Baby Jack Came to Visit

I am sorry that I have not been very active in the blogosphere lately. We had a special visit from our five months old grandson Jack. Our son Jacob, his wife Ashley and baby Jack came to visit us last Thursday and they left Monday night and during that time I mostly ignored the blogosphere but now I am back. With this post I thought I would display a few baby photos. First there are a few photos from our visit to Baltimore to see baby Jacka couple of months ago and then the rest of the photos were taken during their visit to us here in Dallas, which took place during the last few days.

There are three photos. On the left is our son Jacob with baby Jack on his shoulders, top right our grandson Jack in the sofa, and bottom right Jacob and Ashley with newborn Jack.
Our son Jacob, his wife Ashley and our grandson at about 3 months old. In the bottom right photo, he is newborn.
A photo of a three months old baby sitting in the corner of a sofa.
Jack in the sofa. Three months old.
A photo of the three of us sitting in the sofa. Baby Jack is sitting on the right. He is wearing a Pajamas.
My wife Claudia is on the left, I am in the middle and Jack is on the right.
Our daughter is sitting in a swing holding baby Jack.
First photo from the last few days. Our daughter with baby Jack at five months old. This photo is from the past weekend when they visited us. That’s here in Dallas, Texas.

A Challenge for Dr. Pooper

It was a challenging few days for our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo. Dogs being jealous of a baby is a very real thing. I’ve read that dogs don’t see us the same as a pack of dogs but something better than a pack, care takers and family. They typically prefer their human family over a pack of dogs. They understand the difference between dogs and people. Rollo does not really try to be a pack leader, but he cherishes his position as the baby in the family, and suddenly here comes a human baby out of nowhere.

The human baby gets lots of attention, he sits in a stroller just like Rollo sometimes did in the past, people use a baby voice when they talk to the human baby, like they do with him, and on top of it I called baby Jack, Rollo, instead of Jack several times. I can add that I recently also mixed up the cats Charlee and Chaplin on another blog. Rollo felt that things were taken from him and he growled at the baby a couple of times.

The photo shows a mini-Australian Shepherd sitting in a stroller.
Sometimes there are scary sounds and Rollo wanted to sit in the stroller we bought for our Pug Daisy. We have not been using that stroller since Daisy passed.

So, what we did was to pay a lot of attention to Rollo, making sure we did not exclude him, and we gave him treats every time he was in the same room as the baby. It turned out that this worked very well. This was something our daughter had looked up. Well, now when Jack has gone back to Baltimore, Rollo is back to being the supreme baby of the family, or the King of Texas if you will. Below are a couple of photos of Rollo in his new cap or coat, Dr. Pooper, a sort of advertisement for a Texas soda called Dr. Pepper. It was just for fun and he did not mind.

Our mini-Australian Shepherd is sitting on the floor. He is wearing his Dr. Pooper cap. The photo is from the side.
Rollo in his Dr. Pooper cap.
Our mini-Australian Shepherd is sitting on the floor. He is wearing his Dr. Pooper cap. The photo is from the back.
Rollo in his Dr. Pooper cap.

Baby Jack Photos

Our son standing by a pool and holding baby Jack.
Our son with his son, baby Jack.
My wife is holding a very happy baby Jack.
My wife Claudia and baby Jack.
I am standing in front of a pool holding a happy baby Jack.
Me and baby Jack.
Our daughter is standing and holding baby Jack.
Our daughter and baby Jack.
Baby Jack is sitting in a black stroller. He is laughing.
Baby Jack in a stroller.
Baby Jack is sitting in a black stroller. He is laughing.
Baby Jack in a stroller.
Baby Jack is sitting in a black stroller. He is smiling.
Baby Jack in a stroller.
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Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

51 thoughts on “Baby Jack Came to Visit”

  1. Thomas, you’re allowed to go awol for such a special young man and your family! 😀😀 Wow! Jack has grown in the two months since you saw him last and his happy, loving , and bubbly personality shines through. Bless, poor Rollo growing a bit envious of all the attention but glad your daughter’s treat trick worked so well. I laughed as you mixed up their names and bet that confused Rollo even more! Also, loved seeing the sunshine in your photos – we’ve forgotten that it exists! 😀

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    1. Thank you so much Annika. You are right Jack is getting big quickly. He is in 98% in lenght. 98% of babies his age are shorter. He is a bit plump too, so he is a big baby. Like you say he smiles and laughs very easily. Yes my daughters trick worked very well. I am so glad she read about it before hand. You may think it doesn’t matter but dogs can actually feel threatened by little thing getting all the attention. I noticed that Rollo paid special attention to what I was doing so calling baby Jack “Rollo” was not genius. However, I think we were able to assure him that baby Jack was not taking his place.

      It was sunshine most of the time they were here but today we had (well still have) a severe thunderstorm. I just saw one of the biggest lightning streaks I’ve ever seen. Several streaks going across the entire sky in all directions, like spidernet of fire across the sky.

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    1. Thank you so much Lynette. Yes we had a great visit. It was wonderful to see baby Jack, my son and Ashley. They came to see us even though flying with a baby is not easy. It turns out he was pretty good though.

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  4. Wonderful that you can visit with little Jack, and see your daughter and son in law often. Your grandson looks so cute with that grin and twinkling eyes. I’ll just bet he is thinking up lots of mischief to keep everyone on their toes! 🙂

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    1. Thank you so much Barbara. Yes it was a wonderful visit. We’ve visited them two times, but it is very special when they come and visit us. It is not easy to fly with a baby. (He was good though). He is a very happy baby. Speaking about mischief, my son told me that sometimes he wakes up at 3AM, he coos and babbles, and blows bubbles prrthshthth, the proot, there comes a fart with associated delivery and he has to change his diaper. My son said he thinks this is insulting.

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    1. Thank you so much Kymber. You are right they change quickly and time flies. It was not too long ago he was born and now he is five months and is starting to transition from breast milk and formula into soft foods like pear sauce and sweet potatoes. Before we know it is walking around talking and insulting us.

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    1. Thank you so much for your very kind words David. Yes, it is important that the baby and the dog get along and not allowing Rollo to be consumed by jealousy is important. My daughter’s idea with the treats and extra attention for Rollo when around the baby was a great idea she found online.

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  7. This post is adorable all the way around! 😀 Baby Jack has the cutest smile – such a happy boy. And Rollo looks adorable in his Dr. Pooper outfit. I’m glad he got over his jealousy of the baby.

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    1. Thank you so much Debbie. Jack is a happy baby and smiles and laughs easily, which makes taking photos easier. My daughter’s idea (which she looked up online) to give Rollo special attention and treats around the baby really worked well. That a dog becomes jealous of a baby is very natural, and you have to mitigate it, not shame them for a feeling that is very human, I mean very doggy.

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    1. Thank you for your kind words Jan. Yes we’ve visited then twice but coming to visit us is special. It is very difficult to fly with a baby. You are right baby Jack is a happy baby, maybe because I am the grandfather (haha that was a joke).

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    1. Thank you so much Robbie. That a dog becomes jealous of a baby is very natural, and you have to mitigate it, not shame them for a feeling that is very human/doggy. My daughter’s plan worked very well.

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  15. Jack’s gorgeous! Lovely photos of him in the stroller. Yes, dogs can get jealous of babies sometimes and feel left out. It’s always difficult to balance. Maya was fascinated by a three month old little boy in the coffee shop who was equally fascinated with her. Apparently they have a shepherd too so the baby wasn’t intimidated by Maya’s size when she licked his little hands. It was so sweet!

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    1. Thank you so much for your kindness Di. I think that the fact that a dog becomes jealous of a baby is very natural, and you have to mitigate it, not shame them for a feeling that is very human/doggy. My daughter’s plan worked very well. I should say that baby Jack was interested in Rollo because they don’t have a dog. I think it is better that way. They should wait with a dog until he is older. It is very interesting story about Maya and three months old baby. The more I learn about Maya the more I realize that she is a very good dog.

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      1. Thanks Thomas. We are truly blessed with Maya, and always encourage interaction with parental approval and guidance. We never push, but if a child, or anyone, shows an interest in wanting to say Hello to her, we allow it under supervision.
        So many people have had bad experiences with big dogs, not just shepherds, but Maya has helped a few realise they’re not all bad.

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        1. That is so amazing. Maya is wonderful and a great ambassdor for German Shepherds. I think our Leonberger Bronco was the same way but we’ve had dogs that we were afraid of letting close to children and we even have friends of ours who had a bad accident. A pitbull who attacked a toddler taking his food. In this case the parents weren’t watching. They realized they could not keep the dog but luckily the wife’s father could take the dog.

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          1. I’m glad the pitbull could be rehomed. I would never leave a dog unattended or alone with a child. Too much of an unpredictable scenario.
            My shepherd Kizzy was a softee though. She would sit close to my niece at the dinner table, knowing she would get something edible thrust in her face by tiny hands. My brother had three kids under five when he took us in, and they all tried to ride her like a motor bike. She was a rescue, so circumstances were different and I was very careful. Maya just loves people, though not keen on smokers, drinkers, or those wearing strong perfumes.

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            1. I agree. My wife and I thought they were not being very responsible, but we didn’t tell them. Kizzy sounds like a wonderful dog and Maya of course. I can understand why Maya are not keen on smokers, drinkers, and strong parfumes. Their noses are so sensitive and those smells aren’t very natural.

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              1. Maggie didn’t like smokers either. A dog’s sense of smell is amazing isn’t it! We open the fridge and Maya’s there……….. cheese or yogurt anyone?
                Kizzy was lovely, but very nervous which is why I didn’t leave her behind. I lost her to mammary cancer when she was 10, so I like to think she had five good years with me.

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  16. What beautiful photos, and babies are always so much fun! I’m so glad you had baby jack visiting for almost a week! Did you think he’d grown a lot since you last saw him? They grow so much and so fast! Xx

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words carol Anne. Yes I think he growing fast. We’ve visted them twice and now they came to visit us, which was really nice. It is not easy to fly with a baby. He is currently in the 98 percentile in length (taller than 98% of babies his age). He is a big baby and he is growing fast. You can’t predict his future length based on the length at this age, but if it keeps up he’ll end up being very tall.

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    1. Thank you so much Pete. I can imagine that watching your son evolving into a loving father is wonderful. It looks the same for us. It is great that you get to see them at the end of March. I wish you a wonderful visit.

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  20. Oh My Goodness! Baby Jack is beautiful, huggable, and his smile – wow! What a blessing to have your daughter and family visit. I can imagine that Dr. Pooper was a bit out of sorts — he’s used to the spotlight and realizes it’s impossible to compete with precious Jack. Thank you for sharing your family gathering with readers. ❤️

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    1. Thank you so much Gwen for your very kind words. He is a happy baby. It is important to make Rollo feel part of it and that there is no competition with the baby. My daughter looked it up and based on what she found we comforted him, paid attention to him, and gave him a treat everytime he was in the same room as the baby. That seemed to work. His initial jealousy of the baby subsided.

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  22. Baby Jack is such a jolly fellow. Looks like you had a great visit. Thanks for the pictures. Poor Rollo, he thought the baby was replacing him. He look cute in his Dr. Pooper outfit!

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