New baby + dog preperations?

[littlemisslauren]

I am now 25 weeks preggers with my first baby (if this pregnancy doesn't become more enjoyable it may be my only baby)

Betsy is 3 next month, so she is about as grown up as she will ever be.

She is banned from furniture unless she is asked up. She is pretty good at this tbh, she stands next to the couch and gives me her big RSPCA eyes in a hope I will let her come for a cuddle!

We have also bought a dolly that makes 'baby' noises and moves its face. It is currently sat next to me on the sofa and I randomly press the button and she isn't remotely interested in it. We are hoping to download / find a cd with baby noises on so we can have screams coming from upstairs etc to make the transition as easy as possible for her small brain.

The doll is the freakiest thing I have ever seen

As soon as we have a bouncer / pram / moses basket we were planning on having them around the house to let her get used to them before there is a smelly noisy baby in them.

She has just started having more 'down time' on her own in the kitchen (where she sleeps) while we are in the house to try and encourage her to be a bit happier in her own company. With the best will in the world she wont be able to be with me constantly when the baby is here.

Her exercise regime is the same as it has been (possibly a bit slower paced with my waddling), OH is going to be taking over the walking when I am 30 weeks and he will continue with the walking when baby first arrives. She will actually be getting more exercise in a solid routine, sleepy Betsy is a happy Betsy.

We are not sure where to put babygates? I thought possibly one on the living room (main room downsairs) so if baby is asleep in the living room and I need a wee / to answer door / to get a drink I can call B to come with me and close the babygate behind me?

Is there anything I have missed? I am in my neurotic, nesting and panicing stage of pregnancy now and I will NOT give up on my dog because I chose to get pregnant.


All I have to offer is gaviscon if you get this far

 

[Star_Chaser]

crate training. Dog gates are great but not 100% as most dogs I know will clear them but it depends on what breed betsy is. Time out places away from crawling baby or toddler are a godsend later on.

Kiddy socialising. I took all mine out with friends who had babies both in harnesses and in pushchairs etc because the dolls never smell the same of make the same noises. Bonus is you get to talk babies If you don't have one yet the baby bjorn with the back harness is fabulous for dog walking especially with the cover keeps them nice and toastie and adjusts for both you and hubby. A friend of mine has joined a mums and babies exercise class in her local park said its great.

 

[littlemisslauren]

crate training. Dog gates are great but not 100% as most dogs I know will clear them but it depends on what breed betsy is. Time out places away from crawling baby or toddler are a godsend later on.

Kiddy socialising. I took all mine out with friends who had babies both in harnesses and in pushchairs etc because the dolls never smell the same of make the same noises. Bonus is you get to talk babies If you don't have one yet the baby bjorn with the back harness is fabulous for dog walking especially with the cover keeps them nice and toastie and adjusts for both you and hubby. A friend of mine has joined a mums and babies exercise class in her local park said its great.

Betsy is a Border Terrier - shuld have put that in the OP!
She is crate trained to some extent.... She sleeps in her crate / is fed in there / has time outs in there but tbh we leave the door of it open... She can and will dismantle it from the inside if needs be.

It might be a good idea for us to work on that again, she hasn't had one of her hissy fits for quite a while

She is luckily very good with small children, my god daughter is WAY more fun for B now that she can throw the ball. I will look into outdoorsy pregnancy classes / stalking mums with little ones!

I want to be as prepared as I possibly can be in the hope that I feel like less of a failure if I at least know whats going on with the dog

 

[Lacuna]

Another idea is a travel cot, one of the fabric mesh ones. Friend has used it successfully when her baby was wee as an easy place to pop him in the living room where the staffy couldn't walk over him.

 

[littlemisslauren]

Another idea is a travel cot, one of the fabric mesh ones. Friend has used it successfully when her baby was wee as an easy place to pop him in the living room where the staffy couldn't walk over him.

My main concern when I am out of the room is B curling up on the baby as a warm place to sleep,a travel cot might be a way forward

 

[Frisbee123]

I used to take the dog to the loo with me! A crate is a godsend, especially when the babies start crawling. It was fairly easy to manage pre crawling because you always know where baby is and can keep dog or baby with you. My dogs were most worried about my daughter when she started crawling, but are much happier again now she is walking and taller than them. I actually have a playpen dividing up part of my living room that I put the dogs in when we are all in the room. It means they feel safe and I don't have to worry about my daughter falling on them or putting their noses through a shape sorter. Do not underestimate how fast even a fully supervised toddler can move!