Okie

While I will probably write a larger blog tomorrow after my last childbirth class, I wanted to write a little something about my current baby... my dog Okie.

I always wanted a dog, and when Gene and I first moved in together I pushed him for a dog constantly. One Valentine's Day he even gave me a card that he wrote on the inside how one day we will extend our family with a dog of our own. I cried.

About a year and a half later I just couldn't wait anymore. I went to a store called Pass Pets at Chesterfield Mall, and after being there for what seemed like forever, I saw this little puppy that was soaking wet from falling in her water bowl. I held her in the palm of my hand, upside down (facing up at me), and I knew instantly that this was the dog for me. My baby. My Okie.

This was Okie headed to the Mardi Gras Pet Parade 2011.

To this day I still get questions about where the name came from, but I honestly couldn't tell you. I have no idea. While I was holding her, the name just popped into my head, and we feel like that is the best name she could have ever been given. It suits her. Okie. :-)

I love her. With all my heart. She's not a dog to us, we never call her that, and it sounds weird that I'm even typing it. We call her our baby. She acts like a human, she loves like a human (if not better), and we just think the world of her. Now don't get me wrong, she has issues like anyone else - she licks constantly (not herself, but furniture and people). We yell at her probably 50 times a day about licking everything. Who knows what that's all about, but I will take a licker any day... especially her.

Okie is 9 years old now. She's had years of experience around us to know when something is going on. She knows when we are sad (and tries to give us kisses to feel better), she knows when we are happy, she knows when we are delighted with her... and now she knows that something big is changing, but she doesn't know what (at least I don't think she does). The way we can tell that she has an idea something is up is because she pouts all the time. She sleeps constantly. It's like she's depressed - she knows she wont be an only "child" anymore.

Okie fell asleep pouting last night.



So now I worry. I worry that she wont like the baby. I worry that she wont feel loved anymore. I worry that I will get all consumed with the baby that I will forget to give her some love too. I know it's probably all ridiculous to say or think, but she's been my one and only for so long that it brings tears to my eyes to think that I might hurt her. I can't even imagine how I will feel if we have a second baby.

Did I mention that we took her room over and it's now the new baby's room? We moved her into her "big girl room" but she of course hates it. She whines and cries every morning when we put her in there and shut the door. It breaks my heart, but we have to so that we can set our house alarm. She would understand if she knew, right?

So, you're probably reading this saying to yourself "Oh my goodness, it's just a dog." I hear that all the time. But, to Gene and I she is our first baby, and she will always be considered as such and never our dog.

Jenni