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You’re intentionally pregnant and ecstatic at the thought of bringing home your bright-eyed baby and adding he or she to your family. Although this will be your first human child, you already have two bundles of joy, a dog and a cat. How in the world are you going to manage not only taking care of both of your pets, but your new baby as well? What if they do not get along or hurt the baby in some way?

All new parents for through this, and after researching horror stories about newborns and pets, you’re timid about how you should make the introduction if even at all. You can’t bear to think about giving up your beloved pets but if they put your baby in danger, you may have to. Before making any irrational decisions, you turn to Google to find success stories of bringing babies on board to pet friendly homes. Much to your surprise, there are thousands of postings about how well pets and babies get along, how easy it was to introduce your baby, and how some people’s pets are even overprotective of the new baby.

There are a lot of things to do to train your pets for the arrival of your baby. First, make sure your pet is spayed or neutered. Sterile pets are much more calm and less likely to act aggressively with your baby. Second, keep an eye out for any behavioral problems and if you notice anything, get it addressed immediately. This way, your pet won’t have an outburst that may harm the new baby. Third, get babies around the house! Do you have any friends that just had a baby? A sister? A brother? Ask them to come over so your pets can get familiar with their scent and the types of sounds that babies make.

There are also some things you can do once the baby is born. Start with making sure that your pets are taken care of while you’re giving birth. This will deter them from getting angry that you’ve been gone and from being hostile or jealous of the new baby. Pets can be very perceptive. Another good idea is to ensure your pets’ nails are trimmed. This will help avoid even unintentional scratches. Babies are very tiny and even the smallest “pat” or “tap” by a pet even if meant to be affectionate, can turn out poorly. Finally, make sure when you get home form the hospital you give your pet attention by showing them the baby, then provide some treats. If you give your pets treats when the baby is present, this will help them associate the baby with a positive experience.

If you follow these simple steps, the transition should be easy for your whole family. Although, training your pet is an effective way to help ensure that your new baby avoids any danger, it is important that you never leave your baby unsupervised with the pets. Until the child gets older or you feel more at ease with the baby and the pet in the same room unattended, you should always place the baby in a crib or put the pet in another room that is closed off until you can attend to both of them.