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 '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)!!
