family goals Archives - Stylish Paws

When I first posted about dogs and babies, a year ago, baby Gia was less than a month old and I was still in South Africa waiting for the doctors clearance that we were both able to fly. So much has happened in that year…

This topic also sparks a lot of interest from my amazing Instagram community. I cannot thank my followers enough for welcoming baby Gia the way that you have! You all LOVE seeing Zara and Gia together, you love to watch their bond grow, as do I! Gia has grown into a beautiful, kind and loving one year old and Zara is learning about life with a tiny almost walking human, but has embraced her role as big sis in ways we never imagined.

Our main goal with the girls has always been and always will be for them to respect each other. They both require their own space, time alone as well as family time. From the very beginning we have been teaching and showing both Zara and Gia how to interact in a respectful way. For example: Gia is not allowed to crawl or stand all over Zara in her attempt to get onto the couch. Zara is not allowed to push over, stand on Gia or steal Gia’s food from under her nose. Things happen, Gia is a one year old and Zara is an excitable 53kg Rottweiler! The girls are not perfect nor perfectly behaved all the time, it’s how we manage it and teach them what’s acceptable that’s important.

We got our fair share of ‘warnings’ when I was pregnant with Gia and we still get raised eyebrows when we mention we have a one year old and a Rottweiler. The judgement only makes us want to showcase the girls even more.

Here are some of the things we did when baby Gia arrived home and things we still do to make sure Zara feels very much included and part of her pack…

No area is off limits

No area is off limits in our home. I got a lot of warnings and even read numerous articles that said pets should be kept out of the nursery. I’m not quite sure what keeping your pets out of your baby’s room would do… but it wasn’t going to happen in our home. Zara helped us prepare Gia’s room which was our way of showing her that change is coming. As a result of including Zara, she now leaves a toy in Gia’s room every night and it’s also her favourite place to take a nap.

Sharing toys

The girls share toys. Yes Gia is at the age where everything goes into her mouth, as long as she can’t choke on it, I am totally fine with it. I think the world needs to worry about a lot more than dog germs. Both Zara and Gia have recently been dewormed so in my eyes it’s good for them to share toys. It teaches Gia important lessons, so important that Gia now puts her comfort rabbit toy in her mouth just like Zara would to transport it… Genius I tell you 😉

Learning to share food

It’s no secret Zara lives for food! I always knew the starting solids stage with Gia would spark a lot of interest from Zara and it definitely did. Without a doubt meal times are Zara’s favourite! We’ve had to teach Zara that she can’t steal food from Gia’s bowl or out her hand. We have taught Zara the clues Gia gives to say ok you can have this now. Zara has been very patient and she knows that when Gia is done there is always something for her. Of course this doesn’t happen 100% of the time, just last week Zara decided to steal Gia’s entire meal. But it’s ok, not the end of the world. We are all still learning.

Showing affection

We have never stopped showing Zara how much we love and appreciate her. We might have a tiny human who demands so much time, energy and love but we include Zara in all of that too. Gia sees how much we kiss and hug Zara and it has become her favourite thing to do… Kiss Zara! We also allow Zara to kiss Gia, why wouldn’t we. Gia’s first kiss from Zara was the day after I arrived home with Gia. It was important that Zara knew it was ok to love and show love towards this new human that is now living in her space.

Being respectful

Respect is an important part of Zara and Gia’s relationship. They both need to respect each other and learn each others boundaries. I am extremely lucky to be a stay at home mom so I am always around making sure boundaries and limits are not crossed. Gia is only one year old and still has plenty to learn, so when I see Zara has had enough kisses from her baby sis I gently remove Gia from the situation and direct her attention towards another activity. In the same way when Zara is licking Gia’s face ferociously to welcome her home from our shopping trip, I divert Zara’s attention so Gia can catch her breath.

Both Zara and Gia are our girls. One I gave birth to and the other I didn’t but that doesn’t mean Zara cannot be a fully fledged member of our family. It is possible to keep your fur babies as part of your family when you welcome a human baby. I struggle to understand why some people find it so difficult. Some days are harder than others, being new parents is tough. There is nothing easy about raising a tiny human but I honestly couldn’t imagine doing this without Zara. She’s licked away plenty tears and endured hours of cuddling when we are too tired to run around and play. Zara has embraced her role as big sis and we couldn’t be prouder!

If you are pregnant or recently welcomed a newborn into your family and have fur babies too, I really hope this post has inspired you. It is ok to have pets and babies!

ps: The photos used in this post are 100% natural and unfiltered. They’re personal photos I wanted to share to give you a glimpse of how my girls interact on a real level. They’re not posed and beautifully edited. They’re beautiful moments simply captured on my iPhone 🙂

Thank you for reading.

On 30 September last year, we found out that we were going to be parents to a tiny human! Nothing can describe that feeling of utter happiness and excitement. That day will always be extra special to myself and my husband because that same day is Oscar’s birthday, and it will always be Oscar’s birthday!

Our biggest wish was to make Oscar a big brother, unfortunately the universe had other plans but I now understand why. In Oscar’s eyes I belonged to him and only him. My husband will even admit to that-haha. I am not entirely sure Oscar would have been able to share me, let alone get through the eleven weeks of separation.

Most of you know that we live in Zambia, but I travel to South Africa fairly regularly for various business and personal engagements. Because the medical facilities are not up to scratch in Zambia, we decided as a family that I would give birth to our nugget in South Africa. This also meant that we would all have to endure eleven weeks of separation…

On 17 May, our beautiful daughter Gia came into this big bright world! We could not be happier and more proud of our little angel. Gia means “A gift from God” and I do believe she is our gift from God and Oscar, who is by my side making sure I look after our tiny human in the best way possible.

Zara on the other hand is going to be the best big sister we could ever have asked for. Zara is extremely intelligent, loyal and a little OTT on the affectionate side, but we love that about her. From the moment we found out about our little Nugget, we spoke to Zara and explained what was happening inside my tummy. Believe it or not Zara would just sit and listen to every word. She stopped body slamming me in the middle of the night when she jumps on the bed for a cuddle. She became mindful of my growing tummy and was careful not to bump me or push me. That’s how clever she is.

We wanted to prep Zara for what was about to happen, because ultimately her life is about to change forever too! So here are the things we did to help ease Zara into the role of becoming a big sister…

Baby Room Prep

We had to shuffle things around and swap the spare rooms to make Gia’s room closer to ours. While sorting through a pile of things we didn’t need anymore, Zara was right beside us! We never once chased her out or got mad because she dug through a pile of rubbish we just sorted through. After all this is a readjustment for her too. Once the nursery room was cleared out we painted and began furnishing it-the fun part!

Doll Practice

We decided to buy a doll and introduce it to Zara. We wanted Zara to get used to us holding something in our arms quite a lot. She needed to learn that sometimes there will be an extra person in the bed in the form of her baby sister, and she needed to be a little careful. At first Zara was unsure especially when the doll made a noise. But with patience and time Zara began to recognise that this little thing is quite special and lives in the newly decorated room.

Our Scent

When I left Zambia in April, I left behind a shirt that I had worn to remind Zara of my scent. My husband says she loves sniffing that shirt! After Gia was born I sent my hubby home with another shirt that smelt like me and baby Gia. We decided to do this so Zara can get used to the scent of me with someone else. Zara is so intelligent she knows exactly what we are trying to do, I just know it!

Zara’s Gifts

Often articles will tell you to separate your pets from your baby and to never allow pets into the nursery. We have been the total opposite with Zara and have allowed her to walk in and out of Gia’s room as she pleases. As a result, Zara now delivers one of her toys (her most prized possessions) and leaves it either on the rug, the chair or in a corner for her baby sister. When Zara gifts you with one of her toys, you know she loves you! It is something she started doing all by herself, we did not teach her to do it. So by Zara leaving presents for Gia I know that they are going to be the best of friends!

Of course this chapter is not complete yet because Zara still has to meet her tiny human. I am in South Africa until the end of June so I will be sure to post an update when Gia and I have settled back home…. But for now we continue to video chat, where Zara is most intrigued by her baby sister especially when she moves or makes a sound.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram for all the goings on.