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!