Kitties & Babies

I’ve been asked a lot lately how our kitties have reacted to Toby since we’ve brought him home.  We didn’t do much to prepare the cats for Toby’s arrival, but I do think opening up some of the baby gear early on helped. For instance, we had the pack n’play set up in the living room a couple months prior so they could get used to it being in the corner and sniff the new scents. That backfired a little as they were both caught napping in there once in a while, but since Toby was brought home, they never jump into it anymore, most likely because it smells like him now. They also never jump in the crib, which was my biggest worry, so that’s been reassuring.  Though Maggie does sometimes peer in to see what he’s up to:

The only other thing we tried to do to prepare them for a little human arriving was bringing home one of the hats Toby wore in the hospital.  When Auntie Hil came to visit the day he was born, we gave her a hat to take home so the cats could smell it and hopefully start to get used to his scent.  Not sure if this helped or not since I wasn’t there when they smelled it for the first time, but I’m sure it didn’t hurt trying.

They were not huge fans of him the first few weeks but it seems like they have adjusted pretty well to him now.  Ellie doesn’t run out of the room every time he starts crying anymore, and Maggie LOVES when we do tummy time in the living room on his activity mat.  She will come right over and sit on the edge of the blankets that I put underneath for extra cushioning.  Maggie also keeps me company a lot when I’m in the nursery feeding Toby.  She will lay on the floor (usually in a sun spot) and roll around.  I have a feeling she’s going to pay more attention to him when he’s older and hanging out on the floor by himself during playtime.

They both will sniff his feet and hands a little, but other than that, they’re not really too interested in him.  I  have helped Toby “pet” each of them and they were okay with it but they still don’t like being really close to him.  It’s rare that they will sit next to me on the couch if I’m sitting on one end with Toby in my lap or arms.

I think what has taken the most adjustment is that they definitely don’t receive the same amount of attention they were used to.  The first couple weeks we even forgot to fill up their food bowls until later in the evening (whoops), and we’ve neglected cutting their nails as often which is not good.  Any time they see me laying down on the couch without a baby on my chest, they automatically will come over to cuddle.  It’s really weird letting them lay on my belly again :)  I don’t feel as guilty now since I am home all the time and I’ve been able to pay more attention to them lately while me and Toby are getting more into a schedule during the day.  And they’ve gotten PLENTY of treats and licks of ice cream and deli meat scraps these past 6 weeks…they’re probably put on a pound or two!

The best part was tonight during the new nighttime routine we’re trying with putting him to bed a few hours earlier since he’s been so fussy in the evenings.  We have been giving Toby a bath, putting him in his pj’s and then I read him a story while Hubby hangs out on the extra bed.  As I was getting ready to read the book, I noticed both kitties were in the room with us.  Ellie was cuddling next to Hubby and Maggie was hanging out on the floor in front of the glider I was sitting in.  Seriously made me want to cry, but what doesn’t these days (freaking hormones)?  Love our family time :)