Lily

Dogs are fascinating creatures. We didn't have one when Gwennie was born. We did have a rather dog-like cat named Beckham. He stayed close to me while I was in labor until, during a strong contraction, I squeezed him a little bit too hard. He stayed back from me, but I remember seeing him once in a while during the birth.

Lily stays with her people most of the time. She loves people, but that is part of why we, as humans, love dogs isn't it? I had watched a Nova called Dogs Decoded and they talk about how dogs help us release oxytocin, which is the natural hormone that pitocin is based on. Pitocin is used to induce labor in the hospital. It is also the drug our bodies release as we nurse our new babies that totally makes us fall in love with them.I was curious how Lily would act during the labor and birth. At the beginning of labor Pam was listening to Natalie via the doppler, Lily was in the room. She kept cocking her head and trying to figure out what that sound was. For the rest of the night whenever the doppler was used, no matter how quietly Pam listened to it, Lily would get up and come over to make sure everything was ok. Lily spent the labor on this special dog bed that Gwennie had made her in my room (its 3 old pillows with a blanket over it. Pictured below. Usually the dog blanket is spread out over the pillows, this is after a lot of doggy pacing.)Later on, as Pam was sewing up the tear I had, Lily stood by the bed. I petted her head gently until it hurt. I yanked on poor Lily's face, as Pam sprayed some numbing stuff on me before checking out the damage. Lily left for a minute but kept coming back to make sure I was doing alright (or maybe just because she was curious).

Lily is not sure what she thinks of Natalie. She doesn't like the crying. This morning I was changing a diaper and she was screaming because she hates the cold on her butt. Lily kept backing away. She would sit a watch Nataline for a second. Then as the crying continued she moved back a few feet and watched again. She eventually headed upstairs to get away from the sound.