Hi Karyn & any other pregnant Lers!! I have 3 BMD's and had my first "human" baby 15 months ago. I too was concerned, and did a few things that the article suggested. I especially thought that greeting the dogs w/out the baby upon arriving home from the hospital worked very well. I let my husband stay outside w/the baby (poor baby it was February in NJ! She was bundled up!), while I went in & got lots of bernerhugs! When they finally calmed down (about 5 minutes later), my husband came in quietly w/the baby, still in the carry attachment of the car seat. He put her (baby) on the coffee table, and all the dogs just carefully sniffed. Tails wagged, and wagged and wagged! It was very similiar to the way they would react to seeing a berner pup! They were very gentle, sniffing & wagging... Then they came right back to me for some more pets! They actually were not very interested in the baby at all at first. Shortly after that though, when the baby woke up & cried, I must say my male was very concerned. He would pace back & forth and then come & get me. He really got upset! It was as if he was trying to say "Hey Mom what's going on? Can you make that thing stop screaming please"! He would go up to the cradle & try to sniff her, or sit & put his paw up toward her. It was very cute! Ofcourse I had to watch carefully, since he could topple the cradle over by accident. That lasted for the first 2-3 months (she was colicky). I just tried to reassure him that everything was Ok, and that seemed to do it for him, eventually.
More of the "adjustments" came into play once the baby was crawling/walking. As the article suggested, I never - even still - leave the baby unattended w/the dogs. It's just too risky. As much as I love them & feel they would NEVER do anything to harm her, you really never know. Something could happen accidentially too. I just don't ever want to be put in that situation. The best suggestion I have is to just pay close attention to your dog. You'll be able to tell if the dog is nervous, stressed etc... If so, I feel continuing to reassure (petting, hugs etc..) can only help. The dog will eventually get used to the new family member. As far as spending less time w/the dogs, NO WAY!! As a matter of fact, I thought it was more important to be with them than ever. When the baby would be napping in her crib & I had a chance to catch a few zzzz's, I would let the dogs into my bedroom with me, and even into the bed(which is something they did do from time to time before the baby). This became our "special" time. They really loved it. It helped me relax & get some sleep as well. There's nothing like a few berner bed-buddies to snuggle you & keep you warm!! Now that the baby is toddling around, they are all the best of friends! We take daily walks together (ofcourse I can only manage one dog & the stroller at a time, so I switch off). And they think she's terrific, because she's always got some sort of "snack" in her hand (Hey Mom, this kids great!), and she gets a kick out of feeding them! It's really fun to see her interact with the dogs. She even tells them to "sit" and "stay"! Adorable!! Well I can go on & on... It's been really fun! Good luck to you w/the pregnancy! You couldn't have a better breed to bring your new baby up with!! Rose Tamberino (and big Bernerhugs from Carly, Emma & Oscar)!!
