When is he coming home? What should we name him? What do we buy? How do we prepare for his arrival? These are just a few of the questions Dane, my fiancé, and I asked each other as we waited patiently for the arrival of our little one.
It was the evening of September 13, just seven weeks ago, when we walked through our apartment door to the shout “SURPRISE!” from Dane’s brother Kawika and his girlfriend Ashley. I looked up to find a cute little furbaby. Speechless and confused… “What? Huh? How? When?”
“OH, MY GOSH, he’s here!” I dropped my purse and drink and ran to pick him up. The connection and bond came instantly as I held this little guy for the first time. Love and happiness flooded my heart before I could comprehend how this had happened so quickly. I looked at Dane and said, “You knew he was coming home today?!” With nothing but a big smile on his face I couldn’t believe he’d kept it a secret from me for two days!
After an hour of tossing around names among the four of us, we came up with Dewey.
We spent the rest of the evening and the next day getting to know Dewey. Here are a few of the things we learned:
- Running around in a circle = I need to pee or poop
- Going under the couch = I’m scared
- Lick/Sniff = I’m exploring my new home
That night it was finally time for bed. Dane and I got onto our big-people bed and tucked Dewey into his little doggie bed. Barely two or three minutes had elapsed before he was already crying for us. My head and arm could only hang off the bed for so long till it was too uncomfortable to pet him from above.
Our solution? Bring him to bed with us for just one night. Well, one night turned into two, then three and now 50-plus – with no end in sight.
It has been nearly two months since Dewey entered our lives, and we couldn’t be happier. The late night scrubbing of the carpet is getting less frequent although the chewing of everything in sight continues. I guess this is just a glimpse of what it feels like to be a parent. Dane and I have decided: Dewey is all we need for now. Welcome to parenthood!