Wednesday night’s homecoming for our first preemie twin went off without a hitch. With planning reminiscent of the invasion of Normandy, a major consideration was how best to introduce our Aussie Heeler dog to her new housemate.
The introduction started the day our twins boys were born. Returning home from the hospital, I brought the two infant hats the boys wore in their first hours to Maggie the dog to sniff. In the days that followed, we placed cloth diapers in their NICU isolettes to accumulate their smell and then bring them home for Maggie. Later, as we began dressing them in their little preemie outfits, we’d bring home the laundry for Maggie to lie on in her bed. We even played videos of the boys on Lisa’s laptop while I rested in the crib, hoping to associate for Maggie their crying with the nursery.
Lisa and I maintained a weeks-long conversation about whether or not “she knew.” Our schedule of nightly vigils at the NICU kept us away from the house a lot, and the dog, renowned for her seperation anxiety (”Oh no, my humans are NEVER coming back!”), was starting to piddle in the house and seemed like a nervous wreck every night upon our return home.
Acknowledging the special bond between my wife and the dog she brought to our relationship, we decided that I would be the one to introduce Luca to her once we got him home, while Lisa attended to Maggie in order to mitigate any jealousy.
The magic of that night was unforgettable. After a gourgeous sunset on a cold January evening, our little guy slept his way across the threshold of our home in his car seat and blankets.
I had put Maggie out in the backyard, while Lisa introduced Luca to the bedroom he’ll soon be sharing with his twin brother Finnegan. After a diaper change and with a bottle warming for his next feed, I took hold of our little guy and sat in the glider, once belonging to Lisa’s grandmother, and freshly reupholstered for us by her mom. Lisa let the dog in the house. Maggie, knowing something was up, dashed around the house in an attempt to accumulate evidence of what she had been missing.
I called her into the room, and she came, with Lisa in hot pursuit. With a calm voice praising her for how good she was, I commenced the introduction while Lisa kept a hand on her. Interested and alert, she responded to my extending our baby boy out for her inspection with a few sniffs and finally a lick on Luca’s cheek. Relief.
Were we concerned Maggie would react negatively to having a “sibling?” Yes- as a cow dog, she’s had a history of having to be watched- more than one visiting child at our house has had a heel nipped at. But so far, Maggie seems to be recognizing the new member of our pack as a new responsibility for her. As a working dog, having someone to take care of and watch out for seems to be just what she needed- she looks to me when he cries for affirmation, and steals affectionate licks of our new pup at every twin.
For information and tips about how to introduce pets to your babies, check out this article from the Humane Society.
Our joke now is that she really is gonna be surprised when twin number two comes home.
