As I count down the day's until may baby's arrival, I can't help but wonder what it will be like to have my first born 'real' baby meet my first born 'fur' baby! HaHa I want to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible. Baxter is a 100 pound yellow lab that has been my rock for nearly 11 years. I’ve had BaxMan since he was a few weeks old. He’s lived with me in Ohio, North Carolina, three New York City apartments, San Francisco, & now Sydney, Australia. He is one cool pup.

As I imagine most of you at home would agree, these fur babies truly are part of the family, aren’t they? So what happens when our families expand? How do our animals react to the new pecking order? What can we do to ensure our homes are not only safe environments, but also happy environments, free of unnecessary tensions?

Below you will find a Q and A with Baxter's doctor from Bondi Vet, Dr. Kate Adams. Dr. Adams is one of the brilliant vets who helped save Baxter from the infamous corn cob that nearly took his life a couple months ago. Read the piece I wrote for Fox News here.

I have found Dr. Kate's answers very useful in my quest to make my home both baby and doggy friendly. I hope her answers resonate with you or someone you know!

n the early hours after giving birth to my first born son, Brooks, I chose to use a belly wrap. I have read a lot about them and have friends who swear it has helped them get their 'inside bits back in order!' A woman's uterus needs to shrink back to its usual size and the bands are supposed to help. Critics say it is unnecessary or even a bad idea because the body becomes reliant on the splint rather than the muscles, which can leave the weak. Women have been having babies for the ages with and without wrapping their bellies around the world. But several friends have also told me the wraps have helped their tummies flatten out faster and that it's been good for building better posture. I have been wearing mine quite religiously and have noticed positive results. I can’t say whether this was the reason or wasn’t. My OBGYN and the midwives at the hospital in Sydney recommended I wear my belly wrap while I begin gently easing into my new fitness routine (at the beginning of the journey). So far so good!

I asked Dr. Jill Gamberg, a GP doctor at Double Bay Doctors about belly binding/wrapping/splinting. Here’s what she had to say:

“An abdominal binder is a wide compression belt that encircles your abdomen.  It may be used to speed-up the recovery process after abdominal surgery like caesarean section, bariatric surgery, or cosmetic surgery. It is thought to support your surgical incision, help relieve pain, enable you to move more, and reduce swelling.  It may offer secondary lumbar support.

Women may use an abdominal binder after vaginal childbirth to help shrink the uterus and lose weight. Some women use it if they have a large diastasis recti (abdominal separation) post-partum.  

It is advised to only wear from 2-6 weeks after childbirth.  There’s no scientific evidence that binding your belly gets you back into your pre-pregnancy jeans faster.  However, they may be helpful for some women, and it is definitely worth talking to your doctor or woman’s physiotherapist to see if one may benefit you.”

I have also done a Q and A I've done with the three sisters behind the ever popular brand, Belly Bandit. See what you think and decide for yourself if abdominal splinting/wrapping is for you.

An easier way to swaddle. Doesn't that have a nice ring to it!?! This post should hopefully help you find the best way to swaddle your baby. I think I have seriously discovered the secret to swaddling a baby in a way that is easy for parents, won't wake up the baby, won't scare the baby, and won't allow the baby to wiggle out!

When my baby boy, Brooks was born I had stocked up on about a dozen muslin wraps I planned to use for swaddling. While in hospital, my husband and I tried the swaddle method we had learned in our parenting classes. After Brooks wiggle out, we had a midwife show us another method. Well, we quickly realized we had an escape artist on our hands. Brooks would wiggle his way out every time. Because of all the SIDS warnings from our instructor and all the baby literature we had been reading in the months leading up to his birth, we thought we better find another way. As new parents of course we were concerned he could wiggle out, kick up the muslin, and God forbid something horrible happen. It wasn't an unhealthy fear, but something we thought we had better sort out. Along with the safety hazards, I also realized every time I would take Brooks out of the swaddle to change his diaper, I would end up waking him, by having to move him around so much as wrapping him in. Some of these small failures may have been because I was new at swaddling, but I just thought, there has to be an easier way.

I tried another method which involves a velcro swaddle. Although it kept Brooks nice and snug and he was unable to wiggle out, any time I would undo the velcro, he would get quite a fright from the loud noise. 

Finally... a break came that would help all three of us get some extra shut eye! Some Aussie friends of my hubby's gave us what they called a summer, newborn, sleep suit. They swore by it, so we thought we would give it a try. It was dummy proof! We would just put our newborn in the suit, and zip him in! Brooks slept very well in it. His little arms were up by his face rather than in a straight jacket at his sides. He was able to soothe himself by still sucking on his hands, albeit through the light fabric.

The sleepy suit as we now call it is called Swaddle Up by Love to Dream. We loved it instantaneously and haven't looked back since. As the weather turned a little cooler and Brooks grew, we moved up to a size medium and a thicker fabric. He just started rolling a couple weeks ago so we are now using a version that allows the wings to zip off, allowing his arms to move freely. We initially just unzipped one side so he could get used to the new sleepy suit. He now has both arms free and is certainly sleeping like a baby! There is also a twin zip feature that allows caretakers to unzip the sleepy suit from the top to get bubby out, or from the bottom up to change his/her diaper while minimizing disturbances in position. 

I can't recommend these enough! The only downside I can see is the price tag. It will run you about $60 a pop! But I have to say, it has been a lifesaver for me. I can easily see why it won the award of Most Popular Swaddle award last year from the Mother and Baby Awards in Australia.

Below you will find a Q and A about swaddling methods with the founder of Love to Dream, Hana-Lia Krawchuk.