Thanks to I and Love and You for sponsoring this post so I can share how to introduce your dog to a new baby.  We love I and Love and You‘s dog treats.  #Furreal

It is no secret that our family is quickly expanding.  Two years ago we added Charger and last summer someone thought it would be a brilliant idea to get a second dog.  Okay, maybe that someone was me.  I got the vibe that Charger really needed a buddy and my best efforts at wrestling with him on our living room rug were not quite the same as a canine companion.  Enter Stella.  She was found on the street pretty much dying of parvo, was turned over the local animal shelter here and beat the odds.

Stella is forty-something pounds of feisty, survivalist pitbull-mutt.  She loves to play, pretty much isn’t afraid of anything and is a sad eyed, melt in your lap pile of mush when she’s tired herself out.  She gives Charger a total run for his money and they are truly like siblings.  With baby Blake entering the picture (OMG this house is getting smaller by the day) introducing a new baby to two loving, but high energy dogs has been very much on my mind.  Therefore, I thought I would share a few tips for introducing your dog to a new baby.

Raise your hand if you’re guilty of not always reinforcing certain “rules” or letting subpar behavoir slide with your dogs?  I have both raised.  One for each dog.  Much like with young children, sometimes it’s really easy to let the occasional over excited jump slide.  Or maybe it means when they sneakily jump into the bed at 2am, you casually ignore your newly acquired foot warmer.

What works before bringing a newborn home might not after.  So if you think you might be co-sleeping or doing a 2am feeding in your bed, then perhaps it makes sense to reinforce to your giant furry friends that jumping on you even at that hour isn’t going to fly.  Preferably before that jump startles a baby you just got to sleep.

Reward repetitive good behavior with some special treats you might not normally give your dog.  It makes it clear that you’re happy they are following your lead and that they should keep doing it.  Stella’s favorite are the I and Love and You Free Ranger Bully Stix , which come from grass fed cows.  Fancy!

Odds are, you’re going to be doing some hard time in that glider or rocking chair and manning the changing table.  Odds are, your dog is going to want to be with you.  I’ve spent some time sitting and working from the chair in Blake’s room while Charger and Stella nap on the floor.  A couple of times they have started playing and wrestling on the rug in there and I’ve put a stop to it immediately, letting them know that this is not a place to play.

I’ve also left some low lying stuffed animals and toys in the storage unit and on the floor in there.  Charger in particular thinks stuffed animals are a delicacy.  I’ve been surprised that so far, we haven’t had any violations or stuffed animal carnage.  Perhaps they get it that this room has rules and isn’t a free for all.  I’ll take it.

This is nothing new, we’ve all heard it before.  Since dogs are ALL about smell, it makes perfect sense to take on of the many little flannel swaddles the hospital will throw your way and let your new baby snooze in it for a bit before sending it home with your partner or a relative.  I had my parents put one of ours right in the middle of Charger and Stella’s beds so they could check it out and cuddle up with it.

By the time Blake came home, they were very interested in checking him out, but we’d already established that his scent belonged here.  You can even do this right when you get home and before you remove the baby from their little infant car seat.

If there is one thing I’ve learned about life with energetic dogs, it’s that exercise is key to good behavior. 2 dogs plus pent up energy equals frustration for all parties and it doesn’t have to be that way.  Before coming home from the hospital, ask a relative to take your dog for a long walk or throw a ball for them.  Hire the local teenager down the street if you need to.  I think it’s worth it.

Your dog is going to be SO happy to see you for the first time in 30,000 years –okay, probably 2 days, but you know how dogs are when it comes to being reunited with the ones they love!  Bringing that delicate little baby into the house will be a lot easier if you make sure your super excited dog is already super exhausted.

Like I mentioned before, positively reinforcing good behavior seems to make all the difference.  We don’t give Stella and Charger a ton of treats, but use them for very specific things normally.  Stella still gets crated when we leave the house, so all I have to do at this point is say “crate” and she walks right into it and patiently waits licking her chops because she knows she’s getting a little treat.

I mentioned the Free Ranger Bully Stix earlier.  We sometimes use kibble when training Charger and Stella since they seem to think it’s still a treat and the pieces are small so you can use a bunch without worrying about pudging up your pet.  I also really like these Free Ranger Bully Stix from I and Love and You because they provide a fair amount of entertainment (it takes Stella about 20 minutes to get through one) they’re a lot safer than things like raw hides, they’re made from grass fed cows and aren’t exposed to chemical processing.  Most importantly, she LOVES them.

The reality is that with two big dogs running around, we’ll always have to be mindful of this new little person.  Setting some ground rules and letting the dogs know from day one that he’s their buddy, but they need to be gentle and well behaved around him is key.  I’m amazed at how Charger has become like another watchful eye when it comes to Blake.  He is the first one to his side when he hears any kind of fussing and often parks himself where Blake is sleeping as though he’s keeping watch over his new buddy.  It’s pretty adorable to see.  I’m fairly certain that Charger’s mind will be blown when Blake starts eating solids and he experiences the joy of the high chair food drop.  Exciting times ahead!

If you’re thinking about switching your dog to a super high quality dog food, then here’s some great information on making the transition.  And if you’re looking for deals, adorable pet pictures and some good humor you can check out I and Love and You on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

One week ago our highly anticipated little guy arrived.  While I was beyond excited to meet him, I was also pretty scared.  Scared of going from one child to two, and particularly terrified of having a repeat of Kayla’s baby days, which truly tested the limits of my and Craig’s relationship.  So I’m happy to report that minus a couple of hiccups, we’re all in a very good place.

With the threat of an induced labor looming the following day, Blake decided it was finally time to make an appearance.  I don’t remember much of the whole getting to the hospital process with Kayla because I was in so much pain I couldn’t think.  Maybe your tolerance for pain changes over time.  Maybe I’m just less of a wimp these days

While the contractions were strong and pretty uncomfortable, I found myself joking around with the nurses and Craig during labor.  I even contemplated not having an epidural, but chickened out at the thought of getting to the point of no return where it was too late to have it and being in excruciating pain.

Craig and I settled in for what we were told would probably be a few hours before it would be time to push.  The nurses turned the lights down and encouraged us to try to get some sleep.  Craig was coughing and had forgotten his inhaler at home.  I told him he should just go home and get it since it would be a long time still.  Yep, no.  Shortly after that I started feeling some super strong contractions and much to everyone’s surprise this baby was ready.  If Craig had gone home (which he would not do since he’s stubborn- thank goodness) he would have 100% missed Blake’s arrival.  Oops.

We had one little scare with Blake’s heart rate dropping during the very end and I did my best not to freak out about it.  After the world’s shortest active labor (okay, not really, but it seemed that way) we had a pretty cute little 7 pound 13 ounce baby.  Bigger than his sister even though everyone was convinced he’d be way smaller.

Craig was in charge of making sure our Cryo-Cell cord blood and cord tissue kit got packed up and picked up and I just sat there cuddling a tiny baby in shock and happiness that in just a few quick moments we had gone from a family of three to four.

Kayla was in all her glory the following day when she came to visit.  Craig’s mom had sent her this super cute Carter’s big sister shirt and she could not wait to put it on. All she wanted to do was touch his fuzzy little head and I had to hold back my instinct to say “be gentle!” since she really was being gentle.

I thought it was sweet that our hospital gives out these little coupons to big brothers and big sisters so they can get a special treat in the cafeteria.  She cleverly opted for a Rice Krispie Treat.  I can’t lie, I was jealous.  We spent a good 10 minutes testing every button out on the hospital bed since really, what could be more fun for a 5 year old than a moving bed?  After that it was time for Kayla to go home and she cried, which basically broke my heart.

We had a bit of a struggle with feeding Blake and suspicions that he suffered from tongue tie.   It made it nearly impossible for him to get a good latch and left me in more pain than I was in during labor.  I feel like that means something coming from a woman who has given birth just days before…

He lost a significant amount of weight in the first few days after birth and we elected for him to have a frenectomy, where they actually clip under the tongue so the baby is able to extend it further and properly latch/suck.  Thank goodness it seems to have done the trick and our little man is on his way back to his birth weight.  He’s been eating well and sleeping well and I am amazed at how different things feel from the first time we became parents.

I know there are hard times to come, but this time it feels like Craig and I are a team and we’re both ready for this.  My worries about how Kayla would feel are nearly gone.  She adores her little brother in a way I couldn’t have even imagined.  Basically, I couldn’t be happier!

More on these in a bit, but since people always ask, Blake’s custom baby blanket comes from Atkinson Drive Gifts and the super comfy playmat he is laying on is the LilyPad organic playmat from Nook.  I’m madly in love with both of them and can’t wait to share more about them with you.

Recently I found myself sweating bullets in a friend’s bathroom while battling a toilet lock with a 5 year old who REALLY had to go and experienced my first pang of second baby parental anxiety.  First of all, I play with baby gear and kids stuff for a living.  I should KNOW how to Houdini this thing.  Second, wait – I don’t know how to use it because despite the incredible sense of paranoia that only a person who knows my father could truly understand, we never had toilet locks with Kayla.

And so it begins.  The months of mental preparation for Kayla to understand that this August our family will change, but it will be for the best.  Even thought it might not feel that way all of the time. My hope is that Craig and I will empower her enough to feel secure in her role in our family so as not to feel perpetually threatened by this new addition and at the same time avoid playing into every twang of jealousy she has.  If someone has the magic formula for that please share your wisdom with me!

Until then I’ll have my head buried in the world of big sister raising and baby prep.  And  thankfully, I have a feeling those toilet locks are not making their way into our home.  Ever.

It’s incredibly hard to keep a secret when a large part of your job is to be candid about what’s going on in your life.  You feel torn, you feel like a bit of a liar and of course you feel like you just want to say it!  In the last couple of months I’ve found myself in this predicament for the first time and it’s all but driven me crazy.  Now, finally I get to share the news that’s been bottled up inside for 7 weeks and 4 days.  But who’s counting?

Thanks to the very lovely Michelle at The Suitcase Studio for capturing this moment!

After years of debating, pondering, financially questioning and basically flip flopping on the issue something gave and finally Craig and I found ourselves on the same scared yet excited page of YES, a second child would be a good idea.  If you’re wondering how two full grown adults can be so scared at the idea of one small baby you must have missed all we went through with Kayla in the beginning.

But I think we’ve both managed to put aside all the memories of endless worry, torturous hospital visits, and relationship strain and just get over it.  Which is why I’m so excited that we will be welcoming a baby BOY (omg I don’t even know what to do with a boy!) into our crazy little family in early August.  And maybe I’m a fool but I very optimistically believe this time will be different.  Or if nothing less, we’re much better prepared to handle whatever comes our way.

Craig is secretly happy to have a buddy who might relate more to his love of sports.  I am thrilled at the idea of seeing two very different children grow up.  Kayla is both excited and disappointed “I wanted a sister.”  Though I have reassured her that even a baby brother will totally want to play dress up with her.  Now I guess it’s on me to find baby boy-ish dress up clothes or deal with a young cross dresser.

I’m so excited to share the obvious adventure this will be and of course my unavoidable missteps, and paranoias while continuing to sleuth out the best products and DIY (lots of baby ones!) for you.