28 hours later and one vet trip later

we have made it through the first 24 hours! good job boys. we packed up and drove over to angell memorial vet hospital to check out little "spot" who has not seemed to get a hang of eating. we were all thoroughly checked over and sent home. the nice doctor said that "spot" would be better off at home with less chance of catching an illness in the hospital seeing he is so very young. i bought a new formula and he seems to enjoy it more then the one the others are drinking. we are crossing our fingers. he is a strong little guy and trying to catch up! two of the boys weight 14 ounces and the other weights 11 ounces. i let the two strong ones have sometime with penelope and she did great with them - she even let them nurse.

here are some new pictures from today:

the three amigos

penelope was not quite ready to have three little ones feeding off of her. might be her lack of mothering knowledge and her being so young herself --- but those little ones needed to be feed. there was alot of sad cries and struggle to latch on with no success. penelope was a little to aggressive for me --- a little bowl of ice cream and she was lured away from the babies looking to get warm and feed.

i snuggled them into the waiting basket with the heating pad on and the warm blankets. brought them upstairs to waiting bottles of "just born" formula. we fed the smallest one first [2nd born/spud spot] and he struggled. the second to try was the first born and she did great. i then tried the 2nd born again and he ended up eating the most out of all three [3/4 oz]. the third to try was the 3rd born and there was no interest at all.

and of course we have pictures to mark the moment!

Third Born

First BornSecond Born

three boys

no pictures yet but

there is a third puppy here!

there here!

well penelope was looking like she might have the babies tonight -- so i went upstairs to change out of my "good" sweater and within the 5 mins i was gone puppy number one was born! penelope took such good care of her or him, i haven't been able to get close enough to see.

while puppy number one was getting all warmed up -- penelope let out a bg welp! puppy number two was so eager to come that he literally "shot" out with little to no warning. he [i think] has no birth sak around him and no imbilacal cord. not sure what to think about this, medically?? he is a little bit of a runt. took a while for penelope to take of him because she was worried about the first but they are all snuggled up together now!

here are some pictures! enjoy.

I think she is as ready as I am for these babies to come!

Just got home from an hour and a half walk. Bumpping into our regulars who always ask and are now wondering when the wait will be over. I can't wait to walk Mom, Dad and babies - what a sight that will be!

Here are some pictures from tonight. She now looks at the camera with that "Ugh What is going on here!"

false alarm

false labor ... now its just a waiting game!

I did my own nesting ...

today i spent all day getting the basement ready for the puppies [and myself seeing i'll be down there alot]. no progress on penelopes end ... this is taking longer then i thought but i guess 12-24 hrs from the time she hits 98 degrees so the fireworks might come in the morning. penelope spend the day very calm and rested most of the time. i know she is relaxed because i was able to take her temprature today with no struggle - usually it is a wrestling match to get it taken. posting a few photos of the set up i have for all of us. i think i have everything needed for the big moment and the days to follow.

10:15 pm

This is about the time I noticed Penelope was not acting like herself. Panting, pacing and restless. She would go in and out of her crate where she has built a nest for her puppies [awhh] and would not let me put my hand in there. Very protective. I went around collecting all the supplies I had bought and made a list of the things I still needed to get thinking I had till next week. Drive to the 24 hour cvs and grabbed the last few items. My sweet mom sat with Penelope, who just needed comfort, while I got everything together and I took a quick shower. Ready for the long night ahead. I ended up sleeping with her in the whelping box till about 3am. She had calmed down and fell asleep. I took this chance to sleep in a bed for the rest of the night checking on her every two hours. YAWN. Penelope went outside after waking up at 8:30am. Very Rainy morning. Penelope was able to wait till morning to go outside which I am very proud of. Thank You. Sitting in her whelping box she is very snappy, I think due to the onset of labor pain. I brought her food down and usually she is jumping to get at it. This morning no interest at all. Fifteen minutes later she ate a nibble. Surprisingly she ended up eating it all! After a trip to CVS last night for last minute supplies I need to go to the pet store to get milk replacer. This is for hand feeding the puppies in case Penelope is not able to do it herself. I also need to get a baby monitor so if tonight is another repeat of last night I don't have to go down every two hours just listen in! Her temp dropped to 99.3 which anything under 100 indicates the onset of labor - while 98 degrees tells us she is ready!!

Finally It's Built ....

So with Penelope's temprature dropping, 98 degrees means I have 12-24 hrs before labor, I rushed home from work to get the whelping box built. I had already bought the supplies but half way through needed to run to Home Depot for more braces for the edges. Turned out really good, in my opinion! Penelope seems to like it. It will be where she spends time with her babies. It had to be big enough for an adult [umm me] to sit inside with her and the puppies. The last thing I need to do is screw dowel rods along the inside. This prevents the chance of a puppy getting trapped underneath Penelope she happens to lean up against the side.

We are just days away!!