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I remember the first day I returned home from the hospital with my baby girl, I was so happy to be home and back in my own bed. I was also eager to introduce the newest member of our family to her big sister Harleigh. Harleigh is our 3-pound chiahuahua; she was the runt of the litter and tends to be very well behaved for her breed. She is very sweet and loves to cuddle with our friends and family, however she does not like new people and she is terrified of toddlers. We hoped that since our baby was new and unable to mobilize on her own, she would not pose a threat to Harleigh and she would welcome her with open paws. This was not the case, Harleigh not only wanted nothing to do with her new baby sister, she didn't want anything to do with me either. At first I thought it was because I was holding the baby so after I finished feeding her I handed her to my mother and called for Harleigh. I was her favorite. She always chose to sit or snuggle with me over my husband and any of our friends; now she was not even responding to my calls. I ventured to the laundry room, also known as her room, to get her from her bed. She did not growl but she stiffened up and made no attempt to give her usual welcome home kisses and love. I didn't understand; I had only been home for 15 minutes. I remember a friend of mine saying that I should start carrying around a baby doll before I had the baby in order to get Harleigh used to the idea. That seemed a bit crazy to me; it was up there on my crazy list with the people that buy $400 strollers to push around their maltipoo. Now I wished I had taken this advice. I carried Harleigh to the couch and put her on my lap, a place she would usually love to be; not today. Today she ran away the minute I put her down. With my influx of new baby hormones coursing through my body it broke my heart that Harleigh wanted to ignore our new baby and me. I told myself that this was her version of sibling rivalry and perhaps she didn't like my new scent since I was nursing. I spent the next few weeks trying to coerce Harleigh back into my lap. I tried everything playing ball, treats, and walks; none of it worked. It had been three weeks, I was about to give up when one day she decided to come and sit on my lap. Not only was she sitting on my lap, she was sitting next to the baby who was already on my lap in her boppy nursing. I was so happy my Harleigh puppy had returned. While she only sat for two minutes it was a sign, I had been forgiven. It has now been six months, Harleigh loves me again but my husband has replaced me as her favorite. This does make me a little sad, but I am happy that he can focus his attention on her while I am tending to our baby. Harleigh is still unsure about the baby but just last week she came up and gave her a kiss. Perhaps this is a sign she has forgiven her as well and they too will someday be friends. Author Credit: Gabriella Gometra builds sites on family products, such as http://childrenssewingmachines.org, which has information about children's sewing machines and kids' sewing machines.
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pets, babies, sibling rivalry, family, home,
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