Babies and Dogs

Now that I’m entering the world of motherhood (or possibly I’ve already entered it? The distinction of when this specifically happens alludes me) I am constantly asked if I will forget about my dogs. When I consistently (and patiently) reply that I will not forget about my dogs, the questioner always says, “Oh just you wait” with a knowing smirk. 

To say this irks me would be putting it mildly. 

No doubt I will love my human child with all my heart. No doubt my friends and family will be inundated with pictures, phone calls, and text messages detailing my little one’s tiniest and most mundane accomplishments. No doubt I will be consumed with fussing over their milk intake, their comfort, and their ranking on a standard growth chart. 

Does this mean I’m unable to continue to dote on my pups? Will their bowls remain empty for days at a time as I navigate the first true days of motherhood? The answer seems obvious but I will say it (or type it in this case) for clarity’s sake. No. Where is it written that I only have enough love to give to one other being? 

Anyone who knows me knows that I am utterly and hopelessly obsessed with my dogs. While I know the dynamic in my house will change with the addition of my little mini me, that doesn’t mean I won’t be able to show love to my fur children as well as my less hairy child. 

Some people don’t stop at this question though. Some like to take it a step further with the follow up inquiry of, “But HOW will you do it?” To these people I like to smile and say that I will simply hook the dogs up to the stroller like sled dogs to a sled and let them take the baby out so I can get some much needed rest. 

To the people who question my ability to love and dote on more than one creature I honestly say this: Your question is far more reflective of your journey as a parent than it is mine. 

I’m not saying I’m supergirl but I’m saying that as a girl with 12 animals, a supportive partner, and a slew of family and friends, I know how to love more than one thing at a time. 

Please stop projecting your supposed failures as a parent on me. I would also like to point out with the gentlest of tones that you do the best you can. I'm positive the people asking these questions are only asking because they think they themselves failed in this account. To those people I say, stop being so hard on yourself. You may feel that you failed in some way but you did the very best you could with what you were given. If everybody made it out alive, you did just perfectly. Now, please, for my sanity, stop asking me these questions. Why not ask something truly interesting or useful? Like how strong my gag reflex is? Whether the thought my tearing from my V to my A keeps me lying awake at night?

It does by the way. It really does.