Adventure: Bringing Her Home. Car Seat, Driving, and Introducing Her to the Pups

Bringing her home was very exciting. As soon as the docs said we could go we sprung into action. By this time, I had already been taking things home and to the truck every time I went, so leaving was simple and clean. Before leaving, the nurses made sure we passed our car seat test and baby was safe as can be. Even though my wife and I had practiced putting the doll in the car seat many times, and I read the entire car seat manual twice, we still managed to need a little help. Thankfully the nurse checking had been doing this for more than twenty years, so we were in good hands. After we were all in the truck, we were on our way. Our first car ride as a family. In movies, this is always portrayed as a slow stressful drive for Dad, and I can understand why, my entire world was in the back seat. But I made sure to just focus on driving and that made it a bit easier. Yes, she did cry almost the entire ride, but I knew my job was to get my family home safely, so that’s what I did. Thankfully for me, it was early Sunday evening so traffic was smooth and there were very little cars on the road. We got home safe and sound, and now it was time to introduce our pups to their new human! To be honest my wife and I were both a little nervous for this moment. I let my wife go in first to say “hi” to the dogs. After three and a half days of waiting, they were ecstatic to see her. A few moments later, I came in with baby still in her car seat. By this time, she had calmed down and dozed off. We let them sniff the seat before putting it down. Once they saw her they were excited but calm. They didn’t try to jump all over her or bark at her. All they wanted to do was sniff her and give her kisses. Ferb is a major kisser, so we had to limit him to just feet kisses. All in all, I was happy with the introduction and they have been so good with her since. They even go to check on her when she cries. I think it’s safe to say that she is officially a part of the pack. Tips & Lessons Learned: - Take things to the car/Home anytime you make the trip. It will make leaving much easier. - Be familiar with your car seat ahead of time. The more familiar the better. - Take Home a swaddle or shirt that your baby was wearing ahead of time. Allow your pups to sniff it and get used to the scent. - If you’re the one driving, just focus on driving. Don’t go extra slow, and don’t speed either. Just nice and steady with traffic.