Before Elysen was born, I had a couple of (mostly hormonal) breakdowns about our sweet puppies. I was so worried that they would feel slighted and lonely when she was born. Since she was born in the winter, I was worried that they would be so cold at night.
When we got home from the hospital with Elysen, I wanted to introduce her to the dogs right away, but I decided to hold off. There was a lot going on. David spent time outside each day with them, even if it was just to play for a bit while he was feeding them. My mom also went out a couple of times while she was here to give them some attention. Poor guys, they had no idea what was going on.
When she was a couple of weeks old, we decided it was time. So we let the dogs in the house. They were so excited to be back inside that they didn't even notice the baby. It wasn't until several days later when we let them in again that they heard a strange noise from the bundle on my lap. They were curious, but still relatively disinterested. I was happy - we could all coexist peacefully. Ha!
Now that Elysen is more independent, they notice her more. What's funny to me is that they deal with her in completely different ways. Darsee has always been one to show love by licking. This is not ok with me when it comes to the baby. So I have to keep a closer eye on Darsee and make sure she's not trying to sneak in a lick. Literally, she will sneak around and try to lick Elysen's foot while still keeping one eye on me making sure I don't see her. Remus is, as always, our calm guy. He rarely licks Elysen or anyone else, so he's the one that Elysen gets to pet. More often than not, when he sees her and notices her trying to reach for him, he will walk away. I think he's afraid he'll get in trouble. But sometimes, she will reach out for his face or ear or back and he will let her pet him. He just sits and enjoys it.
I can tell they both love her so much. And if they could talk, they would probably complain about how they don't get to spend as much time inside these days. However, they would probably also say that because of Elysen, we spend a lot more time outside. And because of Elysen, Darsee has learned to tolerate thunderstorms outside (much to her outrage). We still get to play ball with Remus, and Darsee still gets to sleep in her bed sometimes.
Pretty soon, Elysen will be able to walk or crawl up to them and then they won't know what to do. She gets so excited when she sees them. It's amazing how she knows them already.
The dog lover in me feels overjoyed when I see that Elysen loves Darsee and Remus. My worries of the dogs feeling lonely is gone. I know they have taken a back seat to the new number one in our lives, but they are certainly still an important part. A few days ago, it was a rainy day, so I let the dogs inside. Elysen was fussy and tired, so I rocked her and she fell asleep. I came into the living room, turned out the lights, and snuggled up on the couch with Elysen. Darsee curled up at my feet with her head on my knees, and Remus made his place on the floor next to the couch. And my dog-loving and baby-loving heart was so very full.
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