Oscar and his Baby Sister

All things considered, Oscar is doing very well at adjusting to having baby Nora in the house.

While we were in the hospital with Nora, Oscar was staying with Billy's Aunt Nancy, as he always does when we are away.  After our two night stay, she let us know that he had been acting like he was in pain, and that day he seemed to be having a particularly bad time.  Billy brought him home, and though he was better at our house, something was clearly wrong with him.  We had to wait until the vet opened the following day for them to see him, and it was hard on us to see him having such a hard time on Nora's first day at home.  The vet visit revealed that he slipped a disc in his back, so he has been on a steroid and muscle relaxer regimen ever since, though he is almost finished with the medications.  He's had a few setbacks, but overall he seems to be feeling better.  He seems older to us, though, and his days of going up and down the stairs might be over.

This has made it hard to tell if he is melancholy because he doesn't feel well or if it is bothering him that he is not getting as much attention as he is used to receiving.  In either case, he has been really great with Nora.  At first, every noise she made piqued his attention and he got very upset anytime she cried.  Now he is pretty used to her noises, but he still comes into the nursery to investigate when she starts to wail while getting her diaper changed.  We've noticed that he is a bit protective of her in other ways, too.  A few times when other family members have been holding her near the door, he seems to be standing guard to make sure they don't take her away.  He likes to come lay near us or on our legs when we are holding Nora, and though he sometimes sniffs her, he hasn't tried to bother her at all.

I keep promising him that when she gets big enough, Nora is going to give him enough attention to make up for the attention she's stealing right now.  I sure hope his back continues to heal and he continues to feel better, though, because it makes me sad to see him sad and I miss my rambunctious, stubborn little buddy.