It’d been a long, fussy evening. Cooper finally fell asleep and I could feel the exhaustion radiating through my entire being. I laid in bed dreading my 2am wake up call followed by the usual 6am wake up call. As my head hit the pillow I prayed for the strength to be patient and loving despite my exhaustion.
As I opened my eyes I could see the sun beaming through the window. Dazed and confused, I glanced at my phone to see the time. It was 7am. Panic began to spread through my body as I jumped out of bed and ran to the nursery. I slowly opened the door and tiptoed in trying desperately to avoid any squeaky places on the floor. I saw his chest move up and down alongside the release of his breath. Relief and joy abounded as I made my way out of his room.
HE SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!
The following evening I held my breath as I laid him down. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but I wanted another quiet night and a full 8 hours of sleep. I woke to his soft voice talking quietly in his crib. I reached for my phone thinking it was 3am and trying to come up with my plan of attack. To my surprise it was 6:30. He had slept through the night twice in a row. I was beginning to think this wasn’t a fluke.
It wasn’t. He continually slept through the night with only a peep here and there. His naps became regular, taking about 4 a day. I had more free time and energy then I ever imagined, so naturally I decided I wanted a puppy.
I proposed the idea to Ryan and he shrugged his shoulders claiming it wasn’t the best idea right now. He was in the midst of practices preparing for a long basketball season. He was about to start traveling almost every weekend and his days were getting longer. A normal work day during season is 7:30am till about 6:30/7 pm. He never shut me down, but he informed me that I would be taking on almost all of the responsibility of a new puppy because of the season.
I felt up to the task because I wanted a new challenge. Cooper had become so easy that it took me by surprise and left me wanting more to do. I decided that I wouldn’t force anything but if an opportunity presented itself I wouldn’t hesitate.
The stars aligned perfectly and a friend posted about a yellow lab looking for a new home. This 9 week old puppy was free AND potty trained. I reached out right away feeling like a kid on Christmas. The owners got back to me explaining in detail why they needed to re-home him. It was because they had an 8 pound dog at home and Beau was constantly harassing him. They didn’t want to put up with it so I took a chance on him praying he would get along well with a baby. After badgering Ryan for permission, THE PUPPY WAS OURS!
Before I knew it I had a 4 month old baby and a 2 month old puppy. I kept them separate at first, which was easy because Cooper could hardly move and Beau was unable to jump on the couch.
I was so excited when I got to take pictures of them together for their first Christmas- if you can’t tell… Beau was a very welcome and loved member of our family. He adapted quickly and he constantly amazed me with how smart he was. Surely Beau was meant to be a part of our growing family, and I’m so happy we could give him a home. But as he began to get larger and needier, questions arose:
What did I get myself into? Would they get along? Am I putting my child at risk? Can I handle a chewy, noisey, needy puppy AND a baby?
Check back on Friday to find out more?
next a cat 🙂
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