Baby Tested

I've mentioned that Theo loves kids before, but oh my, I wish I had a video of Theo meeting my nephew last weekend.  My sister came into town for work and was generous enough to put up with lugging her 19lb sack of potatoes (with cheeks!) all the way across the country just so I could see him.  Really.  Ok, not really.  But let's just say I'm the awesome reason...k?  Anyway, I had a 5 month old adorable baby in the house for 6 days, and Theo was hysterical.

First off, my sister knows Theo and I was glad to see, she trusted him implicitly around the wee babe.  I wouldn't have blamed her if she had been hesitant to have an excitable dog too near her precious cargo, but she walked right in, sat down, and even encouraged Theo to jump up on the couch with her so he could get a better sniff at my nephew.  How awesome is she?

Anyway, Theo's reaction to my nephew was priceless.  I knew he would love him.  I knew he would be excited.  But he was jumping out of his skin with excitement.  I've never seen his nubbin move like that!  It was like a hummingbird's wings!  Of course, I could tell he was excited because I know him, but outwardly he stayed very calm and gentle because he was around a baby, and he understands they're breakable.  It was so cute!  He sniffed his face, he smelled his breath, he licked the palm of his hand.  He just took him in.  My nephew did something similar.  My sister was laughing over them smelling each other.  And my nephew attempted to pet Theo, but ended up just kind of dropping his hand on his nose a few times.  Theo loved it.

Theo was this kid's protector the entire time they were here.  When nephew fussed or cried, Theo whimpered, very softly, but enough to alert us to the issue (like we couldn't hear it ourselves, but that's ok).  At one point my sister came out of our guest room and said "I feel like your dog is judging me!"  And I know exactly what she meant because I got the same looks when I was babysitting a couple days of their trip.  He would lay outside the bedroom door with a look that said "What are you doing to that kid in there!?  Why can't you keep him happy!"

After the initial meeting, Theo observed his usual two foot rule.  He was my nephew's protector. If my nephew was laying on a blanket on the floor, Theo would sniff him to make sure all was sound, then he would lay down with his body facing outwards, ready for whatever might come.  How cute is that??  When I put my nephew down for a nap Theo would sniff at the play pen we used for naps, then park himself outside the room.  One time, before giving my nephew a bath, I had him laid out on a towel on the bathroom floor.  I ran to the guest room to grab a diaper, and when I came back Theo had sprawled his body across the door frame with a look that said "None shall pass!"

I was impressed that Theo immediately sensed that he had fallen a wrung on the totem pole.  He knew his needs would come after my nephew's.  I was prepared for a needy dog who was jealous of the attention I gave the baby, but I actually got the opposite!  He was less whiny than he normally is because he knew I had a reason for ignoring him.  It was pretty awesome, but I also felt bad for him on the days that he didn't get much attention.  Heh.

So overall, I was really happy that Theo was so awesome with the baby.  I'm definitely not planning on having my own anytime soon, but it's nice to know that when the time comes when Husband and I are ready to grow the family, we'll have a dog that's been baby tested!