Ten Weeks Old and Already Binkying: First Days Home
She came home Saturday, ten weeks old, tiny and brave. This is the arrival log: hour by hour Saturday, then day by day through the first week, every first catalogued. Personal new-arrival journal, not care advice; for settling, feeding, or health I follow my vet. Fast bonding is luck plus calm. I keep visits short and sweet.
Saturday: arrival day, hour by hour
10:00 carrier home, placed inside the pen, door opened, retreat behind me. 10:20 first nose out. 11:00 first steps, hallway patrol of the pen perimeter. 12:30 first hay nibble (flower heads, of course). 14:00 first drink, I nearly cheered, didn’t (quiet!). 16:00 first flop, half-hearted, up again in a minute. 18:00 greens offered, sniffed, saved for later. 19:30 lights low, hide occupied, day one complete. By day three I saw my first live binkies and almost melted. She boops my face and purrs when petted, day three’s entry, underlined three times.
My baby-week setup
- Small pen first, bigger space later, pen 120 cm with hide, hay, water; room access day 5
- Floor cuddles only, no high lifting, carrier moves at knee height, hands as furniture
- Log firsts: first binky, first flop, first kiss, dated, photographed, starred
Day five: the everything day
Second binky, first flop, first time falling asleep on my chest. Morning: full-pen zoomies, 4 laps. Noon: chest nap, 20 minutes, my arm asleep, my heart full. Evening: face boop delivered deliberately, purr with petting confirmed twice. Desensitizing to being picked up slowly: lift an inch, treat, down, three reps, no struggle, filed as training not trick. She is brave and I am melted. Bunny lottery, won. Week-one totals: 7 days, 9 firsts, 40 photos, 1 tiny brave girl fully home. The binkies started day three and never really stopped; the diary simply learned to keep up.
Firsts ledger: the complete week
Saturday: arrival, first nose, first steps, first hay. Sunday: first patrol, first water, first poops-counted-normal. Monday: first binky (mini, mid-tunnel, melted), first face boop. Tuesday: first flop (half-hearted, 60 seconds), first purr (during cheek rub, confirmed twice). Wednesday: first tunnel marathon (6 laps counted), first willow-ball dismissal (sniffed, rejected, willow ball humbled). Thursday: first chest nap (20 minutes, arm sacrificed gladly). Friday: first morning greeting (waiting at corner, graduation day). Nine firsts in seven days, each starred in the margin. Photo ledger: 40 frames week one, keepers 21, gallery stars 3. The brave girl filed under: home.
Slow handling course, week one syllabus
Lift-an-inch-treat-down, three reps daily, logged like lessons: day 3 tolerated, day 4 relaxed, day 5 sleepy-eyed during (honors). Floor cuddles only otherwise, chest naps count as floor (my floor, elevated by breathing). Picking up reserved for carrier moves, carrier at knee height, blanket inside. The course graduates to week two: second inch, longer holds, same treats. Patience syllabus shared with the resident bunny’s scent-cloth introductions (sniffed day 6, flopped beside day 7, the senior approves, probably). Ten weeks old and already teaching: bravery is curiosity plus safety, and home is a pen with the door open. Bunny lottery: won, claimed, cuddled.
Graduation report, day 7 evening: morning greeting delivered (waiting at corner, honors), tunnel marathon repeated (8 laps, personal best), chest nap requested on schedule (granted, arm sacrificed again). Week-one diploma issued: home. The brave girl sleeps in the hide tonight with the door of the pen open and the whole room available, trust extended, space earned. Photo of the week: Disney profile, printed, wall-bound. Reserve album: 19 keepers filed by day. Next week’s syllabus: full room access, scent-cloth diplomacy with the resident, second-inch handling. Ten weeks old, home seven days, already family. The diary turns the page; the binkies continue.
New-owner notes for the file (mine, week one, unedited advice to self): prepare the pen before the carrier opens, done, worked. Sit more than you handle, done, worked. Photograph everything, 231 frames, zero regrets. Count poops without shame, normal from day two, relief immense. Let the tunnel do the entertaining, 6 laps day three, best show free. Trust the brave girl, she knew home before I finished unpacking it. Ten weeks old, three days to first binky, seven to belonging. The fastest settling in diary history, credited to calm plus luck in that order.
Epilogue, week two day one: full room granted at noon, patrol completed by 12:20, flop by 13:00, the fastest territory claim on record. Scent-cloth exchange with the resident upgraded to shared hay pile (supervised, peaceful, historic). Handling course week two: second inch achieved, sleepy eyes again. The brave girl now answers to her name, or to the hay bag, still under review which. Either way she comes running.
First-week diploma: curiosity honors, bravery distinction, tunnel mastery. The pen door stays open from here, graduate at large in the room, supervised loosely, beloved completely. Orientation complete; residency begins.
Belonging: confirmed, starred, framed.
Week one complete; home confirmed in triplicate: nose, flop, greeting.
Home.
Tiny, brave, home, ten weeks old and already belonging completely.
Binkying daily.
Melted completely. Home.Next in this chapter…
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