Last night was the first night that I havent slept with the puppies and Momma in the kitchen...LOLOL-yeah I know-Im crazy...LOLOL But I did set the alarm for 4 AM and went to check on them-all was well:) Whoot!!! Momma had gotten out and back in without stepping on them-which means I can leave them now...:)WHOOT!!! But not for long...;)LOLOL-yeah I know...sigh...but thats a Tammy for ya;)
We have had to keep an eye on them as two were very tiny and were getting pushed off Momma by the bigger ones-so we had to make sure those two were each getting their time-now at day 5 they are both filled out nicely like the others....whew....
These next 3 weeks will be time will tell weeks...where anything can happen-so we have to be watchful-Dh and I have told the kids not to pick out favorites for awhile as you never know what could happen...
Im in love with them all-but I think Blacky catches my eye most;)LOLOLOL-yes Dad-he was the littlest.....LOLOLOL
In case any of you are interested Im going to describe the birth ..so you might want to skip this part if you have a sensitive stomach...LOLOL
Labor started in the morning about 10:00 AM -I went into the kitchen and she was visibly having contractions-which really surprised me-as I was thinking her being a first time momma, she would be uncomforteable, and moan etc-but she was calm and such a pro abt everything...
At this time I put her in the whelping room that we had set up for her in the pantry and sat with her-telling her what a good job she was doing and giving her rubs and scratches...:) We sat in there FOREVER-I was scared to leave as I thought any min she could push a pup out, but no...so I sat and sat...and sat...then I started to get really worried thinking it was taking too long and that maybee one was stuck or something-which is a very scary thing-as would have to have a c-section.....so I was worried...and sitting and sitting for a LONG time....
Then Puddin started grunting and pushing harder and harder-and I knew something was coming...but again she was so calm and never growled or whined...what a trooper-eh?
Then out came such a miraculous thing-a little white puppy-looking just like her Daddy. It was a good thing that this first one had no complications as Im not sure how long I sat there with my mouth open in awe at this tiny little miracle...Puddin quickly cleaned up the afterbirth and then proceded to clean up the pup. They are so rough in the cleaning-which is kind of worrying-but good thing I had researched it and this rough treatment and licking and shoving stimulates the pup to take his first breathe-which this little gal did:)
Initially I had decided to tie off the umbilical cord with floss and cut it myself...as Mommas can be too rough and pull off too hard causing a hernia or worse...but no time for such things...LOLOL So I held it abt 2 inches from the pup and let Momma bite up till that point-then I cleaned it up after everything was ok. Puddin during this whole time was going crazy licking up everything she could. So I really had to hurry and deal with the cord after I was sure pup was breathing-as she was licking and going to town...LOLOL.
After I made sure she was breathing-had to suction as she was wheezing....I gave pup a lick of Kyro syrup-which stimulates them and helps their sucking reflexes kick in. Then put her up to Momma and she began to nurse. Soo amazing....Sooo miraculous!!! I cant begin to describe it.....and the sucking noise-adoreable!!!
The next two came pretty much the same way-abt an hr after each other give or take....some where slow to revive and get to breathing-so Id have to take over for Momma-which was way scary as I was holding a life in my hands and it was up to us-ya know...yigh...After each delivery Id let them nurse,-this is when I woudl finally breathe...LOLOL then when pushing started again-they all would be put in the warming box I had made up...then once born they all would be taken out to nurse again on Momma-as this helps with the contractions etc...
The 4th one didnt have such a good outcome. Everything was progressing like normal-and then I saw the water sack( which looked like a bubble)Up until this point all the sacks with previous pups had broken before the birth. So I thought to myself "Okay..this is different." K-girl-we can do it...but pushing...pushing...and pushing...it wouldnt budge.... I feathered, lubbed it up, tried to help-but it wasnt out enough for me to get a grip on it....woulndt budge. :( This is when I seriously started praying that Puddin would be able to get it out ok. I knew something was bad-something wasnt right...that the pup had been in there way too long...but I was helpless to do anything to help her....but finally she pushed him out. After I could get a grip on him-I helped her. He was really long-alot longer than the others-which explained why Puddin had such a hard time with it...He was listless, not moving-despite licks and licks from Puddin-so I took over and tried to revive him-nothing worked. The poor little guy sat there gasping for breath....which told me he had swallowed too much fluid being in the canal too long...so we aspirated, swung him like I had been shown to do, rubbed and rubbed.Gave moth to mouth...anything....
Stinger was helping me through all of this-as soon as he knew Puddin was delivering he wanted in there to help. So we both tried and tried and before we knew it another pup was pushing out and had to be looked to.
We tried for abt an hr trying to revive that little guy-but he didnt make it:( It was SOOOO sad.....I get teary eyed thinking about it agn....but another pup had to be looked to-so we had to go on.....:(I keep telling myself maybee if we had worked longer...harder...he would have made it...maybee it was my fault...? But at any rate-we buried him out under our big oak tree-and I know he is up there in Heaven playing and having fun-this is what I told the kids and it put a big smile on their faces:)as it did mine:)
The next 4 had to come from the other horn-so it took awhile again to get them all lined up I guess....Puddin took a nap and was cool as a cucumber...LOLOL and once they did-they came every hour again...
We didnt finish until abt 5:30 in the morning....yigh....we were all pooped. Everyone went to bed before she was done except for me-and then the kids woke up and took a shift watching at 8 when they woke up and let me sleep for abt an hr...LOLOL That was very nice-eh?LOLOLOL
Dh has such a queezy stomach-so he didnt watch much-but hes been loving on the pups and puddin now....LOLOLOL
Puddin wouldnt leave them to go bathroom or anything for the first day, now she is leaving them for longer periods of time...and she gets nervous and checks on them when they wine. Shes a fantastic Momma. She wont even go back into the whelping box until I have moved them all over as she might step on them:)
For the first 48 hrs she had a very black/green discharge-totally freaked me out...as I thought it was an infection from a retained placenta(which they can die from)but its now just red/brown and getting lighter every day-and this will go on for abt 2-3 weeks-poor puddin-confined to the kitchen...
Puddin has her appetite back times 3-4!!LOLOLOL
She also takes them one by one and cleans them inbetween her front paws-but then they cant get back to her teats -so Ive got to check on them to make sure none have found their way behind her( as they cant find their way back) or that she isnt laying on them in the front there...LOLOLOL, listening for cries of distress...etc..
I tried to mark teh tips of their tails with dif color markers-but Puddin would have none of it-and she licked it all off..so the brown ones are hard to tell apart, but the white ones arent-we have a 1 spot, 2 spot, 3 spot, no spot,...LOLOL
Ive also been keeping a careful eye on weight gains of the pups-and have been having to limit our pudgy ones until the smaller ones have been on for a bit. One little guy we have is sooooo pudgy...LOLOl-and he just loves to crawl under them all when they are all lined up nursing and pushes whoever is in his way off the teat so he can have it...LOLOL-hes a character-I tell ya...
They are so fun to watch-they grunt, cry, scream, make the cutest sucking noises-Im soo in love-Im not going to want to get rid of them-I know it!!!!
And Momma Puddin is doing her motherly duties wonderfully. She cleans them to stimulate them to go bathroom-and she will clean that up too-for the first 3 weeks anyway-until she starts to wean....and they start to eat kibble-Boy-wish I had had that service for my 3!!LOLOLOLOL
Im a Proud Doggie Grandma!!!:)I cant wait till their eyes open(7-10 days)Ill take close ups of them all individually so you can get a better look:).
We have also bough a pen from our neighboor-so when they grow and are all roudy we can put them outside-that will be so nice for them:)