Day 11

If 30 is the new 20 and dogs are the new kids, why is Lu’s recovery having us thinking about little ones? Babies, that is.

All my closest girlfriends think that the new dynamic in our marriage created from co-caring for Lulu is a comical representation of what might occur should we finally decide to start a family. For example, neither one of us is getting the sleep we need. We take turns sleeping with her and she has a tendency to cry out or thrash around at times, which wakes us up. Even when it’s not my turn, I have trouble sleeping through the night. Last night, I could swear I heard her barking as if in distress. I ran to the guest room where Bill was sleeping with the dogs, woke Bill and asked if she had been barking. He said no but I vow I heard her, poor thing.

On top of the sleepless nights, there have been arguments on who is more sleep deprived. Bill will announce he’s exhausted and out of patience because of it, then I feel slighted because he’s not acknowledging my own fatigue and sacrifice. The result is that we both feel unappreciated and tired, but mostly tired. I was suffering from sleep deprivation Monday and actually went to my parent’s house, which is just down the street from my office, to take a nap during my lunch hour. It’s only been 10 days since we brought Lu home after surgery and I’m already a mess. Leaves one to wonder how or if we could handle a year or more of sleep training an infant.

Feeding time is interesting too. I prepare her meals, lovingly heating the boiled rice/white rice mixture in the microwave and then calling Bill in to do the actual feeding. It’s like bonding time for Daddy and Baby. Lucky for me, I still haven’t been able to get the hang of expressing Lu’s bladder, so Bill’s in charge of potty time too.

We both work on Lu’s therapy. She likes to lie on her back while her legs are stretch. Bill will work on her hind legs while I focus on her front. We both look into her big brown eyes and exclaim how cute she is and tickle her under her chin. And she’s a dog, imagine us with a baby. It would be disgustingly cute, right?

First comes love, then come marriage…you get the drift.