This post has been sponsored by Purina® Beneful® Dog Food. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Y’all know that before having Penelope we already had two babies: Georgia and Bella. Both rescues, these little fur creatures were our world before bringing Miss P into the mix. I got Bella the year after I graduated from undergrad from a family that could no longer care for her and ever since, she has been right by my side. Her and I have been through so much together: bad roommates, grad school, marriage, etc. I was so worried when we added Georgia into the mix that she’d feel like we were replacing her, so you can only imagine how I felt when we knew a baby would be joining. It was never even a thought about getting rid of them. To each their own, but I believe when you take a pet in, you take them in for their whole lives, despite the challenges.
After we brought P home, I wrote a post on introducing your pets to your baby, but now that we’re five months in, I wanted to update y’all on what we’re doing and what you can do to make sure you are making time for your pets to make them feel like part of the family, because that’s what they are, part of our family (and Aaron is completely outnumbered by females!).
Tips for Making Time for your Pets
- Divide and Conquer Responsibilities: Sure, in a perfect world, we would all take a family walk together each evening, but sometimes there just isn’t time. Often, Aaron and I will divide and conquer the tasks at hand meaning he’ll feed the dogs our favorite Purina® Beneful® Grain Free dog food while I bathe Penelope or vice versa. When time allows, we love doing things together, but sometimes to make sure everything gets their attention, we divide.
- Feed them healthy and nutritious dog food. One place we never cut costs is with our dog food. That’s why I love the pet aisle at Target because we love Purina® Beneful® Grain Free. First, it’s grain free and has no fillers, just wholesome ingredients like real chicken as the #1 ingredient. It’s made without corn, wheat, or gluten, and still has a taste that our dogs love! Plus, it’s always in stock at Target, which means less errands for this busy momma!
- Pull double duty. The girls are a huge part of our life, so I want Penelope to feel confident and comfortable around them. I often incorporate P into play time with the girls, dinner time with their Purina® Beneful® Grain Free or vice versa. I never leave her unattended with them, but we often all play on the floor together!
- Include pets in your routine. While sometimes the girls follow me around without being called, typically if Penelope and I are going somewhere in the house, like her nursery to nurse, etc., I’ll invite the girls in too. I want them to know they are always welcome where Pops and I are.
- Give some undivided attention each day. Usually for our girls this happens after Penelope’s bedtime. Whether we’re taking them in the backyard to run, or just giving extra belly rubs while we watch TV we try to give the girls some extra TLC in the evenings.
Of course, we give treats and toys (we recently got G a cocktail toy from the Target pet aisle – that store has everything and it’s a major perk to being a mom (one stop shop) but also bad for my bank account!! LOL Anyway, and I laugh every time she plays with it since it looks like she’s drinking a mai tai, but these are some “think outside the box” methods that seem to be working for our girls.
Penelope is definitely getting more curious about the girls and starting to reach out and stroke their fur, etc. so as she grows, we will also be teaching her the importance of “gentle” and boundaries for the pups.
If y’all haven’t tried Beneful Grain Free Purina’s Beneful, I strongly recommend it, we give it to both girls and they gobble it so quickly! Maybe being around a baby just makes them hungry, but I doubt it!
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