Fido, meet Baby

We have joked for a while that our dog Maggie is our baby and now she is going to be a big sister. While she has been good training for us for a number of different reasons, we know that there is nothing like the real deal of a human baby.

There are also a couple advantages about a pet:

• Our dog can go outside and pee on the lawn (which our son will probably learn to do too)
• we can leave the dog unattended while we go out for dinner and a movie
• Maggie sleeps through the night and takes multiple naps each day
• We feed our dog once a day and she can eat from her bowl whenever she is hungry
• She only gets fussy when she needs a walk or sees us putting our shoes on
  

We recently got a free "New Parent" magazine and found a fun little article about bringing a baby home to meet the family dog. We want to share some of it with you.

• Before bringing the baby home, bring some of its clothing with the baby's scent on it for your pet to smell.
• Have someone else hold the baby when you step into the house so you can greet your pet warmly.
• Maintain regular pet routines like feedings and walks.
• Never force interaction between your pet and the baby.
• Never leave the baby unattended with your pet (I guess that means Maggie won't be babysitting for us).
  

We really do love our little Maggie and hope that she will adjust along with the rest of us. There is a lot of love in our hearts to go around, for the baby, for each other, and for our pup.