When I was pregnant, I had plans: we’re going to send a diaper home with Dad to give Woofie while we were in the hospital. Well, as we were in the hospital for longer than we expected due to the emergency c, things got overlooked a bit, and we forgot.
Then, it was going to be: introduce Woofie and Piper on neutral ground so Woofie doesn’t think she’s encroaching on his “territory”. Well, again, that blasted c-section snuck up and cut me, and I had a hard enough time getting into bed, much less get dressed to go outside for that neutral meeting.
Finally, it was treat Woofie really well when she cries so he knows it’s not a bad thing. Yeah, well, that went out the window, as her cries were like a knife in the heart, and I would scramble to soothe her.
So, we pretty much did nothing to warn Woofie that he was being usurped as our #1 child. Actually, and I’m ashamed to admit it, if it wasn’t for Paul Woofie would have been neglected. My arms were literally full, I couldn’t scrape together enough time/energy to cuddle my Woof-man. Instead, I was knee-deep in baby, and he was left to fend for himself on the couch.
By the time Paul went back to work (2 weeks after we checked into the hospital), I was able to do a little more, like put pants on. I tried to bring Woofie and the baby out for a walk together… yeah, after letting Woofie do his business, it was back in the house for him. Poor thing. Honestly, had he nipped Piper in resentment I wouldn’t have been surprised.
Luckily, despite not knowing who or what this new being in the house was, and WHY were her cries so piercing? Woofie has managed to come to terms with the new baby. Okay, so he DOES walk under her swing and bark, when she’s sleeping. AND he does sniff her a lot, but mostly it’s just avoidance. She’ll scream and he’ll give her the side-eye, like, “What the HELL is making that noise??”
Of course, we’ll see how he is when she’s able to grab things. We’re hoping they’ll be the best of friends, but you can never tell, really.
January 22, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Thanks for writing this! I get concerned about my dog responding to our future children negatively…he’s a complete sweetie and he hardly has any aggressive tendencies but I hear so many stories of dogs snapping at babies, or being neglected once babies come along and I can’t help but get worried for the future. (In fact, we had gotten our dog from friends who had just had a baby and moved to a high-rise building that wasn’t pet-friendly.)
Please keep us updated, and I hope that one day Piper and Woofie will be become the best of friends!