I am due July 27th to have my second child. I got Kiwi rather quick because of a situation. Any way she will always be in the same room as me so I will always be able to talk to her and let the cage open, but for at least the first 2 weeks I wont have the time to actually take her out as much. Will she hate? I will still beable to take care of her and talk to her all the time I just dont think that I will have the time or the energy for a little while (2-4 weeks) when the new baby comes to handel her as much. I hope she will be ok. I love her to death and dont want her to go anywhere because of her prior situations of neglect and abuse. I will make an effort every day to give her some special lovin. What do you all think?

Does Kiwi have anything to do with your hubby? If so, maybe he can pick up the slack. Just try not to neglect Kiwi, and include her in everything..Maybe if he was in the family room where all the hustle and bustle of daily life takes place it would help him feel a part of the flock. Will your mom be coming to help with the new baby? I forget how long you've have Kiwi? Do all you can to make her/him feel loved and be sure he has plenty of toys to play with. What about the time you are in the hospital? Who will take care of Kiwi?
I hope it all works out, so you don't have to give him away, since he's been thru so much in his little life...
Best wishes to you and your family,

Rebecca

I can't say anymore then Rebecca.....

You might also try between now and Delivery time to slowly cut down on the one on one time with Kiwi. That way it might not be as big of sudden shock when you don't spend quite as much time with him.

I guess I don't fully understand what the difference is in having a new bird as to new baby.

I'm sure you didn't quit giving your first child as much attention as normal when you brought Kiwi home...You probably included that child into the daily ritual. Granted its not quite the same as having a New born baby as you weren't trying to physically recover yourself.

You'll still need to have someone there to care for your first child, right? Well while they are caring for their needs they or you can include Kiwi in on that as well.

If you can interact with the new baby near Kiwi's cage etc so that he can see that there's something new in the neighborhood and he's going to have to get used to it as well. New noises etc.

I think you'll be amazed at how well these guys can adapt it if you can show them at least a little attention a day. Work on getting Kiwi used to playing by himself and occupying himself with foraging toys etc that way he isn't quite so dependent on you for attention.

This just crossed my mind...what if you take a doll and try to duplicate what you think your routine will be (taking into consideration rocoup time) and see how he responds to that. Its going to be an adjustment for everyone that's for sure.

Also if you have a bassinet or cradle for the baby maybe you can have it in the area where Kiwi is so that he can at least see you while your interacting with the baby. Just play it by ear, I think you'll be surprised as I said, at how Kiwi will adjust.

Keep us posted as to how its working out...

Another thought I had after reading this month's BirdTalk, is be sure you don't isolate Kiwi and "put the baby in his place"..There was an article about a person with a parrot and 2 dogs, one dog passed away and a while later, they brought in a new puppy. The new puppy was "interested" in the parrot, so they put an aviary around the bird's cage, so that the puppy couldn't get to the bird..well, the bird turned on his owner/his favorite person and wasn't happy, to say the least...I think it was Sally Blanchard's article and she suggested that they should have corralled the dog and not the bird..She said to put yourself in the bird's place, and compared it to the whole family sitting on the sofa enjoying their time together, and one day someone else comes into the picture, they move you to the corner in a chair and let the "new" person take your place on the sofa..how would you feel? She was saying to think about how the bird would feel...They got the new dog and thought they would protect the bird, but instead the bird felt the dog replaced him or he was being punished for the new dog.
You didn't say how old your first child is, but what ever age, he/she will also have HUGE adjustment from being the only child to sharing your love with this other "little person." As anyone who has had a child can testify, no one's life will be the same after the newborn comes home, but you can make it the best and easiest transition you can. You are the one who will feel pulled and stretched the most, probably, trying to share your love equally with both children, hubby and any pets you have...YOu are the caretaker and will have to juggle your routine more than anyone else..Just remember to try to think how Kiwi will feel, put yourself in his place...where's he's been and where he is now. I would definately not hold or have him on me for hours a day and you no longer have the time. In his mind this new "creature" comes along and Kiwi feels put out of your life and may retaliate...now is the time to make adjustments..find what will be his favorite toy..try different things..every bird is different. some like to chew wood, and some like paper things. Joy was a leather, knotted and toys tied to them, bird, but Gabby(Grey) prefers paper and coffee filters the most..she also loves small stuffed animals and loves to chew them to shreds. Take this time to experiment on what he likes...introduce things slowly, so as not to scare him. If you are introducing new toys, try hanging them on the outside of the cage for a few days, till he gets used to them. Make a coffee filter wreath and hang it..or maybe just put one coffee filter weaved thru the cage bars...Another one of Gabby's favorite things to chew is a leather strip that has holes in it and shorter leather strips thru those holes and lots of knots in them... I have a wiffle ball that I put leather strips thru the holes and some supreme cotton rope too, they hang down and I then tie foot toys on the ends and she loves to try to untie those knots. Just use your imagination and toys don't have to cost a lot of money..You can get stuffed toys at a thrift store..here they usually have a large bag of them for about a buck. I also have a wreath made out of paper plates..You just cut the paper plates into 1/4's...punch holes in the middle and thread it onto a stainless steel wire and crimp it closed...it is kinda big and may scare a quaker, but gabby likes this too..
I am sorry for going on and on..just trying to give you some hints to help you thru this transition...

Rebecca

I agree with Rebecca and Connie on this........