I've never been a person who's fond of babies,that's the honest simple truth. I understand that the miracle of birth is something magical and wonderful but my observation is that what follows usually is the stuff not quite of nightmares but certainly that of very bad dreams. Late night duties attending to baby's cries,cleaning up poopy and all just didn't appeal to me at all. This is why deep down I've always had respect for people who love babies and love to care for them,but I just told myself that it wasn't for me. I admit this is one reason why marriage is not something I would ever consider,I just don't feel I am ready nor do I want the responsibility,nay,burden of being a parent.
On 2nd March,2013 at 3:15 AM,my dog gave birth to 6 beautiful pups and for me this is the 2nd time that a dog I'm raising has given birth. The first instance was way back in 1998 and back then I was too young to understand the responsibilities and my family did an excellent job in raising the pups. My ony part was to play with them till they were only enough to move to new homes. This time though has been very different. Right from the onset,I guess my dog has very little maternal instinct,I had to care for them from the moment they were born. Removing them from the amniotic sac,snipping off the umbilical cord and even caring for the bleeding were the stuff I was required to do. Since then,the responsibility hasn't eased off. Some are unable to find their mother,some are unable to find a place to suckle in the crowd and at times some crawl away from the enclosure and everytime any of these happens,all they can do,bless their little hearts,is to let out a cry. It's become something my ears instinctively wait for and the moment I hear it,irrespective of what I'm doing,whether reading,eating,working or at times even sleeping I find that my first reaction is to jump to my feet and see what is going on. Last night alone I was woken up 8 times in my sleep from 12 AM-6 AM and when I looked at myself in the mirror,I had around 4-5 bags under my eyes :D
But I've realized one thing,caring for them isn't a burden at all,in fact I enjoy it immensely. When I see them sprawled out on their space,soundly sleeping,somehow deep inside my heart just glows.They are the most beautiful things I have seen in a long time and a source of so much joy. It made me realize that this is probably what parents feel when they look at their baby. So I guess in many ways,nursing these pups has made me realize babies may not be too bad after all especially if the baby's mine :)
