HANG IN THERE WEE FLINT

I took Flint to the Emergency Vet earlier on this evening (6 pm), and I was told the only thing we can do for him is try and give him a bottle every 2 hours, so, I've been doing just that. 

The vet gave Flint an injection of Vitamin B 12 to give him a boost, and a calcium supplement for Coco, which will benefit the pups.
Fingers crossed that helps.

By about 8 pm last night I was feeling REALLY sick, most likely due to a combination of tiredness, not taking my anti-depressants and fear for Flint, so I left the pups in the care of Stew, Steve and Bex and went to bed.
They let me sleep until 11.30 pm, so I'm feeling a bit better now.

FLINT:  has had a few feeds from Coco and is looking a little better, though I am NOT counting my chickens with this little puppy.  He's got a long way to go before I will be more relaxed about him.

As you can imagine, I will not be doing much today apart from keeping an eagle eye on the pups, and Flint in particular.

6.50 am.  Flint is still with us, but he is still not doing well at all.  He's lost weight since last night, and isn't sucking anymore.  I am syringing milk into him now.
Hopefully by making sure he is getting milk today he will pick up.  I can only hope.

I should mention:  all the other puppies are doing very well AND Dante's cold is getting better.  He's been off his food too, but is almost back to normal now.

As for me?  I took my anti-depressants last night as I just knew I was feeling shocking after not having any for 6 days!  I'm feeling way better this morning too now.

Please don't worry about ME.  Last night was just a bit too much, I was overly tired/emotional and so should NOT have stopped taking me medication.  Lesson learnt AGAIN.  DON'T DO IT!

Bex and I are both hovering.  Every time he wakes up we try to get him on a nipple, and at 8am he went on.  So we held him there and stopped the other puppies from nudging him off.  Then we topped him up with some formula. 

I can see how easy it is for a little runt like Flint to die... he is just too fragile to do much for himself right now.  The Vet did warn me that even our best efforts might not work and nature will take it's course.  I say BUGGER NATURE!  I am gunna do all it takes to make him well.  If he does die, it won't be from lack of care.

I took Brylee's Enrolment Form down to Alfriston College this morning ... and damn it, I had forgotten to get her to sign it, so will have to take her over there this afternoon.  That will fit in well with the other thing I must do today.
Have me quarterly blood tests.  I'm not even stressed thinking about it, I just want it done and then get out of there so I can get home again.

Oh to add to our worries, Stew's car has an oil leak and he had to park it on the side of the road last night and walk home.  He's taken my car to work today, goodness knows how long it will take to get his car fixed.  $$$'s we can hardly afford to be worrying about.
I won't even mention how much it cost at the Emergency Vet's last night!  Scary!


ABOVE:  a video of Flint, showing how laboured his breathing is.  Poor little fulla, I'm so hoping he pulls through whatever is causing this.

DAVID: thanks for your input.  I shall try giving him some boiled water and maple syrup!  It's the only glucose based  stuff I've got in the house right now.  Any idea on how much water/syrup I should try him with?  He's only 6 days old and weighs 207 grams.

I've talked to our vet, and will hold off any glucose supplements for now.  We may even need to take him to see our Vet at some point, just to make sure he's not getting worse.

so... Coco and Flint are going to our Vet this afternoon at 4.30.  They will give them both a thorough going over, and they can tell me if I'm fighting a loosing battle.  Poor Flint keeps fluctuating between battling and gasping.  Neither is good, but watching him gasping is making me feel sick.  I don't know how long I can prolong his life if he's only going to die anyway?
And I can't bear to sit here hour after hour watching him suffer.

Flint has  Pneumonia  He has been given an injection of Antibiotics and an electrolyte/glucose solution to try and turn him around.
The Vet was very honest and said he has a 75-80% chance of passing away.  
If he shows no signs of improvement by this time tomorrow we can and should take him back to be put to sleep as we are only prolonging his misery.

His body temperature keeps dropping dangerously low too, so I've put him on a hot water bottle and wrapped him in a woolen blanket too.  Obviously the heating pad in the whelping pen isn't enough for him.

He's on electrolyte/milk formula every hour and a half from now until he either picks up... or doesn't.

Trying very hard not to cry.  This has been my biggest fear after losing Sage in our last litter.  

How adorable is this?  Flint is on the hottie bottle, all snug and his brother Jasper climbed in with him.  Awwwwww.

End of Day:  well... little Flint has taken some electrolyte solution, some formula AND he suckled off Coco for a little while too.  So I'm feeling happy, if very cautious in my relief.  It's early hours for him.
I will be up all night, feeding him and keeping him warm so will say goodnite now.
nite nite

*sniffle*  Thanks for  all the lovely comments today, some of them made me cry, and Lacy... your's sure did.

A LONG NIGHT... AND CAN'T RESIST.... GOING TO HOSPICE SHOP TODAY

Freakin hell... it's being a long night!  The pups have been really unsettled tonight.  I've been up and down like a bloody yo-yo getting them all back together umpteen times already.
One will wander off then start crying, and Coco has real trouble getting it back into the group. So I get up and do it.
Then she wants out for bathroom, so I have to open the door for her... and it goes on and on.

Bring on the end of the first week!  I will be having a midday nap for sure today.

After finding three really lovely tops for myself at our local Hospice Shop (not the one I usually work at), I am going back there this morning.  
I'm sure Bex can watch me puppies again!

I better tell her eh?

Maybe she can go after I come back, she loves Op Shopping too.

And YES Karen, that basket was from the Hospice Shop.  

Can you believe I didn't post a photo of the puppies yesterday? !
So, here's one from yesterday:

ABOVE:  that is little Flint lying on top of Jet and Pearl.  

I am starting to feel more confident that they will all be OK.  After losing Sage last year I have not been able to relax with this litter.  Just a few more days and I think we will be past the real 'danger' stage.

Hopefully I will get some nice photos of them again today.  

ONWARD...

Well as I mentioned earlier, I got almost no sleep last night.  And it didn't help that it got really cold around 5am... and I didn't have a warm blanket and I couldn't be arsed going and getting a warmer one.  *sigh*  I was just not bothered.
I did put the heat pump on once I'd properly risen though.

I've been to the Hospice Shop this morning, and managed to find a few more items of clothing for me, Dante and Keera.  AND a scarf like the one I bought a while ago for $35, only I paid $2 for the same scarf (different colour) at the Hospice shop!

I'm pleasantly surprised at the quality of clothes our local shop has.  Very nice stuff.

Bex has taken Dante to the Dr now.  He's got a chesty cold and was rattly this morning.  So, better to get him seen now just in case he gets worse.

Talking of Dante, he managed to crawl INTO the whelping pen this morning!  And Coco didn't bat an eye!

ABOVE:  Coco is such a lovely dog.  I'm sure she knew I was watching that little ratbag,  and wouldn't let him touch her babies.  
He was only in there for as long as it took to take the photo, then he was whipped out again!
He didn't even try to touch any of the pups.

Right, it's close enough to lunch time for me to think about making something.... maybe a toasted sandwich will do today...

This little video was taken this morning, it's a 'first' for Stew and Dante:


ABOVE:  the first time Dante has cried and wanted to go with his Granddad out the door!  So cute.

Right.  Lunch done.  Kids home from school - yep.  Dinner - got it sorted in me mind.
Latest photos for the day - yep:

Time will tell just how their coats end up looking.  They change so much once their hair grows.
Isn't it cute how they all look like they are wearing a white scarf?

End of Day:  things are not looking good for wee Flint.
I've had to take him to the After Hours Vet at 6pm.  He's failing to thrive... in fact he is fading.
We have to try and supplement feed him for now. 
I'm in for a long night again.... trying to feed him every 2 hours.
nite nite

BACK TO A NORMAL DAY

Well... the kids are back to school today, and Stew and Steve are off to work.

So, it's just Bex and I ... and the dogs.  All 8 of them.
8!  Makes me smile saying 8.

I asked Stew yesterday if I was a fool sleeping in the lounge with the dogs, waking up hourly to make sure they were all OK?
He said 'Probably', but then followed that up with how he knew I just couldn't leave them to it, it's just how I am.

Sometimes I do think I'm too protective of them, but I just want all of them to do well, and for Coco to stay healthy too.  I will stop checking them overnight when they are about a week old.

Talking of Stew... I got a hard case video of him yesterday:


ABOVE:  my husband is a right dick sometimes!
But I still love him.  *smiles*

Because it is likely to be a quiet day, I will try to get a bit of sewing done.  AND I might even dash out to the post office too.  I've got the winners prizes to post.  
Once again, congrats to Mom Taxi Julie and Judith.  

I also have to get Brylee's Enrolment Form for College finished.  The school needs all sorts of paperwork sorted and provided, so that's my next task for the day. 

Right... off to get a few jobs done around the house...

ONWARD...

HAPPY ELF MOM: Brylee is 13.   Our schools go by different 'names' than yours.
5-10 = Primary school
11-12 (depending on when your child's birthday is) = Intermediate
13-17 = High School or Collage
17-+  = University or Polytech

So, Brylee just turned 13, and next year she will be going to Alfriston College until she's around 17.
Then if she wants to continue her education at a higher level, she can then go on to University or a Polytech.  As she is very interested in nursing, she may go to Polytech to study something in that field.

I had a good night with the pups/Coco and have woken feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed.  I did something I probably shouldn't have though.
I didn't take my anti-depressants as they make me sleep deeply.  I'm hoping I don't pay for that in the long run!

I'm going to duck out now and get a couple of jobs done, Bex will be on 'puppy sitting' duty.

Well... I got all me jobs done AND I managed to grab three tops from our local Hospice shop, a lovely little shirt for Dante, and then I went to Farmers and got me more knickers.  I'm over me knickers falling off me butt!

The smallest pup is Jet, but Flint is also very small... and he's the one with the least weight gain so far.  I'm keeping an eagle eye on him as he's concerning me a little.  He seems to be a bit lethargic.  

PROBLEM:  Teddy almost snarled at Dante just now.  Dante was standing up against the chair Teddy was lying on, and Teddy lifted his lip and was about to snarl at him!  Dante was not even touching him!  So I got Bex (she was nearer) to give Teddy a smack and send him out of the room.
I'm not sure if that is the right thing to do?  But he has to learn that Dante is 'above' him and he simply cannot show animosity towards Dante.

It's a real worry because if Teddy doesn't stop that sort of behaviour we will have to look at other options for him, particularly as Dante is only going to get more mobile and in his face.  


REALLY UPSET RIGHT NOW.... we asked EVERYONE to respect our wishes in relation to visiting/coming inside our home while the puppies are so young.

I thought 'you' understood that.

But, how did I know you would try and come inside anyway?  I just KNEW you would try it... and now I am really disappointed in YOU.  

WHY must you always push the boundaries?  Why do you never take NO as an answer?  I'm so over this shit.

And as for our tools, we don't need them that badly... told you that too.  

I am not a happy Chris right now.

NO Lacy, it wasn't you... as you well know.

End of Day:  well we just weighed all the pups and I'm happy to say wee Flint had a better gain today.  He's still the 2nd lightest after Jet.  Jet's the smallest.  Ruby?  She's huge compared to her little brothers!
Anyway, another day almost done and dusted.  
nite nite

MONDAY... LABOUR DAY

It's Labour Day, which means Stew is home from work.  He's having an extra long weekend seeing as he took Friday off as well.
He needed a break.  Work is very stressful right now.  He's not sleeping well, poor bugger.

So what does he do?  Yesterday while he was out with the kids he bought me flowers!  I asked him why?

And he said because he knew how hard I was working,  looking after Coco and the pups.  Awwww, he's the best hubby ever. 

ABOVE:  my gorgeous flowers.

ABOVE:  I think Dante would have drunk the whole glass given half a chance, he was loving it... between pulling sour faces!  *smiles*

More of Dante:  a little video I took last night of him and his Mum & Dad having fun in the bath :



ABOVE:  See?  Very cute.

ABOVE:  The 'Weigh Station'.  ha ha ha.   No getting who's who muddled up now, that's for sure.  I've got me trusty photos to refer to. 

Last night every puppy had gained weight, with Ruby gaining the most (22 grams) and Flint gaining the least (6 grams).  I knew he would have the smallest gain.
He's the puppy who seems to have trouble finding a nipple.

I shall 'help' him for a while.

ONWARD... 

After a very long night, where I got up to check on the pups on the hour, I'm off to have a few hours decent sleep, now that Stew is up.

It's a typical almost summer day... windy and threatening to rain.  I'm not missing much then!

12.05 and I'm awake again.  Don't know if having small sleeps over 24 hrs is a good idea. constantly waking up worrying about the pups, even though I know Stew is watching over them just as well as I can.

Coco seems less stressed out today, and the pups are all doing well.

They slither like little slugs... and OMGosh they can make a noise!  It's when they are all crying that Coco gets distressed.  Or when one strays from the 'pack'.

She doesn't like that at all.  So she nudges it and pushes it with her nose to try and bring it back into the fold.  So cute to watch.

Right, some more photos I think...

 ABOVE:  awww it's so cute when a puppy is on it's back like that.  That is Jade on her back.

Lunchtime!  Off to find food...


DOGSTARS: nope, I do nothing to them except crop, add text and borders.  That's all.  I don't change the quality or nothing.


ABOVE:  another little video of Coco.

End of Day:  well... it's been a long day.  I started out bone tired, and I still am.  This 'babysitting overnight' is taking it out of me.
AND I'm eating all sorts of crap too... anything and everything is going down me gob at the moment.  Silly me. 
nite nite

SUNDAY... DAY OF REST? YEAH RIGHT!

I'm a walking zombie.
Staying up half the night to keep an eye on the puppies is tiring work!

But, I can have a granny nap after Stew gets up, so it's all good.

All puppies are doing well.... and today they should all show a gain in weight, compared to yesterday's weigh in, where most of them lost a few grams.  (perfectly normal).

I took photos of all of their markings again :

 I tried to get their wee faces too, but the little buggers wouldn't keep still long enough, every photo was blurry.  So I give up for now.
When their eyes open they will be more 'face' photogenic... *smiles*  

INTERESTING FACTS: newborn pups eyelids do not open until they are around 2 weeks old, so they are effectively blind until then. 
Their ear canals are also closed for about a week too.  Therefore, pups are also deaf for at least a week or so. 

In our busy house, this is not a bad thing!

 ABOVE:  a certain wee man who would LOVE to get into the pen with the puppies.  Ain't gunna happen.  And yes, he's chewing the wooden barrier.  

ABOVE:  Stew watering the Tomato Patch.  We only have 6 plants in right now, but will add more in about 2-3 weeks time.  That way we don't have masses of tomatoes ready at the same time.

Today's plans?  I will send Stew out to get some photos developed, for my 'Puppy Book'.  
Do some housework.  Watch Puppies.  That's about all!

ONWARD...

Morning! It's 10.35 and I've just got out of bed... AGAIN.  Stew and Bex watched pups while I had a sleep.
The puppies are a lot more settled today, it's Coco who isn't.  She's doing a fair bit of crying over her babies.  She really doesn't like them crying!

Puppies Day 2:  You know when you take heaps of photos of ya baby, and you can't bear to get rid of any?  I'm a bit like that.  So, you get several photos instead of only a couple! ...

They are seriously adorable.
And I am biased, I put me hands up!  lol

I'ts a bit strange with no comments today... has anyone left one and it's not shown up at this end?   Or are ya all bored with me puppies already?  SHOCK HORROR!

It's deadly quiet in the house!  Everyone has gone out and left me with Coco, Teddy and puppies.
It is so weird.  

Coco was getting very distressed this morning, crying, shivering, digging again... so I read up on the 'net about possible post delivery problems.  It would appear Coco was not happy with her surroundings.  So I've covered her whelping pen with a dark sheet and given her more privacy.

I'm happy to say she is now much more settled and has stopped crying and digging. 
Phew!  She had me worried for a while.

Getting hungry, Stew is bringing me a Kebab for my lunch, once he and the kids are done shopping at the mall.  It's 2 pm...  me tummy is rumbling!

MARTINE:  Dante just stares at them.  I don't think the fact that they are here has registered with him at all.  A bit over his head yet.  We can't wait until they are all running around him!  *smiles.
And before you ask, Teddy is wisely keeping his distance.  He knows if he gets too close Coco will growl at him.

TRACY:  I think Coco has a serious case of 'Over Protective Mummy' syndrome!  She wants to go out to the bathroom often, but if a puppy whimpers she races back to them.  It's so adorable.

Steve and Bex are cooking dinner tonight:

ABOVE:  kebabs about to go on the BBQ.  It looks awesome!

Meanwhile, their baby is asleep:

ABOVE: Dante, asleep sideways in his cot.  Our little darling. 

End of Day:  dinner was amazing!  I'm a bit put out, those kids can cook better than me some days!
Another long night ahead of me... Coco is getting very tired and lying on top of puppies sometimes, so I'm having to keep a careful watch on her.
nite nite

A NEW DAY, A NEW FAMILY

Let's start at the beginning.

Coco went into labour at around 11 am yesterday morning (Friday).

She laboured all day with no let up at all until she finally started pushing her first puppy out into the world, and she, (RUBY), arrived at 10.45 pm.

She then went on to deliver :  Jet, Jasper, Flint (all boys), then Pearl and Jade.  She didn't finish delivery until 2.09 am this morning.

So, in all she was in labour and delivery for roughly 15 hours.

So were Bex and I.  Stew and Steve went to bed around 10pm, so missed out on seeing any of the pups delivered.

Brylee and Griffin stayed up for the first puppy's arrival, then went to bed too.

Some history:  Coco's very first puppy EVER was a boy we named Bruiser.  He was 218 grams and a breech puppy.

Last night Coco's first puppy born was 218 grams and a breech puppy too!  (only it was a girl we have named Ruby)

How amazing is that?

2nd interesting fact:  Her first litter consisted of 3 girls and 3 boys.  Her third litter is the same.

I am thrilled to bits with how well Coco did, and how well the delivery went on a whole.
No problems, even with two breech puppies last night!

There are ***TWO WINNERS*** in the 'How many Girls/Boys' guessing game!

MOM TAXI JULIE AND JUDITH.  Congrats girls.  Can you please email me at stewandchris@hotmail.com with your physical address so I can post you your MUG RUGS!

NOW... how about a few photos?  Yeah, I know ya all want to see our babies!  ....

ABOVE:  our little lineup.  How darling are they?
Once again, our litter is made up of black/white/tan puppies!
It's very early days yet to know how their coats will look later on, once they are all fluffy.

I will take face photos in a few days, but right now I'm not going to try as they are just too little.

***  I did take videos of Coco delivering some of her puppies, but reviewing them later, I think it's not appropriate to put any on the blog. They are rather graphic, and I really don't think Coco would like it if I showed everyone her privates! ***

It is now 6.02 am Saturday morning, I can hear the birds starting to sing!  And I've not even been to bed... YET!  
I fully intend going to bed once Stew is up, he can watch over the pups while I sleep.

It is Labour Day weekend here, so Monday is a holiday.  That is great cos it means Stew will be home to help watch over the pups for a few days.
I am trying not to be paranoid about a puppy dying again... but it is hard.  I am a worrier.

So, you can expect me to be posting at all sorts of weird and wonderful times of the day/night... cos I intend to have someone's eyes (mostly mine) on these puppies 24 hours a day, for at least the first week!

ONWARD...

Stew got up around 7 am and took over watching the pups and Coco ... I went to bed, and got up around 12 noon.
It's a lovely early summers day, just gorgeous.
After the past few days crap weather it's nice to see and feel the warmth.

All the puppies look good, but Coco?  She looks as jaded as I feel.  She has gone out to the bathroom once this morning, so she seems to be ok leaving her babies for a minute or so.
Though, she did sprint back inside after her piddle!

I've just taken a video of Coco and her pups.  Will post it as soon as it's uploaded to YouTube.


ABOVE:  Day 1 video.

Well... I'm feeling rather groggy, over tired me thinks.
I want to keep a watch on the puppies overnight, so I shall be sleeping in the lounge with a timer to wake me up every hour, at least then I will have peace of mind in their first week of life.

Babies will be weighed every evening at 8pm, so we can see how well they are gaining weight, and make sure no one lagging behind.

If there is a puppy lagging behind I will step in and make sure he/she gets the 'best' nipple at each feed for a while.

I've done that before with the littlest puppy from each litter.  I will go to whatever lengths I have to so each puppy thrives.

End of Day:  well the 'Blog Police' informed me I'd forgotten my 'end of day' bit ... AGAIN.  Well... my freaking day didn't 'END' did it?  lol
nite nite

PUPPIES TODAY???

WELL... it's Day 59!

With Coco's last two litters she delivered on Day 59, so let's cross our fingers she doesn't linger any longer!

I'm over the wait.
I want to see our new babies.
And see how many girls and how many boys, and what colours they are.

First LITTER we had black/white, grey/white AND ginger/white.

Second LITTER all our puppies were black/white/tan.


I am really hoping for a ginger/white or grey/white one again.

So... today???

While we all wait, here's my latest mug rug:

ABOVE:  bear in mind I've not had time to do the stitching yet.  I might get that done today, if Coco stays in one piece!

ONWARD...

We have a restless Coco, and just now she started 'digging', which is a sign of 'nesting'... so she is most likely in the very early stages of Labour!  

ABOVE:  she is lying on my lap, on the white fluffy blanket she tried to have her puppies on the last two times!
She's pacing, panting.... IN LABOUR for sure.
She has also gone into the Whelping Box several times, sniffed around, dug holes... all the things I expect her to do.

I cannot predict exactly how long she will take to deliver her first puppy... so hang in there.


ABOVE:  a quick video of Coco's pups moving... while she's in labour.

I am thinking of getting the birth of a puppy or two on video too this time.  I've not done that before.
I will post it if I do get a video of the birth.

So be warned (censor for children).


ABOVE:  Coco nesting... no sign of puppies yet.  She barks at the end because the kids came in the front door from school.

ABOVE:  Coco resting on Bex's lap.  Poor Bex was shitting herself, thinking Coco would have a puppy on her lap. 

STILL DIGGING!  And that is all.  This could be a very long day/night. 

ABOVE:  we gave her a bigger 'den'.  She's resting in between digging ...  gawd this is taking a long time!  Poor Coco, the hardest part is still to come.

I can't believe this.  Coco is still hanging in there with no sign of having a puppy soon!  She's still panting, in labour and getting very tired.  I hope this does not drag on all night, or we are all going to be exhausted tomorrow.

I'm so sorry I can't give you good news yet.
The only change in the past two hours is that she has stopped the digging and is just lying fairly still, panting heavily on and off.


25th October 2013....
10.45 pm:  Welcome to our world RUBY.  218 grams and a breech baby. (girl)

11.22 pm: Welcome to our world JET.  161 grams and ANOTHER breech baby!  (boy)

*********************************************************

26th October 2013....

12.25 am:  Welcome to our world JASPER. 200 grams and a normal delivery.  (boy)

12.46 am:  Welcome to our world FLINT.  177 grams and a normal delivery. (boy)

1.28 am:  Welcome to our world PEARL.  200 grams and a normal delivery. (girl)

2.09 am: Welcome to our world JADE. 181 grams and a normal delivery. (girl)

And now we wait and see if there was a No# 7 hiding in there!

WELL... it would appear NOT.  I've waited about an hour and a half and no one else has arrived, so it would appear we have 3 girls and 3 boys.
PERFECT.

End of a VERY LONG Day:  and what a day it's been!  
I shall put heaps of photos up tomorrow, and a bit more information about the puppies births.
nite nite