Tank, who is now about 2.5 years, has come to our bedroom door twice in the past week to whine in the middle of the night. In the past, he only got up and cried in the middle of the night if he was about to have an accident (due to GI issues), so we always let him out if he's crying. This week, however, his poo has been totally normal and, after being taken out, he cries and scratches outside of our door again until one of us walks him to his sleeping spot (the couch) and pets him for a bit to get him to calm down. I am currently pregnant with our first child and a few days over my due date. Neither of us is sleeping well and I think a main part of the issue is that Tank hears that we are both awake and wants attention/to come cuddle with us (which we allow on weekend mornings). He has also been more clingy with me this past week in general. With baby on the way I know that we will often be awake I'm the middle of the night and am worried that Tank will want attention and/or be stressed. Any tips on how to tell when he wants attention vs. has to go out? If folks have general tips on helping transition Tank to be okay during night times with the baby, I'd love to hear that as well. We have been training/prepping him for the baby for months, but not around this issue. I've had insomnia my entire pregnancy and am often up and moving around in the middle of the night, and Tank never even looked up until this week, so I wasn't previouely anticipating much of problem.
Hi @Tank the Destroyer Best wishes for the birth. Exciting and wonderful times. I would let your dog check out what is happening when you two, and later three, are up at night. He can grow accustomed to the new member and some of things that that entails. Once he has checked out why you are up, i would give him the cue to go back to bed. Be calm. He may be concerned initially by the baby crying. Your calm voice let's him know he should not worry. I expect he will soon become habituated to the baby crying.
