I have to give credit to.....

our beautiful, lovely, quirky, eldest dog Lola. 

Lola has been in our family for over 5 years!  We adopted her a few months after we moved to Atlanta.  I wrote a blog about her here. 

Now Jacob and I allow both of our dogs to sleep on the bed with us.  This normally means they sleep at our feet so it is not that big of a deal.  But when my stomach started growing and I was no longer allowed to sleep on my stomach, I started having trouble getting comfortable to sleep.  One night I woke up to feel Lola stretched up next to my back.  At first I was upset that she was sleeping up by our heads, but then I relaxed my back, and she allowed me to put all of my weight on her. 

This came as a surprise. Lola is a bit quirky when it comes to being touched, especially in bed.  She is not the kind of dog you can push you feet underneath to warm them, as she hates to have anything touch her back.  She will immediately snap up, give you a dirty look, and lay down somewhere else.  She also hates for us to hug her close, or really touch her anytime she isn't expecting it.  She loves to cuddle, but her kind of cuddle is to lay across the top of your lap, and we are only to pet her head and belly.  She will get up in a huff if you don't follow the rules.

But that night she had wedged herself up against my back almost as if she knew my back needed the support.  I was so thankful for the relief that I didn't even say anything to her about laying up by our heads.  I slept the rest of the night.  Waking up refreshed I told Jacob about Lola almost just understanding what I needed.

Well since that night Lola has found her way back up against my back.  She doesn't mind when I literally put all of my weight on her.  I actually think she expects it.  She doesn't mind when I wake up at least 5-6 times a night to switch position, and try to get comfortable.  There have even been a couple of nights I have physically moved her, and she went with the flow. 

Now I could say this is just Lola becoming less high strung in her older age, or I can try to comprehend that this dog has a connection with exactly what I need in this time of my body changing.  I have always felt that dogs are extremly in tune with their owners and I think this is one of those times. 

I don't think I would wake up refreshed if it wasn't for this sweet girl taking on my extra weight.  So thank you Lola, for more than you will ever understand.