date is coming up soon. It
kind of sneaks up on you, doesn't it? You've gotten all of the
necessary 'stuff'-diapers, baby clothes, crib, car seats, etc. You're
prepared for the day you bring your baby home.
But, wait a minute. You've prepared
yourself and your husband,
but what about everyone else?
You still have to figure out how to introduce your new baby to the
rest of your family, namely siblings and pets. After all, they are
going to be living with the baby too. What sorts of things can you do
to make this new transition easier for them?
First,
let's start with siblings. Sometimes older children in the house feel
ignored because the new baby takes so much of everyone's attention,
especially if they were the only child in the house up until now. One
way you can make your child feel loved and appreciated is to have
them help with the baby. Ask them to help you pick out the baby's
clothes for the day, or toys to take with you when riding in the car.
If they are older, let them help with the car seat or let them push
the stroller when you take them along for walks. Have them fetch you
things like diapers or feeding utensils, and let them know that you
couldn't take care of your baby without them. Even if this isn't true
or the 'helping' slows you down, it's important that your other
children feel included. That is, if they want
to
be included. It's best to gradually incorporate your other children
into relations with the baby, so don't feel the need to push the
issue with your other children if they don't appear to be interested.
Please remember that
the bonding process is going to take some time, even if the child was
excited about their new brother or sister before.
Make
it a point to spend one-on-one time with the older children to let
them know that they are still just as loved as they were before. This
is especially important if they are acting out or seem to resent the
new baby.
Preparing
pets for a new baby is also important, especially if they aren't used
to children being around or are nervous in general. One thing that
helps is getting the pet used to the baby's scent. Cats and dogs have
a very strong sense of smell and use this sense to adjust to their
surroundings, so give your pet something the baby has used so they
can get an idea of what the baby smells like. Put a blanket in the
pet's bed or allow it to play with a toy the baby used.
This
probably goes without saying, but supervise your baby's interactions
with the pet. Do not-I repeat, do NOT-allow the pet to get into the
baby's crib, especially when the baby is in it. I have five cats and
know very well that they don't follow directions well and are very
adept at jumping over things and getting into places they shouldn't
be. When the baby is asleep, either keep the door to its room closed
or put up a 'screen' so that the pet can see
the baby without being able to touch it.
Dogs are somewhat easier to deal with, so having a 'baby gate' or
some other barrier in front of the room should suffice. Also, please
remember to keep the pet's food and litter in places where the baby
cannot get to it. If your dog sleeps in a crate, put the litter box
on top of it. Do the same with the food bowls; just do whatever you
have to do to keep these things off of the ground and out of the
baby's reach. This may sound obvious, but you'd be surprised.
I hope
now you have a few ideas about how to introduce the rest of your
family to your new baby. Good luck!
