Banjo and The New Baby

[Carol and Banjo]

....Over The River and Through The Woods...To Grandmother's House We Go......    My daughter and SIL came for Sunday dinner with the new baby yesterday.    I was so excited to have them visit Grammy for the first time since his birth on the 23rd.   I was also excited to have Banjo meet his new future best bud.

Unfortunately things didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped.   My daughter didn't want Banjo close to the baby and definitely didn't want him to lick the baby.   He got a couple of "sniffs" in but clearly wanted to "explore".    I understand my daughter's reluctance to have a dog licking her infant.   I would have been the same way.    My instinct tells me that if she would have let me bring the baby to Banjo's level and let him sniff and lick, just as he does when people come to the house, he would have lost interest and "moved on".    As it turned out we ended up leashing him and he spent the whole visit clearly wanting to explore the new addition.    He isn't a "barker", but he did bark several times out of frustration. I could almost hear him saying "Just let me near him....I just want to get to know him"!    Mommy and Daddy kept remarking at how "loud" he was....baby was blissfully oblivious.   

So, I'm feeling disappointed that we didn't have a smoother intro and wondering what I could/should have done to facilitate a better first meeting.

I plan to talk to my daughter about allowing Banjo (totally supervised) to sniff and lick and get it out of his system on the next visit.  I'll be equipped with wash cloths to "clean up" the doggie licks.  Do you think it's wrong to allow this?    

I'm interested to hear what others have done in this situation.  

[Doris, Knox & Flash]

Awww, Sandy.  What a sweet story...

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I love this Sandy!  Our Golden Retriever was a lot like this with our son.

[Sue & Lily Grace]

So very sweet. What a special bond.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I love this, Sandy!!

[Carol and Banjo]

Remarkable indeed!!!

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

Love that story, Sandy!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Poor Banjo. Maybe if he could be able to lick a foot next time he will be content and your daughter might be OK with that. Besides her hormones will settle down soon and she may be less anxious. I remember going to a mall with my first son when he was maybe 10 days old. I had to leave because I was so afraid someone would take him : )

[Carol and Banjo]

Why didn't I think of that F?! What is the harm in a little foot licking? Oh, and the hormones!!! Poor DD is awash in them. She's always been extremely sensitive, and is really having a time of adjusting. I can only hug her and reassure her that this too shall pass.

[F, Calla & Luca]

It really is a difficult time and post partum depression is in my mind is a spectrum from merely unpleasant to devastating. so give DD some time but keep an eye on her.

[Carol and Banjo]

Yes, F, I am. She already seems to be turning a corner in a better direction. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I'll second that one. Oh, that was a bad bad time with one of mine. I'd rather be 100 than post partum 

[Doris, Knox & Flash]

Could you tell your DD that you have over 10,000 people waiting for pics of the "Banjo and Aidan Meet and Greet" and see if that helps????  Surely, she'll understand that this event needs to happen soon, lol!