This *IS* a pregnancy announcement
Hey, y’all!
It’s been a while.
Guess what: Sylvie is a really good dog now! If I wanted to write that like a woke, gentle-parenting dog mom, I would say something like we learned how to unlock the good dog in Sylvie. But I’m pregnant and tired so, whatever.
That brings me to my next point: I’m pregnant! (This is pertinent to Sylvie becoming a good dog, and also why I haven’t written anything since March.) Baby Girl Connell is due December 10, and so far three different doctors have told us her heartbeat is “perfect,” so y’all know I’m already very proud of her.
The last time I wrote, I was basking in the joy of Sylvie turning into Chill-vie. After two weeks with trainer Ryan, she no longer bullied us to be let onto the couch, started falling asleep in her bed mid-day (praise goddess!), and completed an hour-long hike without anchoring or accidentally scaring the living daylights out of passersby by lunging at them when she just wanted to play. We were so happy, and cautiously optimistic that this good behavior would stick around, even though Ryan abandoned us and moved to New York.
I got to enjoy this new, chill version of Sylvie for about 3 weeks before my morning sickness (which should really just be called all-day-sickness) sent me to bed for about 2 straight months.
The funny thing about constant nausea and exhaustion is that they really wipe out your anxiety. Had I not been too sick to care about anything (this is called depression, fun trade lol), I would have fretted about how Sylvie would react to me being in bed all day. Much like she used to aggressively demand to be let on the couch, she had barely let us sit on the bed before jumping up like she owned the place and going all Ed the Hyena on us when we tried to make her get off. But, feeling like total shit being sick to my stomach and in a pit of hormonal despair made it a lot easier just to get back in bed at 10am and hope for the best. (Don’t worry, I’m feeling much better now!)
And you know what? Sylvie remained Chill-vie!
She laid herself down on the floor right next to my side of the bed and quietly napped with me for hours.
She did this the next day, too. And the next.
She even began holding vigil outside our bedroom door in the mornings before I woke up.
Eventually, Kyle moved her bed into our room so she could be extra comfy, and by the time I was ready for my mid-morning nap, she was already curled up sweetly, seemingly wondering what was taking me so long to join her.
On the rare occassions I made it all the way out to the couch, she was right there with me.
This was our routine for pretty much all of April and May, and I’m just now realizing how grateful I was to not be alone when I felt so terrible. Throughout the entire pregnancy, she’s given us little indication she knows I’m pregnant. She’s done none of the cute resting her head on my belly that I expected, but she absolutely knew that I did not feel good, and turned herself into the cutest, sleepiest, furriest pregnancy nurse there ever was.
Sylvie is a really good dog, y’all. I love her very much. 🙂