My human's baby

My humans are having a puppy… a baby as they call it. They don’t even know it yet, but I do, and I sadly now know why my dad has a tail on the wrong side of his body. Oh, and the names they have for the tail are just disgusting. Not to mention it seems to have caused my mum pain or made her happy at times. It’s all very confusing.

Oh.

Oh, I think my mum’s just found out about the baby. She’s just come out of the bathroom, eyes wide and mouth open. “Um. Um.” Is all she can seem to say. She’s giving me whiplash with her constant pacing back and forth. Can’t she just sit down already? I want attention.

“Did you know about this?” Mum asked me all of a sudden.

Yes.

She finally sat down just to start calling my dad. At least I could cosy up on her lap. I also could listen in to hers and my dad’s conversation. “Hey, are you on your way home?”

“Yeah.” Dad laughed. “It’s a good job too, I’m so tired, one of my colleagues said I might as well be a new parent.”

Oh mum, you obvious fool.

Mum started to giggle uncontrollably, going high pitch as she spoke. It hurt my ears. “Oh, yeah. That’s funny.”

I’m not surprised that dad went silent for a few moments. “Okay, I’m going to drive off a bridge now.”

Oh dad, you and your sarcastic comments.

My dad screamed when he got home and mum showed him two sticks, she peed on in the bathroom.

Gross, and they get think it’s bad if I wee inside.

“Do you want anything, hon? Do you want a drink? Do you want me to call your mum?” My mum asked when she and dad took a seat in the lounge where I could join them. “Do you want some time alone?”

No. Don’t get up.

Thankfully, dad stopped mum from moving. I could get settled at least for a little bit.

Apparently, my mum is eight weeks pregnant now, and I wish everyone would leave her alone. She’s been poorly, being sick all the time. I don’t want her or the baby to be in danger. So, I don’t care who is family to mum, no one gets past me.

“Daphne, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt mummy.” My dad reassured me when I tried to push his hand away from mum’s growing belly. I growled lowly at him.

Dad started to stroke me as he moved his free hand to her belly again.

Damn him, he knows my weaknesses.

Okay, I’m going to trust dad with mum. I know he loves her and the baby. He’s always talking to the baby and trying to take care of mum. I don’t trust his mum though.

I can sense how uncomfortable my mum gets when people try and touch her belly if it’s not dad, and grandma always tries without asking. I’m happy I’m always by my mum’s side because when it happened today when mum and me were on the couch, I could reach and wrap my teeth around grandma’s finger and drag her hand away. I got a lot of praise for being so gentle.

Bonus.

Mum hasn’t been working since just before she got a baby in her belly. It’s been great for me, lots of walks when mum’s been up for it, no more buses to dad’s because we’ve moved in and her full attention when dad’s at work.

Mum is in the human vets called a hospital because she’s been sick too much. I wish I could have told them she was getting that bad with her health. She couldn’t keep anything down, not even water. Now, I’m home alone. I have to wait and see if she’s okay. Dad is with her, I know that, but I don’t like not knowing. I want to be with her.

I could have lost my bum with how hard I wagged my tail when mum got home from the hospital. It felt like forever. I whimpered, wanting attention, jumping up her leg but only reaching higher up her leg to get her attention. “Hey, puppa. I’m okay. I’m okay.” She told me, lowering herself. Thank God, because now I could shower her with my kisses.

I don’t understand human years. They say mum is five months pregnant, but since the start of the pregnancy it’s felt closer to three years. Poor woman, she’s getting so big too. She must hate carrying all that weight around.

“I can’t believe it. We’re having a girl.” Mum grinned when she and dad got home one day. His grin seemed more forced. He smells like he’s nervous. I swear he smells a lot like that these days.

“Are you okay?” Mum asked dad. I could barely pay attention. She’s playing with me, with my favourite toy. It’s a dinosaur that they were going to save for the baby.

Well tough. It’s mine now.

“Yeah.” Dad sighed. “I’m just nervous. I have brothers and we're having a girl first; they won’t have a big brother to look after her when she’s in school”

I don’t know what mum’s laughing at, my growling that she tells me sounds like a baby dragon in a cartoon or dad’s comment. I hope it’s the second one.

Us girls are amazing.

“Hon, I have a sister and you know just how protective she is. She didn’t have anyone to look out for her at school and she didn’t need to. Our little girl will be the same.”

Dad let out a chuckle. “Yeah, I suppose, especially if she gets your fiery side.”

“Hey!” Mum objected playfully, throwing my toy at his face.

Uh, that’s mine.

I launched myself on my dad who’s on the couch. He held up the dinosaur high up where I couldn’t reach. He teased me, moving the dinosaur as far away as possible. I kept growling at him until he finally threw it, and I launched off him to get it. He grunted behind me.

“Ow, my balls.”

I hurt him, good.

Mum burst out laughing like she always does when I injure dad by jumping off his tail with all my weight. “You alright there?”

“I will if you rub me better.”

Gross.

“Maybe later.”

Oh damn, mum's apparently seven months pregnant and now on bed rest. I wish I knew why, but I’m not exactly sad about it. I get to be snuggled up with mum all day, making sure she and baby are okay. I must say I do love using her belly as a pillow and listening to my “sister’s” heartbeat. Mum and dad say I’m going to be a big sister, and that’s great because I already love her.

As much as I love being curled up with mum constantly, her constant talking about the same things is so annoying. On the phone, to visitors, all she can talk about is the doctor who put her on bed rest. I wanted to bite the woman after hearing the story at first, but now I just want the story to stop playing on a loop.

“I knew I didn’t like her anyway, but what is wrong with that woman?” Apparently, the doctor has given mum something called blood thinners since she’s staying in bed and her exact wording to a hormonal pregnant woman was. “Make sure you have these everyday or you’ll get a blood clot and die.” It freaked mum out, enraged dad and appalled every person who heard it, but seriously woman…

Stop saying the same fluffing story.

Dad’s been amazing whilst mum’s been on bed rest. He’s having to work, make sure mum’s set for the day with food and drink, do tea when he’s home, take me for walks and feed me. I want to take care of him, follow him around to make sure he’s okay. I know he’s stressed; his boss is a word he uses for a tail and he reeks of stress.

Oh, fluffing hairballs, Mum is in labour. She’s early apparently, not enough to be worried but dad is still panicked. Nana, mum’s mum has gone with them I think to help. I can’t help but wonder why. I don’t exactly know what happens when a human baby comes. Mum has been very anxious about it, I know that much.

I’m getting nervous. Dad has been coming home and sleeping for what they call a day, and mum hasn’t. This has been happening for at three human days. It feels like forever. I wish I could get answers from dad, but other than making sure I get food, let out and some attention, he’s in bed.

Oh, come on.

Loud banging disturbed dad and I whilst we were fast asleep. “Mick! It’s happening! Harriet is in active labour!”

What? She’s not had the baby yet? What’s going on?

FOUR more human days it took for my mum to come home. She came in first, ready to give me attention, but baby’s here; I have to see her first! I sprinted out of the door past mum to the dad where he had my baby sister in his arms.

“Hey, hey, down. Daphne, in.”

But I don’t want to go in.

Dad and mum grinned and when we were inside lowered the baby down so I could sniff her and take her in. “Daph, this is Ava.” I wagged my tail none stop and followed them to the cot as mum and dad called it. I jumped up to look, at least I could reach it to lean on it and look at my sleeping little sister.

I will love and protect you forever, Ava, my little sister.

I love her so much, and I’m so thrilled she’s here. The time mum was carrying Ava was the longest of my life.