How do you prepare your pet for the arrival of a new baby? Share your tips below.

[CeriMumsnet]

Family is everything, and we know introducing your furry child to its new human sibling can be a very special moment. We’re asking parents (including expecting) to share their tips on how you’ve prepared your dog or cat for the arrival of a newborn baby.

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Nothing, my dog knew a baby was coming. She switched from my Dh being her leader to me. Never left my side in the last few weeks of pregnancy.
When I brought the baby home I brought her a medium stuffed toy. she sniffed the baby, took the toy and it was her baby for years. All previous stuffed toys had their eyes removed and faces ripped off within days 😳😂

She quickly became an aunt to the baby and would sit by her pushchair on guard, when DD was at the park and strayed a bit for, the dog would look at me, with a "are you serious, she needs to be guarded look" and would go join DD to keep her safe.

It was really interesting to see and delightful.
Of course I always supervised, but not because I feared the dog, but because toddlers can be unpredictable.

I did accidentally leave them to go to the loo once and came back to toddler eating a mini yogurt whilst holding one for the dog to lick. "ot ow, she here" was DD response.

They were the best of friends for years ❤️

We found our baby on a site listing and I had to go and get him. He was 6 years old and has never left that house, they hadn’t looked after him well and had a toddler who he was terrified of. When I collected him they told me he had been confined to one room in which they smoked in (he now breathes very loud!) and that he wasn’t good with kids - or people. I took him and he has become our first baby. He is now an absolute love bug but as a house cat he can be very clingy to me and my partner.

Im nearing the end of pregnancy and we have set up the cot/pram/seat all in the places they will go to help him get used to this. He’s not bothered to look in or jump on any of these things (especially when I played a crying baby sound and put it in the cot - he just totally avoided the situation and left the room)

When I am in the hospital I will have someone drop round a blanket/clothing item which of baby has been in when they go to feed him.

I’ve tried to watch videos, listen to crying babies and he seems unbothered. He has been cuddling up to my bump the closer I get to my due date!

I’ve had 3 children and always had dogs and most recently a cat. The the pets were very interested in the new stuff that came into the house but I wouldn’t let sleep or be on newborn mattresses to start with. But once baby was born (in hospital) I asked the husband to take home items of used clothing by the newborn and myself and let the dog smell or the new smells before we came home. This really helped the animals to not be all over us went first coming home. As it wasn’t a shock of smells. Also we let the dog sniff the baby’s head as many times as wanted to on day 1. We let the cat sniff me and baby as he seemed to be attracted to the milk smells. So the only prep really was the introduction of new mum and baby smells before we appeared. Helped 3 (children) times over l!!

I let my labrador sniff the pram and other paraphernalia that comes with a new baby, I spoke to him daily - I'm sure he understood 👶 I told him he was always by special boy but I have to share my love for him, I prepared for him to stay with my mum when I was due, so that he would not be worried about the immediate upheaval and we went to pick him up a week after the birth, and he settled so well with the newborn.

If your dog is crate trained I think that is the best way to help a dog cope with the massive changes, noises and smells a new baby introduces, it's their safe space, they can go there if it gets too much for them - put their favourite things in their, bed, blanket and soft toys which gives of a smell of normality.
Before baby is due, ask them to go into their crate a little more often, with treats for doing this - but try to keep everything else normal - walks food times and some cuddles.

Let them get used to the new pram, cot and changing station, let them smell the new equipment, let them smell the vest or baby grow your newborn has work - they have the strongest smell at that point. Let them know they are still loved.

My tips are to decide where you are going to keep your changing area, and set it up before hand and let your pet sniff, but not tread on or lick the area - use treat based training for this. Play baby crying on your smart phone next to them and keep their bed and food well away from the baby area.

You know your dog , they are all different, in temperament and intelligence - and adjust the steps accordingly. I put safety gates to keep the dog out of the living room before the baby was due - his bed and food were in the dining area so it was ok. Give them boundaries, but don't exclude them.

Myself and my husband run a dog boarding buisness so we have a fair amount of experience with dogs. I'm not due until July but we've already begun preparing our 2 dogs.
Theyve both grown up along side our 4 children since our youngest was 4 so they are already used to chaos!
Our biggest challenge is getting them used to not sleeping on the foot of our bed any more, we've made them both cozy beds on the landing and they seem to be adjusting well to it.

I would recommend keeping to their routine of feeds and walks, try to keep this as much as they can - let them smell new things you bring into their house, give them a safe space to go - so put their bed into a quieter place in your home well in advance of baby arriving

What bullshit is this? "Furry child"? "Siblings"? Children rarely have fur. And dogs, cats and humans are not siblings. Have you read the the boards here about people treating pets as children? And all this to sell pet insurance? Appallingly bad taste and this comment is from a lifelong dog person.

We wrapped our baby in a blanket in the hospital to get his smell on it as well as ours and that blanket was sent home so our dog could recognise and get used to the smell before we came home. No idea if it helped or not!

Like others have said let them get used to the new smells - and noises, and give them a safe space to go if it gets too much - my dog will often retreat upstairs to sleep to escape the mayhem- and will sleep in his basket in the conservatory at night so the night feeds do not wake him - he knows he will be left alone in there and will settle. try to maintain their routine as much as possible.

My tip would be to well in advance put their bed and feeding bowls onto an area separate from where the child/children would reach -plus put their bed their and treat train for sleeping in their bed at night (could start with crate training) and seek advice from a professional dog trainer for quick training tips

I would add (if you can stand it) let them sniff the nappies - they may try to eat them - let them lick/ chew a couple. This is natural for "dog parents". (Not if they are disposables - the gel is nasty stuff)

We had two staffs aged 6 and 7 when we had our first baby, They never so much as grumbled at him. He was their "puppy" and they adored him.

Edited for dispoable nappy bit.

Introduce new smells and let them look and smell the nursery as you add new items, then put a safety gate across the nursery and let them know - you know what's in there - but it's not your space - (all before baby arrives) then there is no inquisitively

Getting used to new smells and noises, and giving your dog their safe space in the home - ours is a bed under the stairs - he goes there when the baby is unsettled, praise the dog for keeping away from the changing area and don't give them teddies as they may take the babies toys out of jealousy

Have two ragdoll cats, I think we are particularly lucky as they are 1) indoor cats 2) very calm cats...

They took a wide birth for a while because of the crying, but then eventually we would allow them to sniff the baby.

after about a month, they eventually started sleeping in the same room as her, just let them do it at their own pace.

Our mother-in-laws Dalmatian was much more challenging, just because it's a very excitable dog... Had to allow her to sniff but hold her tight and make sure she doesn't jump up. Kept her well away but not enough to make her jealous until baby could crawl around... She doesn't really care any more only if she's eating something 😵

I have a rescue dog, and didn't do too much advance prep, as he was used to children being around. Would say like a PP, keep his routine going. He went to doggy daycare on the same days, and had his walks and food at the same times each day.

Immediately coming home from hospital, we all went out for a walk, and we let him look at and sniff the baby. Lots of affection and attention for our dog. He would sit and cuddle me while I breastfed the baby.

Even when tired, we just made extra effort for praise, and cuddles, and games. Such as breaking up and hiding his treats around to 'go find'.

We went travelling around Europe with our shared mat / pat leave so our dog could come too, so we had a big adventure together for a few months. Dog and toddler are great friends. I'm due my second any moment now and we plan to do the exact same.

It was a few years ago but we didn't do much in preparation really, dog was.already well trained and wasn't a jumper. We did make sure dog still had plenty of attention once baby arrived and didn't feel pushed out. They got on really well but we're never left in a room together unsupervised.

Our pooch cuddled up to the bump so much in the last trimester, which was super cute.

We also gave her a baby blanket to cuddle up to. That's a no brainer as 60% of a dog's brain is dedicated to smells, so that'll make a big difference.

I think the main thing for us to was to keep walking her, and also to try and dig deep and find the energy to play with her, and practice some tricks if possible.

If our dog was physically and mentally exercised, then they aren't irritable or needy (the last thing you need when you have a newborn!) and they sleep better.

They very quickly realise that they've become second fiddle to the first kid, but it was no issue at all when the second kid came around, she was just like "oh, this again - oh well, I'll still get my walks".

Also do give the dog a good cuddle and make extra effort whenever your kiddo is napping (if you can).

I wish I’d done more to prepare my two (indoor) cats. We focused mainly on making sure they had safe spaces to go away to: cat trees / enclosed beds etc. we also have a room through our garage so we put cat flaps on both doors and set up a bed, food and litter tray in there. One cat was too scared to go through the cat flap but the other moved out there for a few weeks! I wish I’d played them baby sounds like PP have suggested.

I gave the cats a stern talking to about how the moses basket, cot and car seat were not, in fact, new beds for them.

They ignored me, of course.

However I'm pleased to say that the cats and the children all survived, and now get along famously with one another.

My dog used to get very jealous when i was holding a friend's or family member's baby and would cry and jump up a lot.
I am the one he is most bonded with so we spent a lot of time when i was pregnant trying to move that bond more to my DH.

We had all of the furniture, cot, pram, etc. out way in advance - including things like soap and shampoo - so our cat could get used to some of the new sights and smells.

He has never been a fan of small children though, so the main thing we’ve done is give him spaces the baby will never go so that he can take himself off and feel safe.