Wine Girl Mommy’s World

Tag: baby

• Meltdowns at Disney

  Posted at 11:45 am by CS, on December 12, 2019

  You have planned this wonderful and most likely expensive trip to Disney. You have spent the time planning out the flights, the hotel, the dining, the fast passes, then packing and arriving to your destination. Everyone is excited, whether this is your first or one millionth trip. You get to the park, you start having fun, and all of a sudden a infant/toddler/child meltdown happens. If you are anything like me you get a tad embarrassed as your child screams and people start to stare. Here’s a few tips to try and remedy the situation and get your trip back on track.

  Check if they need to be changed, fed, or down for a nap. When at Disney, it is easy to lose track of time, so for a child that may be on a stricter schedule at home, that can easily go out the window while on vacation. If your child is having a meltdown, may be time to take a sight step back and just double check that everything is still on track for them. While most parents try to keep to a similar schedule, it just sometimes becomes a lot and we need to just get back to central mode.

  Remove them from the situation. Does your child want to stay on a ride but there is a big line, do they want that bubble toy/Mickey balloon/etc that everyone seems to have, or in my child’s case play with rocks on the ground and embedded into the wall?! Well time to leave that specific area and distract them from what caused the meltdown. They want to ride small world again-try to take them to the other side of fantasyland, they want that toy-leave the store, they want to play with rocks-leave the entire area with rocks. I realize some of these are easier said than done because carrying a screaming and moving child is very difficult. But in our case, I just picked her up and booked it as fast as I could to a different land. I do find it easier to deal with the meltdown not in the area it was started.

  Babycare centers. I’ve mentioned these as a god send in a past blog, but they definitely help. On our last trip, Cameron had a few issues and we were on the brink of calling the day early and leaving but I decided to try one last ditch effort and take her to the baby care center for a cool down and to blow off some steam indoors to see if that would help. We also bought some children’s Advil because Cameron had just started teething her back molars and I think that was part of her reasoning for her meltdowns. So these centers are great for a quiet place to regroup, and to buy some much needed or somewhat needed baby items.

  Now when all else fails, it may be best to go back to the hotel or head home, depending on if you are here on vacation or a local. It’s never fun to be that parent with the screaming kid, but I’m almost positive every parent has gone the same thing at least once, so they are probably throwing good vibes your way, while also being glad it’s not their child.

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged baby, child, Disney, Disney world, meltdowns, toddler

• Packing for Disney

  Posted at 11:26 am by CS, on October 24, 2019

  So you’ve planned your trip to Disney. You know when you’re going, for how long, where you are staying. You booked your dining reservations and your fast passes. Your magic band or tickets have come in the mail and you’re ready to go. Now it’s time to figure out what to pack.

  For us, the first time we went to Disney I was not 100% sure what I wanted to bring. I had watched a couple videos of what other packed for their kids to get an idea of what I wanted to bring for Cameron.

  Packing for adults is one thing, you bring a few outfits, some comfy shoes, toiletries and you pretty much call it a day. But packing for a child is definitely different. This is what we packed for Cameron for the first trip. I have found it a lot easier the subsequent trips we’ve taken because we learn each time.

  Outfits and changes of clothes. I planned out what we would wear each day, and yes I was that mom who matched with her daughter some of the days. So I made sure Cameron had an outfit every day of our trip, and then a backup or nighttime outfit for each day as well. This way if she spilled, or got dirty, or sweaty during the day she had another outfit ready and waiting. We also packed pajamas because of course she needed to wear something to bed.

  Swimsuit. I did pack a swim suit in the off chance we went to the pool. We never made it but it was nice to have.

  Diapers and other changing items. We made sure to pack plenty of diapers, wipes, lotions and anything else we needed for changing her throughout the day.

  Blankets, toys, nighttime items. We packed as much as we could for her to feel as comfortable as possible when it came to naps and bedtime. We brought her toys, sound machine, blankets so she felt like she was at home.

  Feeding items. Made sure to pack snacks, bottles, cups, plates, and anything else she used at home when eating. She was still mostly eating with her hands so a lot of stuff we didn’t use.

  Miscellaneous. I’ll admit I overpacked and anything I though we could use I brought. We got a fan and cover for her stroller. Books to read. Extra clothes on top of her other clothes. Also of course we packed her stroller and pack n play for the hotel room. You could rent these but we weren’t sure how she would do in rentals so we felt better bringing our own.

  She was the smallest in our group and had the biggest bag just because of everything I felt she needed. As first time parents taking a baby on vacation for the first time it was better to be over prepared than under prepared.

  It’s nice that now we know a bit better and can pack a lot less. It also helps that we live a lot closer and don’t need to pack as much anyway.

  Was there anything you packed and regretted? Or didn’t pack and wish you had?

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged baby, bedtime, blanket, clothes, Disney, food, luggage, packing, trip

• Disney baby vs toddler

  Posted at 11:13 am by CS, on September 23, 2019

  So I’ve been to Disney a few different times with my child now. The first time I took her she was 13 months old and therefore considered a toddler, but because she wasn’t quite walking yet I still considering her a baby. Taking a baby to Disney and taking a toddler to Disney were two very different experiences. You have to prepare about the same, but I definitely saw differences that I saw and figured it would be good to share.

  Now when we took Cameron as a baby, as I said she wasn’t walking, so whenever we were in a line for anything she had to be carried. Luckily we did have multiple people with us so we could all take turns holding her, because even though she wasn’t walking she was also at the stage where she didn’t really want to be held because she wanted to be down and moving. But you can’t really have a crawling child trying to get in and around people’s feet while in a ride line. So it was a little difficult to wait in line because she was restless and did not want to be carried.

  The last couple times we’ve taken her she is now up and walking and running. Which is great because she can stand in the line, except she’s at the age where because she can walk and run she doesn’t want to stay in one place. So she tries to barrel into the people in front of us in line, so you have to hope they are good sports and know she’s not doing it on purpose.

  So my advice for this, is holding them, or letting them walk, most definitely opt for only going on rides with short waits or that you have a fast pass for. Cameron won’t wait very long anyway so this works well for us because we also have the luxury to go back to Disney fairly often.

  She is free in the parks until 3, as well as eats free until 3 so that’s a plus on both ends. When she was a baby and we went, we made sure to bring loads of snacks, and hadn’t really figured out meals, she was eating full on solids, but I for some reason thought ordering a full kids meal each meal would work. It didn’t, it was a waste of money because she would rather pick off our plates, or eat barely any of her plate.

  Now that she’s toddler age, she is a bit more picky in what she eats. We still make sure to bring snacks, but I’ve learned my lesson to not order anything for her and let her pick off and share food from our plates when we have a meal.

  When she was a baby, we were changing her a lot more often, and she was also a bit more messy so we brought her diaper bag packed to the brim of diapers, wipes, extra clothes, and the like.

  Now, depending on how long we will be in the park, and the weather forecast, we have chosen a smaller bag, throw some wipes, a couple diapers, a shirt and we are good to go. If we were to do a full day trip I do believe we would bring the whole diaper bag, but would still make sure we weren’t overpacking, because who wants to lug a heavy bag around the park when you’re walking upwards of 5 miles a day.

  Safety is another big thing to think about. When they are a baby, and sort of confined to the stroller, it’s easier to keep tabs on them. Even though you should keep tabs on your child at all times, but knowing they are strapped in is nice. Although sometimes I wish you could bring strollers into the ride lines to help with waiting.

  When you have a toddler who wants to roam free, or enjoy their freedom of walking and running through the park, you are very aware of your surroundings and how many people are actually around you. We bought Cameron a Minnie Mouse backpack/leash so that if/when we decide to forego the stroller just for a little bit we still have her contained. Because depending on your ride plans, it doesn’t make sense to keep putting her in the stroller and taking her out. She hates that anyway. So this way, she feels independent but I still have her tied to me.

  Interactions are a bit different too. When she was a baby, you could tell she was excited to see things, like the lights and colors and sounds of the rides, but that she wasn’t fully grasping things. Now she’s a bit older, she’s seen Disney movies, so now she’s recognizing characters, she’s recognizing rides that we’ve been on before, she gets excited when we are riding something. So it’s nice to see that progression.

  The more I take her to Disney, the more I’m learning that is for sure.

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged baby, differences, Disney, food, magic kingdom, memories, rides, safety, toddler

• Mom struggles/Guilt

  Posted at 11:13 am by CS, on September 19, 2019

  I know I can’t be alone when half the time I’m parenting I feel like I have no clue what I’m doing, or that I’m screwing up in some way, or I’m not the best mom I could be, or that I’m doing something wrong.

  I know at the end of the day, as long as Cameron and I are alive and have made it through the day it can’t be that bad. But it’s hard to not have those mom struggles or feel that mom guilt that is always lingering in the back of my mind.

  Here are some of my top struggles. I just keep try to take everything one day at a time. We are all still learning and every day is a new one.

  Mom guilt. This is a top one for me. I constantly am feeling guilt if I need to leave Cameron or if I want to go do something that she can’t do or wouldn’t enjoy. Wanting to have a night out, or a weekend away, or have a drink or two are things that always make me feel the most guilt. I know that I signed up to be a mom and Cameron should forever and always come first, but I also feel that being able to take some time alone is a good thing too so to not get to burnt out. But when I need to ask my mom, or a babysitter to watch Cameron so I can go do something I always just feel like since I’m a mom all of that should have to stop.

  Keeping calm during tantrums. I’ll admit this is a hard one for me because I like to think I’m so level headed. But there have been occasions where Cameron has been having a tantrum, it hasn’t been the best day, and I lose my cool. I snap at her, or am not as nurturing as I should be, and once the tantrum is over and she has calmed down I feel terrible on how I acted towards her. She’s a toddler and is learning how this world works and I need to realize that sometimes and try to be more understanding that if I’m having a bad day, she may be too. And since she can’t communicate as well at the moment, tantrums is how she knows to tell us she’s not happy.

  Being there/active. This one gets me because I want to be the best mom I can for Cameron. When I can’t play with her 24/7 due to work, or chores, or errands, I feel like I’m failing her. I do try and read, color, play with her but there are some instances I have to turn on the TV, or hand over the tablet to entertain Cameron and when I do that the guilt comes creeping back up that I’m not giving her everything I can. Or when I’m run down, overtired, and under the weather trying to give my very best sometimes is quite the 100% I wish it was.

  Eating properly. We have hit that toddler stage where Cameron is being a bit more picky or selective with what she wants to eat. When she wants only French fries, or only fruit for a meal it’s hard to not feel discouraged that she isn’t getting all the nutrients she needs or the calorie intake. Now, I’m not a complete health nut, but I do try to eat as best as I can and I want that for Cameron too, but at the same time I want to pick my battles and want to believe as long as she’s eating something it can’t be all that bad as long as I do try to balance out the junk from the good.

  I know there is plenty more times and reason I struggle and/or feel guilty, but these are my top few. Do you ever struggle? Or feel guilty? What do you do to feel better?

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged baby, guilt, struggles, toddler

• Childless millennial…Mom

  Posted at 11:32 am by CS, on September 12, 2019

  So, a little bit ago, there was a rant then went around online about a women who was very upset about the childless millennials taking away from families at Disney. As a millennial that is also a mom I found this hilarious. Maybe she was having a bad day, maybe she was drunk, but to me I felt the post was not necessary. I mean sure, she’s allowed her opinion, everyone is but I love going to Disney both with my child and without. So I decided to write a post on the differences being a childless millennial at Disney and being a mom at Disney. I didn’t want to do a pros/cons list because I just wanted to more point out that it can be great to be at Disney either way. Now I know some may contradict each other, but that’s because there are good points for going to the park alone and with your child. So I’m not listing these to see if one wins out, I’m just posting to see the differences between the two. And once again this is MY OPINION, so if you don’t agree, then that’s fine. I’m not tacos, not here to please everyone.

  PRO for childless millennial: You get to ride what you want to ride. You don’t have to worry about height restrictions, or if someone will be afraid to ride something. It helps for if there are rides you haven’t done in a while that you want to ride.

  PRO for being a Disney mom: Getting to ride kid rides and see how excited they get. Riding the carousel 5 times because your child gets so happy on it is just wonderful. Getting the small world music stuck in your head because your child has to ride it and see all the colors is worth it.

  PRO for childless millennial: No stroller. Now as much as I love bringing my child, having to not maneuver a stroller through the crowds is great. I don’t know if people just have no awareness or what, but they stop right in front of you, don’t move when asked, so it gets very annoying and therefore not having one is pretty nice.

  PRO for Disney mom: character experiences. Now yes you can go see characters as an adult and it’s super magical. But when you can take your child to visit a favorite character and you see their face light up when they recognize them and run to them to give them a big hug, it’s enough to make your heart melt.

  PRO for childless millennial: Timing. You don’t have to worry about naps, or bedtimes. You can be at the parks as early or as late as you want. Get there at rope drop and stay all day until fireworks if you want.

  PRO for Disney mom: Baby care centers. Now I’m assuming they won’t turn you away if you don’t have a baby, but I mean it would be a bit creepy. The baby care centers were saviors for us when we have taken Cameron. One big thing I also loved was that they had regular bathrooms too. And although Disney is good about keeping their bathrooms clean it was nice to use one that probably doesn’t see the high number of people every day.

  PRO for both: The memories. You make different memories every time you go to Disney. They may be good or bad depending on who you are with. I have some amazing memories going with family, going with friends, going with my husband, going with my daughter. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter if you’re 1 or 100, if it’s your first trip or 1000th, it shouldn’t matter if you are there with kids or yourself, Disney is a place for everyone. I repeat Disney is a place for EVERYONE and if you are there and enjoying yourself it shouldn’t matter who you are or aren’t there with. And those who think they should get to pass judgement on others should be thrown in the moat around Cinderella castle.

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged animal kingdom, baby, childless millennial, Disney, Epcot, Hollywood studios, magic kingdom, mom, mother, rant, theme park

• Hurricane prep

  Posted at 11:25 am by CS, on September 5, 2019

  Living in California the past few years we haven’t had to do a lot of Hurricane prep as we haven’t had a hurricane hit us in California. Granted we did have wildfires, but prep for that is fairly different since you don’t get much warning for those. But this post isn’t about the differences of natural disaster prep, although I could do that in another post. This is a post about how we prep for a hurricane.

  As I’m writing this hurricane Dorian is slowly making his way to the US. Dorian has changed his mind quite a few times about where he’s going and where he may make landfall in the US if at all.

  I grew up in Florida so this is not my first rodeo in hurricane prep, but the biggest difference here is that this is the first hurricane I will possibly experience as a mom. I didn’t do much prep for any of the other hurricanes because I was a child, and pretty much my parents took care of that. I don’t remember much about Andrew, but the whole Charlet, Ivan, Frances, Jeanne group of hurricanes, all I remember about those is building a makeshift bed in the hallway, and then being without power for about a week or so, and trying to find a way to get back to work once they reopened the bridges.

  This storm is different because, we really don’t know if we will get any of it, and if we do when and how much. And it’s also different because there is a little person dependent on us that we need to make sure is ready and prepared too. Right now, it looks like we will see some wind and rain, but as a Floridian you know that can change at ANY point. So, while we may not evacuate unless it becomes mandatory, we did do a little prep so I’ll talk a little bit about what we did.

  The first thing we did when we heard it could be coming towards us was move the patio furniture up close to the house. Now if we feel that the winds are going to be bad we will move them all into the house. But right now we think they are fine where they are.

  Then of course we got our supplies. We made sure we had our lanterns and portable fans, with extra batteries. We also have two portable chargers so we have been keeping them plugged in so they are good and juiced up for if we lose power. We are also keeping all our other electronics plugged in as often as possible so that if and/or when we lose power everything is good to go for at least a little bit.

  Now, my husband and I both work from home so we weren’t as concerned for gas as others since we didn’t need it for actual driving purposes. But of course we did want to make sure we had full tanks so if it did get bad we could evacuate if told to do so. So while we didn’t go out at first to get gas, once we knew they were coming up refuel the stations I did send him out to fill up the tanks. He said there was plenty of gas and no one at the station so I didn’t feel as badly about taking gas someone needs to actually drive to get back and forth to work or school or doctors appointments or so on.

  As for actual supplies, we have been semi stocking up on things since we moved just because we knew it was hurricane season and we didn’t want to be rushing and trying to be like everyone else in a panic if a storm was heading our way. We had our cases of water, we had some canned food, some snacks going. We did go and get some bread and make sure we had plenty of snacks for Cameron so that she would be taken care of. I made sure to get some caffeine because if we are out of power I am still going to need something to help me get through the day. The types of snacks we had are goldfish, cheese-its, teddy grahams, nilla wafers, pouches for Cameron, peanut butter crackers, Cheerios, pop tarts, chips, all really healthy stuff. Haha then for canned food we have beans, some soups that can be eaten cold if needed, and some chef boy r dee canned meals. We also have enough peanut butter to last about 6 months.

  Besides supplies, I also have made sure to pack some emergency bags that we can grab quickly and go, and made sure to put all of our important paperwork in a folder and put it with our stuff so we have everything we need.

  Lastly, I’ve made sure to get shows and movies downloaded on our devices so if we lose power we have one more way to entertain Cameron, because she’s almost 2, she won’t realize we are without power and can only do so much. We want to make sure her days are as normal as can be.

  We still don’t know if we will get hit a little or head on, but I feel like we are pretty ready to deal with whatever may come our way.

  Do you have a hurricane prep plan? Have you ever experienced a hurricane before?

  Posted in If I had known, Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged baby, Dorian, Florida, hurricane, hurricane season, mom, prep

• Sleep terrors

  Posted at 11:44 am by CS, on August 26, 2019

  I was thinking of calling this post, night terrors, before I realized that Cameron doesn’t have these terrors just at night.

  A few weeks ago, maybe closer to a month, Cameron would wake from her naps screaming. And I’m not talking about a typical, woke up on the wrong side of the crib cry/scream, but a ear screeching, oh my god what is happening screaming. When we would go in to check on her she would be inconsolable. Didn’t want to be touched or held, didn’t want her blanket or pacifier, and if we tried to talk to her she just freaked out more. Now the entire time her eyes were open like she was awake, but upon further inspection it was like they were glazed over and she had this glass eyed, empty expression look to her. And after about 10 or so minutes (although it always felt longer) she would stop and go about like nothing had happened.

  A few days after these afternoon terrors happened, they began happening at night as well. Same sort of actions, she would be flailing about, kicking, screaming, not wanting anyone or anything, and after a little bit she would stop, roll over, and go back to sleep.

  So of course, being a first time mom, I’m freaked. I want to know what’s happening and why. So of course I turn to google, and mom friends, explaining her symptoms and trying to get to the bottom of it. I was trying to figure out if she was overtired, if we were letting her watch to much TV, or if something on the TV was causing her nightmares, if she was using her iPad a bit too much and once again was a show or movie giving her bad dreams. Was all the moving, and weekend trips, and amount of activities we were doing causing her to just not feel comfortable and get upset? I just had so many questions and so I needed answers.

  First we started cutting shows and TV time to a bare minimum to see if something had been triggering her and we weren’t finding any results there. So I kept looking for answers.

  Basically what I’ve been told is you just sort of need to let them play out. You can go one of two routes, and there may be more routes but these were the ones suggested to me.

  The first route is to turn on lights, to talk to the child, maybe ask them questions or “bribe” them if you will. So we tried this one of the first terrors after I got the suggestion. I turned on the lights, started asking her if she wanted to watch “Mickey Mouse, or Boss baby, or Tinkerbell.” I tried to stay clear of her kicking because she has some legs on her. I tried to do anything and everything in my power to “wake her up.” And for us this route didn’t seem to work all that well. I felt it took longer and I just made her more upset.

  The second route is more of, just letting them cry it out mostly on their own. No lights, no talking, just sort of letting them be and letting them calm themselves down. Now I made sure she was safe and that I was right there if need be, but when we first started this technique I felt the terrors lasted a lot shorter and she didn’t seem to get as mad.

  After about a week and a half, maybe two weeks, they stopped. We also took some time to just be, no traveling, no big weekend plans, just some lazy days where we kept to the same schedule so that she got used to a routine.

  We did recently have one episode, but I believe it’s because she had a long day filled with car rides, strange places, she hadn’t been feeling good, went to sleep in one place and woke up someplace different. But I just sat with her while she cried and she seemed to only be upset for a little and went back to sleep.

  Now I know these ways aren’t the only way to deal with sleep terrors, every child is different, and things may not work for everyone. But this is what we did and so far it has worked and luckily we haven’t been seeing the terrors nearly as much if at all.

  Did you child have sleep terrors? Did you do anything different?

  Posted in If I had known, Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged baby, night terror, sleep, sleep terror, sleeping

• OMG…shoes

  Posted at 11:25 am by CS, on August 8, 2019

  So you know how they always say women love shoes and have to many?! Well that’s not the case with my child.

  Now yes she may have a lot of shoes because we are trying so hard to find pairs that she will like and keep on her feet. I don’t know why this child won’t wear shoes, and when she does wear them they don’t stay on for long since she’s figured out how to remove anything we put on her.

  At first I thought maybe because she wasn’t walking she just didn’t care about shoes so I never pushed the issue. Then she began walking so I decided it was time to try and find her some shoes. We went to target, and Carter’s, and Payless and every pair we found for her, she would curl her toes and refuse to even let us put them completely on her. Then we went to a friends house who graciously gave us a pair of soft sole Robeez. The first time we put them on her I was SHOCKED that she kept them on all day and actually played and walked and was ok with them being on her feet. I was so happy!

  We decided to buy her another pair from amazon because that’s where I buy everything I can. Here’s the link to the ones we bought for her: https://amzn.to/2K3jkt4

  I’m still on the hunt for other shoes, we live in Florida and it’s hot so I would prefer some sort of sandals or more hard soled shoes, I’m just hoping one day the switch will flip and my daughter will enjoy shoes just like her mommy.

  Did you have issues with getting your child to wear shoes? Or keep them on?

  Disclaimer: “Catherine is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to insert the applicable site name amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate I earn commissions from qualifying purchases.” When you click on links and buy products through this site, I may receive a small affiliate commission. You will not pay more by clicking through my link. All reviews and recommendations of these products are my own.”

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged baby, robeez, shoes, socks, soft soles

• Separation anxiety

  Posted at 1:20 pm by CS, on May 27, 2019

  When moms away, baby isn’t only one feeling anxious.

  A few weekends ago I had an amazing girls weekend with some of my besties. And while I had the most fun, in the back of my mind I was missing my daughter like crazy!!

  They always talk about the milestones and the separation anxiety from the child’s perspective, but never did I think I would feel it in full force myself. Or feel so guilty about it.

  This is not the first time I’ve been away from my daughter for longer than the hours she’s at daycare, but it doesn’t seem to get any easier regardless of if it’s the 1st, 5th or 100th time. I can’t tell you how many days I want to drive down to daycare and either give her a hug, a kiss, or just pick her up early just because I miss her so much. (Thankfully she loves her daycare so I never worry if she’s missing me too, she’s too distracted with lots of fun and friends.)

  I find myself sending so many “checking-in” texts that I’m sure both my mom and Cameron are irritated with me. I have total faith she is fine, having fun, and is being well taken care of, but I just can’t help wanting updates or photos just to ease my mind. I think a lot of it stems from the mom guilt I feel about leaving her to go do something for me. I feel as though, since I decided to be a mom, my whole life should now focus on Cameron, that a lot of times I forget to take care of me to the point I get so burnt out. It’s so easy to have that mom guilt, and to feel like you’re being selfish to take an hour, an evening, or a weekend to recharge yourself so that you can be the best mom you can be.

  The kids need a healthy mom, not just a mom. You can’t be there for them if you are so burnt out. So take that time, make that cup of coffee, go read a book, plan that girls night or weekend. And it’s ok to feel that separation anxiety, they are your kids and you love them with every fiber of your being. But they are more than ok and want you to enjoy yourself as much as you can! And when you come back, the joy of seeing that smile on their face just says it all!

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged anxiety, baby, burnt out, girls night, healthy, mom, separation, trip

• When your fur babies are no longer your only babies

  Posted at 12:42 pm by CS, on May 6, 2019

  When we got pregnant, one of my many thoughts along the way was “how will our cats react to the new baby and vice versa.” I wondered if they would get along, if the cats would try to attack her, or if she would be allergic. I googled how to introduce pets to babies and just how to make everyone more comfortable.

  As we were getting the nursery ready, the cats assumed it was all for them and the room shortly became a favorite of theirs. The gliding chair and changing table pads were among the big favorites. As I became bigger, the cats would start to snuggle my belly and boy did it freak them out when she would move.

  Once she arrived, I had heard that you should take something the baby has come in contact with and send it home for the pets to smell so they recognize the scent. So I did that with a hat she had worn in the hospital. When we got home though, the cats just really wanted nothing to do with her. They would stay out of our way and in other rooms where the baby wasn’t. I wouldn’t say they were scared of her, they just didn’t seem to want to have anything to do with her.

  Luckily, she wasn’t allergic to them as well so that really eased our mind too. As she has now gotten older, she is more curious about them and wanting to chase them and “pet” them, or her version of that. And she’s very interested in their food, so we’ve had to work on keeping that out of reach of her. The cats are now even more not wanting anything to do with her because they are grumpy old men that just want to sleep all day.

  It has been an adjustment for all involved to become a family of 4 to a family of 5, but I believe we are handling it well and trying to make sure the cats know we still love them and consider them our babies and don’t want them to feel ignored in any way. They were our first children after all.

  Posted in Mom-ing | 1 Comment | Tagged allergies, baby, cats, introducing, pets

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