One Week

Mom and babies are still doing really well here. Between the kids' flu and the puppies I am doing a lot of laundry! Thankfully Molly really does all the work for the babies. She has eaten more food and water in the past two weeks than she did in six months previous. She looks great. Coat is nice and shiny and she seems happy.

The babies are nursing less and sleeping longer making it possible for Molly to leave them more often. We even went for a good long walk yesterday. We are starting to see more differences in both size and coloring in the babies. The smallest is a little girl called "Mo" and the largest is the last born, "Little guy". One of these days I will get ribbons on them so we they are easier to identify in pictures. The kids can tell them all apart at a glance.

For now we are just waiting for their little bright eyes to open!

Day three

Our house has been struck with the flu which is keeping me pretty busy around here. Molly keeps pulling the bedding into big nest-like piles and I have been finding trapped puppies all day. I got up several times last night ( I couldn't breathe thanks to sickness!!) and I could hear whining and I was worried that someone was trapped. "Underdog" managed to get himself wrapped in an elastic under the pad that Molly keeps dragging into the box. Thankfully no harm done. Tonight I took the big heavy piece of cardboard out of the bottom and wrapped the blanket around it so hopefully Molly can't get it up (thanks for the idea Tiff!). And I did a thorough check for any other strangle hazards.

The puppies are at day three so we started the "bio-sensor" program which was developed by the government to develop healthy and highly trainable dogs. Each of the boys will take two of the pups (with my supervision) and go through the program one time per day. We will start with only one second per stimulation for now. The each have names (of course!) according to their markings.

Molly has been a great mom and has proven her gentle temperament yet again. My friend had puppies a few months ago and her dog bit every one of her kids when they got to close to the puppies. Molly hasn't growled or snapped or anything of that nature. She definitely gets agitated if we take the puppies out and she hops right out to make sure she knows where each one is. She seems to be ravenously hungry even with her puppy chow and water right next to her box. I gave her a packet of wet food tonight and she loved it. I think we'll keep it up until she's done nursing.

We have babies!

We have six cute little, wiggly, squeaky babies. Four girls and two boys. Labor and delivery went great. Molly started panting on Friday night. She was clearly in early labor all day Saturday as she could barely walk up and down the stairs without her belly rubbing. She kept asking to get up on my bed--a place she is not usually allowed--and she wanted to be scratched constantly. I have to admit that I gave in to the little cutie. Who can resist those big puppy eyes at a moment like this?



I originally planned to let Molly whelp the puppies in my room where she is most comfortable but she wasn't interested in the box we prepared. I still wasn't sure exactly when the pups would come and I fell asleep at about 1 am. I woke up with a start at 3:30 to the surprising sound of three squeaky little baby girls. Molly took it upon herself to "nest" in the big bean bag in the downstairs family room. Unfortunately this was fatal to the life of the bean bag which is now on its way to the dump. I of course woke the kids (Dallin was awake and waiting for me--Benson stayed asleep.) We tried to move Molly to our prepared box but she seemed to become disoriented and very anxious so I just put down some towels and flattened out a big spot and let her do her thing in her chosen spot.

I am a mother of five and a registered nurse. I was sure that Molly would require my expertise in the birthing department. I had my scissors and pads and towels and bulb syringe all ready. I have once again been humbled by the beauty of Mother Nature. I quickly realized that Molly was completely in control and required very little help from me. In fact it turned out that I was the nervous momma. We helped a little by trimming the umbilical cords and keeping the tiny ones warm while she took care of each new arrival but that's about it.

The pups had all clearly arrived by about six. I smoothed out the bed turned off the lights and cleaned Molly a bit. I took my little ones back up to their much needed beds and everyone promptly fell into happy "puppy dream" sleep. I threw away all the icky pads and put a load of towels and blankets into the washer. Molly settled down with all six squeaking pups. They each found a spot to nurse and quieted right down. Molly looked up at me with half closed eyes and curled around the babes and went peacefully sound asleep.

I was truly amazed to witness the beauty of life. What a pleasure.

Nesting.

Saturday, February 15, 2008



Molly has apparently taken it upon herself to make a suitable whelping box. I put the little boys' blankets and sheets in the wash and Molly completely tore up the mattress pad and wound everything up into a big nest. ugg. She is looking giant and is definitely uncomfortable. We are at day 62 so we should have pups any time. She started panting last night which kept me up half the night wondering if she needed my help.

The clock is ticking...

Thursday, February 13, 2008

We are down to the last 48 hours or so before puppy day. Molly is bigger every day and definitely feeling the drain of a belly full of babies. Like a true pregnant girl she spends most of the day hanging out on her favorite spot on the couch with her feet in the air. The kids get a kick out of feeling the kicks and trying to guess how many pups we will get. We have just a few last details to finish with our whelping box and supplies. The kids are out of school for the next three days so I am sure to have lots of "helpers." Can't wait!