Baby and Bell
When we first announced we were expecting, we were often asked how we thought Bella would take having a sister. I never really thought it would be a problem- Bella loves babies.
However, Bella also loves being queen of the castle.
I’m still convinced that Bella knew I was pregnant before I did, and also that she’s known for a while that something new would be coming to the house..and it wouldn’t be for her. One day, while I was putting laundry away in the nursery, I asked Bella to come in there and hang out with me. She walked to the doorway, saw what I was doing, and walked away. She wanted nothing to do with it.
And then, I started catching her napping under the crib with her legs hanging out.
Per your amazing tips, here’s what we did to help Bella get used to the situation:
When we were in the hospital, my mom was watching Bella and we sent home one of Livi’s hats to see how Bella would react to the new scent. I asked mom to make Bella sit, and then put the hat down in front of her and let her smell it. After a few seconds, I asked her to tell Bella to “Leave it” so she would leave the hat alone and know it wasn’t for her. It didn’t really go that like. Mom had Bella sit, put the hat down, Bella walked up to the hat, sniffed it, and curled up in a little ball next to it. A very good sign 🙂
When we got home from the hospital, Bella was there waiting for us. Tom had gone home to get the car seat and take a shower, and picked up Bell on the way. I went inside first, snuggled Bella and told her how happy I was to see her, and Tom and the baby came in a few minutes later. We put Livi in her bassinet, and Bella kept a cautious distance, except for walking up every now and again to sniff on her hind legs.
For the past week or so, Bella hasn’t wanted anything to do with Olivia. When she cries, I think Bella gets worried about her, because she’ll walk over to make sure she’s ok. When she cries at night, Bella just glares at all of us. Last week when we were up for 3 solid nights in a row (that was a little rough), Bella looked a little worse for wear. She was so mad… and eventually went to sleep in one of the guest rooms.
And all of a sudden, starting yesterday, she gets it.
She actually wants to hang out and snuggle with me again,
(that was my lap for a couple of hours last night)
started bringing out her toys to play fetch again
and is more comfortable with her new sissy. She’s not allowed to kiss her on the face, but got in pretty close for a good smell today.
They’ll be best friends before we know it <3
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Ahhhh that’s so cute! My puppster, Lily, will hopefully be as good as Bella! We plan on doing everything you guys did to warm her up to her new little sister. One other thing we’re going to try is bringing Lily outside to meet the baby first, so she won’t be as territorial.
It’s all the power of positive thinking, right?! And Olivia is absolutely gorgeous! So beautiful!
<3 Aw, so sweet! What a good big sister!
How sweet! So glad Bella is doing good with the baby. My dog had to take Bach’s remedies for dogs for a few weeks because she would freak out and bark everytime the baby cried. We thought, she thought, we were hurting her. Now, she could careless about the baby. Since then, we took my MIL’s 10 year old dog in, and her and the baby are BFF. It’s so funny to watch my daughter go up and hug and kiss her. 🙂
That last photo is so cute!
I have a very spoiled dog and I’m pretty worried about how he’s going to take it if we have kids.
Love!!
That last picture is so adorable! I can’t wait to adopt a little kitty for Logan to play with when he’s a bit older. <3
HAHA! I love the pic of Bella’s legs poking out of the crib. What a character she is! <3
hahahahahaha I am CRACKING up at the picture of Bella’s legs sticking out from under the crib.
awww I’m so glad she’s getting used to Olivia. I often worry about how my two cats are going to react. The one has become a lap kitty ever since I was about 8 weeks pregnant. I think she could sense it, and now she can’t get enough of my belly! I’ll be sad if she stops the behavior when there is no baby in there 🙁
I know cats are different than dogs, but I think I’m going to try having a family member bring home something of the baby’s for them to smell. Love this post!
It is so good to know that Bella is taking well to the baby! My German Shepherd Bailey has claimed my 3 month as her own and follows Emmie wherever she goes. She is super protective of her and when Emmie cries looks at us like ‘what did you do to my baby’ haha. Can’t wait to see Livi and Bella as time goes on 🙂 Gal pals for life!
awww. so happy to hear bella is doing well with baby olivia. i think a new baby is an adjustment for everyone (humans and animals!), but with time i’m sure they’ll be bff’s!
Seems like Bella is adjusting great! So interesting how she napped under the crib..did she ever nap under your bed that way, or has she napped under the crib since Livi’s been home?
I love love love that pic of Bella’s legs hangin’ out belly down outside the crib.
Also, Olivia is just beautiful.
Very cute post! I have to ask, where did you get that piece of furniture for storage with the baskets? I’ve been on the search for something just like it!
So cute!!!
This is a great post. My husband and I have a cat, and we’ll probably get a dog before we have a baby. I’m sure I’ll refer back to this when it comes time to acquaint a little one with our pets. =)
So cute the two of them and glad that Bella seems to understand what’s up and is coming around and yes, the two of them will be fast friends before you know it.
Glad it’s working out for you all and things are going well!
Oh! I’ve been waiting for your bella-baby post! I was wondering how Bella was adjusting.
That is so adorable. They will be best friends for life. 🙂
Oh my goodness your entire family is just WAY TOO CUTE!!!!!
So cute. I have a feeling they’ll be the best of friends.
That picture of Bella with little feet hanging out of the crib is hilarious. She’s the cutest little furball. 🙂 I’m glad she’s warming up to Olivia – I often wonder how pets will adjust to children so I hope they get to be best friends!
Love this post. Thank you for sharing all the wonderful tips.
AW! Babies and dogs, nothing cuter. Buddy and Lucy have a special bond – as in he lets her pull his hair and take his toys, which he does not let us do! They will have a great bond 🙂
Thank you do much for posting this. I constantly worry about how our two extremely loved dogs will react to us having a baby. I’m sure it will be just as much of an adjustment for them as it will be for us as parents. You have given me hope that it’s possible to balance loving on both of our “babies”.
Aww, so sweet! Glad Bella is coming around 🙂
so sweet! I worry how my two toy poodles (sassy and bella) will do when I have a baby…esp Bella, she is the baby and the queen, and sassy knows it! So glad they are getting along!
So glad little miss sassy pants is adjusting. I can only imagine the stress it must be wonder how they will react. I wonder if your constant moving does not make her more adaptable than some dogs are.
So ADORABLE! My cat was like this when my parents brought me home from the hospital too. She did not want much to do with me, but you could tell she worried when I cried. So so sosososo cute. Love the pic of them together on your lap!!
I love Bella´s expressions, kinda like a human, right?
That is so sweet that Bella is starting to come around! It sounds like you guys did a great job with gradual introduction and helping Bella continue to feel special despite the change.
Dogs are so funny…glad she’s warming up to her new sis!
Awww! Best friends they will be! So cute! Yes, Munchkin would get very upset and worried when Ella was crying for hours and hours those first few weeks! Now all Ella does is chase him around and want his tail…he’s so good too, he just sits there and takes it I am constantly mediating kitty and baby.
Just wait until Olivia becomes more aware in a few months…she is going to think Bella is a big fluffy toy!
I hope the trick about bringing in items with baby scent on them works for my crazy dogs! There was actually a Pet-Baby Introduction class taught by a veterinarian about an hour from where I live, but I haven’t been able to make it yet. It seemed like a great idea, though!
Look at that head of hair!!! Bella sleeping under the crib and checking her when she cries is probably the cutest thing ever!
Oh my gosh, this just melts my heart! Babies and pets are the cutest things, and animal intuition is no joke. Our dog Blue (an Aussie Shepherd mix) is not great with kids, but I think that’s because they aren’t *our* kids. If we got pregnant, I know that she would become even more protective of me, would become extra cuddly, and would be our baby’s guardian angel. For now, she’s a lovely companion and always seems to know when we’re feeling sad, under the weather or just need an extra hug.
Also, I think that pets and babies communicate on a different level because neither have words or know how to talk. I get a kick out of watching our 10-month old nephew with his two “brothers” – a Black Lab and a Boxer mix. All of the boys love to play with each other, and seem to have this adorable understanding!
Awww what adorable pictures! They look so cute together 🙂
And for good karma I should say something about our puppy Clay… he’s GREAT with babies and when our nephew first visited our house at 5 mos., Clay kept giving him little puppy kisses on the top of his head (the baby was laying on his mother’s lap). I have a photo!
omg I LOVE the pics and the post! We have two rotties – very gentle natured, and they did great with our nephew who is a toddler, but aren’t around babies very much. It will be interesting to see what happens someday if/when we have children. Good tips on here for how to prepare for that though, thanks! Olivia looks so cute! And so does Bella! 🙂
I’m so glad your little family is bonding. I was curious about how the little pooch was getting used to the new baby. Such a cute little family!
Aww, that’s so cute!! It almost makes me want to get a dog.
There’s nothing like a puppy and a baby who love each other!
adorable! when our sister brought home her baby we were all worried about her dog too, though luckily the dog turned out to be very protective of the baby and now watches her, it is so cute!!! and always has to be in the same room has her. now she is walking around everywhere and their bond is still strong!
Definitely best friends!
I still can’t get over how gorgeous your girl is, I bet you’re so proud haha. I know exactly how you feel 😉
And I think we need to put more faith in our dogs, they’ve all surprised us. I was so worried about Bandit because he’s the jealous type but he’s actually very protective of Caleb and I catch him guarding the crib too. I was also convince he knew I was pregnant before I knew, he acted so strangely, super cuddly and wanted to be on my stomach ALL THE TIME.
Oh my gosh — too sweet for words!! 🙂 We’re not planning on reproducing for at least another 7-10 years 😉 but I’ve always wondered how people make it work with pets. I know it’s a huge deal just to bring another animal into your home — I’ve never known how you can bring a whole new *human* in!
Okay….that last picture…melted my cold heart. Soooo cute!!!
I love this post! And Olivia’s nursery is absolutely beautiful. I’m pretty sure that I’m going to have to have one of my cats move in with my parents when I have babies…he pretty much attacks any human that is not me. 🙂
They are so cute together! I’m glad that they’re getting along so well. You are so lucky to have both of them!
love love love the baby pics! keep em coming! Those pictures of Bella sure are cute too! I love the one from behind watching the Bassinet! I’d made me LOL to think of her glaring at you all during middle of the night feedings. Good luck with everything and may I just say, that child of yours is beautiful!
What breed is Bell? Adorable, dog and baby!
Ah, so sweet! When my hubby and I decide to have a family, I hope my pup adjusts this well!