Before my baby came along, I was a very proud PAWrent to my adorable fur baby Rani. She was my baby. Don’t get me wrong, she still is my baby but you can understand that the family dynamic has changed! Rani entered our lives as a rescue dog. She was a stray, bless her- a bag of bones, infested with mange and really sad looking eyes. We knew nothing about her history, took a shot and turns out she’s the most amazing dog in the world. I am biased- that’s normal right? Now, fast forward 4 and a half years, she’s got a brilliant personality, a resting bitch face (which is still cute!) and a love for Maryland cookies. That is not something we enforced by the way, she just happened to find the packet. Rani may be a dog, but she certainly has her little quirks. She snores, she farts and she dislikes loud noises.When I found out I was pregnant, you can imagine I was over the moon! We told Rani, of course and she proceeded to lick her butt. Classic Rani. Despite this she was still the one to share our good news to family and friends. 

 Now, I’d read that dogs sense you are pregnant and they know before you do and la la la. And maybe some dogs do. I was expecting Rani to growl at anyone, including my husband, who came within a two-metre radius of me but she didn’t. I wondered if she really didn’t have a clue or if she was that in tune with me that she knew I was a big girl and I could handle myself. I chose to believe the latter. She’s a snuggly girl anyway and loves nothing more than to curl up on our sofa next to us or follow us around the house like Velcro. She has a lovely memory foam bed, (memory foam!) which we keep in our bedroom, but she loves nothing more than to jump into bed in between me and my husband in the most awkward position possible. 

Things were about to change. We tried very hard to keep our routine the same and I think we did well, right till the end of my pregnancy! She continued to get at least two walks a day. In fact, I was actually walking her while I was in early labour! I kid you not, we went around the block- I’d just stop when I was having a contraction and she’d stop to sniff the grass! Team work.

Rani has always been a lady of leisure, basically the house is all hers- we’re just the poor souls who pay the mortgage.  But she was a about to undergo some serious life changes and we had every intention to make it as stress free as possible. We’re all so hung up about how having a baby is a major upheaval for us as parents, that sometimes it’s easy to neglect our pets.

We moved her luscious memory foam bed out of our bedroom around two months before I was due. We also stopped any jumping on our bed. It wasn’t easy! She didn’t understand straightaway and gave us those puppy dog eyes, but we persevered and eventually she got it. The key thing is, we did this way before the baby was born. I didn’t want her to associate the baby with the reason for her moving. There was no need to spark any jealousy. Anything like that would hopefully be avoided at all costs.

Anyway, once Rani was in the landing, we had more space to put a cot in our room, but Rani also had her safe place close to us, but far enough to have her own baby free area. Definitely handy for her, between the hours of 11pm to 5am when baby Shay decided to cry the house down and cluster feed. True story. 

We allowed Rani to sniff out the nursery beforehand. During my nesting phase I’d washed all the cute baby clothes with non-bio powder and it smelt gorgeous. Like a baby. So, I let Rani sniff them. She was definitely interested! Until I whipped out a bacon treat to reward her for being good. Mum, do you want a paw for that yummy goodness? I give you paw.

Rani has never been a great fan of large moving things. Wheelbarrows, lawn mowers, PRAMS! No thank you. But of course, she’d need walking and I wasn’t exactly going to leave my baby at home so she would have to learn to get used to it. So, we’d wheel the pram around in our house with Rani by our side and up and down the street, just so she didn’t try to run a mile when it got close to her. Treats all the way! It worked. She no longer acts like it’s Satin and our walks have some form of straight-line etiquette- till she sees a squirrel. Then it’s game over. Baby or no baby. 

In week 37 of my pregnancy my husband and I took a trip to the pet shop. We went crazy in there. bought a shit ton of treats and lots of tug toys. Rani is notorious for killing her toys pretty much as soon as she gets it, so we bought a few. We’d leave treats on her bed and play with her. Even after Shay was born, my husband made a point to play tug with her when he could. She loves tug. 

So, the second day of labour, we decided to drop Rani to our friend’s house. This made life easier for us and Rani got a bit of peace with familiar people. She was having a hard time with my yoga ball, my buddy during those early contractions- told you she doesn’t like large things that move! Of course, she dodged a lot of my swearing too because let me tell you labour is fucking painful. But that’s a whole other post. 

People often said to keep the dog away for a week or so. Let the baby settle. I couldn’t think of anything worse. Imagine if you kept your first born away when you brought your second baby home. You just wouldn’t. No, Rani was back in her own bed the day after hospital. The introduction was so important. Rani needed to know that baby Shay was one of the pack. My husband brought her into the house and kept her on lead. Immediately she knew it smelt different. New scent. What is it? He walked her around, letting her go crazy with her nose and eventually came to me and Shay. I lowered him down to her level and allowed her to sniff. Any pulling or growling and Shay would be moved away. But bless her cottons, she licked his head and lay down in front of him. She looked up at me with her beautiful eyes. Dogs can’t speak, but her eyes told me that she’d accepted him in her pack. Her eyes said, don’t worry mum, Shay’s my boy and you got this. 

This may not come as a surprise, but new-borns cry. A LOT. The constant crying was hard. At first, every time Shay cried, Rani would whimper. As sweet as it was, (aww she cares about her little bro! so sweet!) it was a lot of noise. You can imagine how hard it was when you’re working on one or two hours a sleep. It’s funny because before Shay was born, I tried the old YouTube and played baby crying noises for her- she didn’t even bat an eyelid. Smart girl. But in the early days, any crying was followed by a Rani whinge. She’d do it when I sang ‘Shape of my heart’ in an attempt to lull Shay to sleep too. and before anyone says anything, it’s not a reflection on my vocals, it’s harmonising.

It didn’t last mind you. I found after a few days; she’d often go into another room. She seemed tired and didn’t try and snuggle. We’d always said we would give Rani attention when Shay was kicking off. I don’t mean I’d ignore my baby, just a quick pet when he’s having his crying frenzy- just so she knew we hadn’t forgotten her. But it was hard. Trying to console a baby, get him to latch, get him to sleep AND pay any attention to the dog was very, very difficult. I was a new mum. I was shattered. Everything was new to me.

 A couple of weeks in, around the time my husband had to go back to work, she found it tough. Not only was he not around to show her some attention, attention I was struggling to give as I had a baby attached to my boob, my mum had also come to stay, throwing things off further. She’s not really a dog person- her main priority was her grandson. I guess it added to Rani’s isolation. Unfortunately, her home was completely topsy turvy and she stopped eating. It was only for a day, but I’m a feeder you see, I couldn’t allow that! She started having bloody poo’s. I knew something wasn’t right. When I took her to the vet, they confirmed my suspicions of stress. Yes. Dogs get stressed. My poor furbaby! Luckily, medicine helped her recover, but the best remedy by far was lots and lots of affection. I didn’t care how exhausted I was, I would try and give lots of cuddles. We’d also make a point of going out as a whole family. And slowly she started to come around. That little blip was over. Thank god. Rani resumed her protective older sister duties. She would hover around anyone new who held Shay and watch them like a hawk. 

I think it’s important to remember that no matter how perfect your dog is and how much they are a part of my family; they are still actually A DOG. She has never once shown any form of aggression to Shay however, saying that, I would never leave them alone together- that’s where those baby gates come into play. 

As Shay is getting older, he is much more interested in his doggy sister. He watches her as she rolls on her belly or when she barks at ANOTHER Amazon delivery driver. I like to sit with both of them together, even for 10 minutes, where we would read a book and I let Shay Stroke Rani. He loves her! and she sits patiently, with the occasional doggy kiss, so I know she loves him too. It’s the beginning of a beautiful relationship between the two and I cannot wait to watch it blossom.