How a Giraffe Reminded Me About My Dog and Random Conspiracy Theory

I literally had not heard of Sophie La Giraffe until I was pregnant with Archer which, in hindsight, seems crazy and goes to show that no one really cares about baby stuff except parents.

Because, as you know, once you are made aware of the magical Sophie, you realize she's freakin' everywhere... like everywhere.

I have yet to meet a new parent who doesn't have at least one Sophie and indeed, many have more than one Sophie on the off chance that one of the Sophies go missing which, as you know, would be like a total disaster. I'm not sure what exactly happens to babies who lose their Sophie - do the babies explode? go literally crazy? - I don't know, but the very thought instills the fear of God into all new parents. So they have more than one. And even though Archer is only starting to pay attention to Sophie, it is their fear that has led me to have an extra one on hand just in case.

But who knew there was another reason to have 2 Sophies (you know, other than the baby spontaneous combustion theory). And this, my friends, is where I introduce you to my other baby, my dog, Pudge.

I've just realized that in 70 odd postings, I don't think I've once mentioned Pudge. And I think Pudge has taken to reading my blog when Archer and I are out of the house (whatever, it could happen) because I think he knows this fact. Well at the very least he knows that all of a sudden he's no longer our #1...

This fact became painfully aware to both my husband and when randomly one of the Sophies went missing. Which is weird because we haven't taken either of the Sophies out of the house - no reason to do this yet (and btw, when you do, make sure you put some sort of marking on your Sophie so you know it's your Sophie because I again, I stress, literally every baby in the whole world has one; every baby).

We immediately had some suspicions that Pudge may have taken the Sophie because he had tried before - but only picked it up and took it a few feet away and let it go... but this time, he went further and on closer inspection, I realized that Pudge had taken Sophie all the way over to inside his crate.

Pudge, my friends, was making a statement.

It was right then and there that I vowed to again start paying more attention to Pudge. There is room in our hearts for 2 babies (oh yeah, I still haven't mentioned PeanutButter, our cat - but we'll save his interesting reaction to Archer for a later post). And if you're a DM who has a dog, it's time to start paying attention to him/her. This baby was around before your new baby and probably got you through a lot of tough times and made you very happy. They deserve our love and attention just as much as your little dude.

I have now tried several times - successfully I might add - to take both Archer and Pudge on a walk and we had a blast. There are even meetup groups on MeetUp.com that have specific baby-dog activities. And if you can't quite manage to do this, make sure that you at least take some time when your partner comes home to give him the baby to watch while you take your dog for a short walk.

Another suggestion? According to the Dog Whisperer (there is a Whisperer for everything, btw), every dog needs a job and with the baby his new job could simply be to be near you when you nurse or change the baby. I've got into the habit now of calling Pudge into Archer's room when I change him and Pudge seems pretty happy about it.

How do I know this? Well, after I found Sophie in Pudge's crate- and I left it there btw thinking he may as well have his own - Archer, my hubby and I were having a little morning cuddle in the bed and all of a sudden Pudge jumped up on the bed and no word of a lie, he brought with him Sophie La Giraffe and dropped it near Archer - a "yeah, I know you could use this more than me" - sorta gesture. Seriously cute stuff people.

Oh, and finally, the conspiracy theory. Have you ever thought about why every single baby has Sophie La Giraffe? And further, what kind of power could be yielded by someone who was... say... able to like control babies (and parents) through said Giraffe? Literally, this person could rule the world! Random thoughts like this occur to me in my sick twisted brain - usually, it should come as no surprise, at the 4:30 am nursing time. You can feel free to accept or deny this at your will (or your demise...waaa, haaa, haaa, haaa...[that's supposed to be an evil laugh, btw])....