Some of you may laugh at this. It may not be every new mother's worse fear. It is probably ridiculous to many of you. But it is a serious issue for me.
I have two dogs. The sweetest, most lovable and amazing dogs in the world. I love them almost as much as I love my husband and my family. They ARE my family. I spend the majority of every day with their warm furry bodies right next to me, no matter what I am doing. They are my babies, my best friends when I am alone.
But, I'm having a baby. And, obviously, the REAL baby is going to be taking front and center when he arrives. What's going to happen with my fur-babies? Above all, I don't want my dogs to feel sad, neglected, or left out when Baby Boy comes. The most advice I've received on the subject is along the extremely unhelpful lines of "When the baby comes, you'll realize that your dogs are just dogs!". Thanks. That's super helpful. But my dogs are NOT just dogs, they are close members of the family. I want so much to be able to give EVERYONE in our family enough attention and love. And my worst fear is that my poor pups will suffer. So does anyone have any useful advice? Anyone gone through this who loves their dogs as much as I do? Anything would be much appreciated! Thanks for your help!
Although I may not be an expert, seeing as how I do not have any dogs, nor a baby... but this it what came to mind. Many mother's have this same fear when they are expecting their second child. "How can I possibly love someone as much as I love my first baby?" or, "Will my first child feel like I'm neglecting them because of the new baby?" Well, this is a very similar situation. Your dogs are your first children. Your heart has the capacity to love and grow, so that’s not an issue here. And as far as the actual attention spent with the dogs, it may take some adjusting, but they'll adapt to the new schedule of every two hours is quiet feeding time. Look at it this way, they'll get to take naps every two hours. How great that must be! Finally, look a little ahead here, although I'm sure you'd love to freeze time once your little man arrives, but they're going to have a great friend/brother to play with for the rest of their lives. If I were them, I'd be super excited about the change! So no worries Mandy! Hugs!
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