Bringing Home Baby er… puppy

My husband Casey and I have been married for just over 2 years.  Nearing 32, we have want to start a family, but the question we keep asking ourselves is … when? So Casey and I got a puppy to practice on. (Sound familiar?) If having a puppy is anything like having a baby, we are going to be in for a whirlwind experience when babies finally come around!

Sleep? What sleep?
Fully in love with her already, we brought our 9 week old English Bulldog, Amelia Rose, home.  She had so many wrinkles on her little body it was hard to hang on to her, and she made these cute little grunting noises every time she was picked up.  How could you not love a puppy like that?!

Amelia Rose

Arriving at home, we went – now what? This, coincidently, is the same question I’ve considered about bringing home an actual baby.  I know that babies eat, sleep and poop, but what else do you do with them? (On a side note, I’m so glad to be teaching Village because now I have so many ways to be able to bond with my future babies that I’m not so intimidated by the thought of bringing one home.)

We had heard that for the first week or so we would be getting up with her every couple of hours to let her go out. But, we really didn’t know how little sleep we would actually get.  I would wake up to her little grunting sounds, roll over and wake up Casey, (who needed a little help functioning at that hour) who, bless his heart, would take her out to go potty. 

We loved having a puppy, but man, were we tired! Finally, that 4^th night, I woke up and realized that it was 5:15 am! Well, to my surprise, Amelia had slept 7 hours with no accidents! I can say that we are all happy to be getting more sleep. (I do realize this happens much faster with a puppy than a baby!)

Family Dynamics
Casey and I knew from the start that a puppy would change everything! Isn’t that the same with a baby as well? We have a 9 ½ year old “only child” cat, Max. I was hoping that because we have so much love for Max, he would have no problem with a new puppy in the house! Boy, did I have another thing coming!

When Max met Amelia for the first time, he hissed and promptly ran to the bedroom, where he stayed under the covers for a week! His whole world was upside down.  I am happy to report that for the first time last night, Max and Amelia were sleeping on the couch together. Max is still unsure of Amelia, but he’s warming up.  

My Conclusions
Amelia will be 12 weeks old soon, and we know we still have a long road ahead of us. Casey and I have to be on the same page when it comes to discipline.  If we aren’t, Amelia gets mixed messages and in the long run, training will be an even longer process.  I’m sure we’ll have to be a united front when we have kids as well.

On one hand, I get exhausted just thinking about how much we’ll have to talk about things, but on the other hand I can’t wait to do that because I know our marriage will be stronger in the end.  (If the lack of sleep doesn’t kill us first!) I am so glad that we have decided to embark on puppyhood before having a baby.  I know that having a puppy is challenging us to be better parents.

 -posted by Miss Anna, whose Facebook status says that she currently has a puppy snoring on the couch!