Welcome, Baby Wallaby!

After 6 weeks of waiting, October 4th was a very special day. We had the privilege of welcoming Baby Wallaby into our care. He was born in August, and we were chosen to be his caretaker. We are very blessed to have him and his family join our daily life in the den.

One of the things we enjoyed the most was being involved in Wallaby's life even before he was born. We counted down the days excitedly until his arrival, and we were thrilled to get a picture of newborn Wallaby the day he was born. We also met him in person a week before he started care and bonded with him right away.

Wallaby is very little, has big expressive eyes, adorable dimples, and loves to be in a front pack. Thus, we felt it very fitting that we chose an animal name with a pouch! The name Wallaby seems to fit him just right in my honest opinion. He is a very good baby, and we are enjoying his cuddles and sweet baby smell.

Otter's impression of the baby has been to continually point at him and say "baby" and then nod his head up and down knowing that he's communicating at deep levels with us. Kitten has noticed the baby, but is too preoccupied with other things to pay attention.  Meerkat, on the other hand, has had a bit of a different reaction. Let's just say he's a bit jealous, and we've had to give him lots of extra TLC.

The first day we cared for Wallaby, I was holding both Meerkat and the baby in the rocking chair. Out of the blue, Meerkat placed his hand on the baby and said "shoo, baby". He tends to need "Miss Kanna" a bit more these days, and I often end up with Meerkat and Wallaby in my arms at the same time. Recently Meerkat has warmed up to Wallaby and now insists that he "hold, baby! hold, baby!" with my help.

Rabbit has been wonderful in helping me care for Baby Wallaby. She insisted on doing most of the bottle feedings the first few days and also gave K-Bird a time limit when she asked to hold him. Her excitement has calmed down a bit since then and now K-Bird, Rabbit, and Kangaroo are each enjoying their special moments of holding Baby Wallaby. He's definitely a keeper in our home, and we are very thankful for the opportunity to care for this new little blessing.