Furry "Firstborn"

I know of several couples, us included, whose first addition to the family after being married was the family pet. We welcomed home our little dog, Wicket, about six months after we got married. We fondly dubbed him the "honeymoon dog" because his birthday happened to be just five days after we tied the knot.

Wicket as a puppy

Wicket now... king of the bed 

Hours of rope-fetching fun = 99 cents very well spent

Only a fellow dog owner can really understand how much they truly become a part of the family, particularly the indoor-only dogs. Being as portable as a Yorkie mix is, Wicket travels with us (hello pet friendly restaurants and hotels!), sleeps on top of our bed and has been allowed full run of the house once he proved he could have it responsibly (ie. potty trained and not destructive). We make sure we have enough in our budget to pay for good-quality food for him, professional grooming, pet health insurance and plenty of toys. Many times we'll have brought him with us to one of our parents' homes and want to run errands afterward, and we'll make an extra trip home, though it's out of the way, to drop him off so he won't feel sad waiting in the car for us... or vice versa, when we're out somewhere and then decide to go to a dog-friendly location and make a trip home just to get him. He is a great source of entertainment at family gatherings and I admit he was in attendance at both of my baby showers...

Shower w/ family

Opening gifts at our shower w/ some friends

 

 Cuddling with baby, in utero

Sharing a nap

We talked a lot about what we'd do when we decided to add a child to the mix... how we would introduce Wicket, etc. but it turned out we didn't need to do much at all. True to our little guy's friendly and mild nature, he's adapted to Kaelyn's arrival like a champ. Yes, he's had to give up a lot of attention in some ways, but I think the key to the great transition is 1) he already possessed a great disposition and 2) we've made big efforts to keep him included, like walks alongside the stroller and still taking him with us everywhere as much as possible (except now he gets shotgun, and Mommy sits in the back next to baby's carseat). He shows a mild curiosity in our little bundle of joy but for the most part, he has quietly accepted her coming with no acting out or signs of jealousy at all. But hey, even he benefits sometimes from all of the things our home has accumulated since Kaelyn's been here...

Guess we need two Boppys!