Cats & Co-sleeping with new baby

[cat13]

I have 2 large (18 and 20 lbs) cats who often sleep in bed with us at night, and I'm a little worried about how this will play out when our first baby is born (I'm 37 weeks pregnant right now). DH and I are planning on co-sleeping with a crib side-carred to the bed on my side to give us more room.  I've been trying to kick the cats out of bed lately, but now they just wait until I'm already asleep before getting into bed with us.  One of our guys especially likes to be spooned, so he'll plop down right at my side if he can find room... basically exactly where I plan on having the baby sleep.

My first question is, will my Mommy-Sense kick in and wake me up if my cat tries to lay too close to the baby? Secondly, does anyone have any advice on how to keep them away? I'd rather not lock them out of the bedroom since it's too hot to close up the room at night (no AC) and they'd just scratch at the door anyway.  TIA!

[katelove]

No advice but we found that our cat didn't want to sleep next to a newborn who may kick or thump him unpredictably. He was actually quite wary of this new, strange little creature. He still came on the bed sometimes but he would cuddle up to DH or stay at the foot of the bed. Prior to that he was *very* cuddly and often slept with his head on my pillow, stretched out beside me. He and I co-slept from the day I brought him home.

Sorry not to be more help but maybe they will make the decision themselves.

[cat13]

Thanks for the feedback. Mine are pretty cuddly too, but I have no idea how they will react to the baby. It would be great if they just keep their distance on their own! 

[WaitingForKiddos]

We didn't do anything about the cat, a super affectionate guy, wanting to be near the baby's stuff or the baby. For a while I thought Frank (the cat) would be all over DS because he LOVED sleeping in the bouncy seat, cradle, etc. Turns out Frank totally knew his new place once William was born. Frank kept to the foot of the bed or slept in a different room, didn't want anything to do with DS's things once they smelled like baby and really just kinda hung back to figure out this new creature! LOL When DS was about 3 months old he and I were taking a nap together on the bed and I woke up to Frank spooning DS. So sweet! From then on they were good buddies and I felt DS was big enough to squeal if Frank got too close, which he never did. DS's second word was 'ka-AT'! as he crawled after Frank and these days Frank is one of the only things that helps DS mellow out when the 1-year-old meltdown happens. I LOVE how close they are!

[cat13]

That's awesome, I hope our kitties & baby become great friends like yours have!