Milo and Prada

Back when Milo was just a little Olive, Prada was the first to really be aware of his presence in my body. Early on, when I was still having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that a person was growing inside of me, she would cuddle up to my stomach and press her ear to my belly. This was a new behavior for her, so we were pretty sure she was listening to the heartbeat. As my belly grew and my lap had less and less room, Prada became less enthralled with me and started making Chris her usual lap buddy.

We weren't sure how Prada would react to a baby in the house. She had never seen a child, let alone a wailing newborn and while Prada has many great qualities, her ability to deal well with change is not one of them. Both times I have moved to a new place with her, she has spent a week hiding in a closet. When we got married, she developed feline acne and a large bald spot on her back. So really we weren't holding high hopes for how she would react to a baby.

Luckily, she has surprised us and is dealing relatively well. By that I mean she hasn't broken out or lost large amounts of fur. Instead she pretty much ignores Milo other than a few sniffs early on. The crying doesn't seem to bother her, but she does look at us as if to say "really, you thought bringing home this thing was necessary" when he is particularly inconsolable. As long as he doesn't mess with her routine and she stills has a lap to sit on, she seems rather content that our family has grown into a foursome. We try to give her a lot of attention when we can and if we forget to do that, she has her own special way to remind us that she was the first baby we had.