Tuesday, December 10, 2013

A sister for Captain!


She's finally here! Last week we welcomed our daughter, Hadley, to the family. She rushed into the world after just a 4 hour labor, a healthy active little 6 pounds 12 ounces. Captain met her about 5 days after she was born (thanks to some friends who took care of him). It's been an exciting time for us! If you thought Vizslas were cute, just wait til you see Vizslas + babies.... ;-)

 First things first: Getting clean for baby:


Before meeting his baby sis, my husband picked Captain up and then took him to Point Isabel, where he ran into another Vizsla named Bruno, some Ridgebacks, and a whole bunch of Great Danes. Then it was a bath at Mud Puppy's to get clean! Usually I bathe Captain myself, but, you know...I had other things to do this week ;-)

We followed some suggestions for introducing Captain to baby: had my husband hold her, and I first greeted Captain with some big hugs and cuddles. I could tell he knew something was up, and he seemed to treat me with some reserve, like he knew I was healing in some way. I offered him a onsie of Hadley's to sniff as well, though he didn't spend to much time checking it out.

I thought Captain would try and lick Hadley all over, or perhaps bark at her, but instead, again, he was very gentle and reserved. He cautiously sniffed her, and nervously wagged his tail. He seemed a little unsure but a little curious too...


Over the next few days, Captain has maintained his calm cautious behavior. I tried to put Hadley propped up against Captain yesterday on the couch, but he jumped up and backed away. I think he thinks she is very fragile, but I'm not so sure he actually knows she's a human yet. ;-) I do think he knows she's part of the family, though, and an important one at that.



Another Captain/Hadley pic attempt:


I've been a little worried Captain is sad...


So we've been making sure to cuddle him...that is, when I can peel myself away from my new little daughter! Which is really hard to do, since I am absolutely, positively, ridiculously, madly in love with her ;-)
My new favorite thing: staring into her eyes.
One thing that HAS remained the same with Captain, though: begging....

For food...


... and to get into bed...


I can't blame him, but we haven't been caving in... yet.

I'm kind of really excited for the stage when Hadley can interact with Captain- I know she will love him! But for now, I'm completely content with the newborn phase. Yes, not much sleep, but it's just an amazing time and we're so in love with her!!

Our little Hadley Madeline
 That's all for now from the new family! Check our Facebook page for more pictures!

7 comments:

  1. She is gorgeous and Captain is one good looking big brother. You are truly blessed. Enjoy this time (and keep posting pictures!)

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  2. Hi Y'all!

    Oh what a lucky Captain!

    Y'all come by now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

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  3. Congrats to your family! SO excited & such a beautiful girl! I can't wait to follow yoru adventures (and hopefully follow in your footsteps soon) of baby+Vizsla! =)

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  4. Congratulations, and many blessings! I love how you chronicled the whole new baby event. I've been curious myself how our Vizsla (Peaty) would react if we were to bring a new baby home. He already has an 8 year old brother (our son), but we are trying to get pregnant, and wow...I must say...the way Captain looks in the pictures and how he reacted is how I envision Peaty. :) Thank you for sharing a glimpse of your lives with other fellow Vizsla lovers!

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  5. Congratulations!!! Such a cute, sweet little baby girl! Pictures of Captain and his little sister are soooooo adorable...

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  6. Congratulations! Hadley is beautiful! Captain does look a wee bit confused. ~ Corrine

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  7. Looking back on these pics, my "safety mom" kicks in and I can't help thinking: "Geesh, she's too close to the edge of the couch! She could have gotten stepped on by Captain!" Either I was sleep deprived or there's a totally different level of caution when your non-moving infant turns into a whirlwind of a toddler. In any case, she didn't fall off the couch and was not stepped on by Captain ;)

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