You know when you're really busy and then something crazy happens and you look back and you're like, "No. I wasn't busy at all."
That is my life.
Puppies did come out on Monday, April 8.
In fact, they kept coming out until eight o'clock on Tuesday morning.
And Kia was having none of it.
For readers who aren't my Facebook friends, she rejected every single one of her puppies.
At first, she merely ignored them.
Then she growled at them.
Then she snapped at them.
And even after she popped out the last puppy and we took her to the vet to make sure nothing was wrong, she didn't stop.
We are now hand-raising nine baby Newfies.
There are seven black and two brown.
Five girls and four boys.
I thought there were six girls and three boys, and then I took a closer look at Green Girl.
She was definitely a boy.
After the first pup (Blue Boy) popped out, I actually got pretty good at the birthing process.
Kia squatted to have most of them, so I caught them before they fell on the floor.
She ignored them, so I broke them out of their little sacs.
She kept ignoring them, so I suctioned goo out of their lungs and rubbed their little bodies with a towel to make them start breathing.
She still kept ignoring them, so I tied dental floss on the cord that connects the puppy to the afterbirth and cut it with a pair of scissors.
Dog afterbirth is disgusting. The closest thing I can think of to compare it with is the dead jellyfish that you sometimes see washed up on the beach, except afterbirth has a little more "substance" to it.
I had to help pull one puppy out. He was born breech and his sack was already broken. Only his little back feet and tail were showing. I grabbed his midsection just above his legs and gently pulled down. I thought he would be dead, but he perked up pretty quickly.
I thought I was prepared for all eventualities. A dead puppy, a stuck puppy, retained afterbirth, birth defects, etc. I knew how many pups to expect (an average litter is 8-10, we got 9). I knew how to predict the birth (I stayed home when the temp dropped to 99.5. Eight hours later it dropped to 98.6, and puppies came 6 hours after that).
I just never expected Kia to reject her puppies.
Thank you, Tori, for telling me to get formula and a bottle even though I didn't think I'd need it because Kia had so much milk. As soon as Kia rejected them, we were able to start supplemental bottle feedings right away, so nobody missed a single feeding.
And Charity - the cardboard worked great for soaking up the gross stuff but leaving the blankets underneath relatively clean.
If we hadn't been prepared, it would have been 6-8 hours from the time Kia tried to savage her pups until shops were open, and the puppies could have chilled - or starved - and died.
I was glad we bought every single item in our whelping kit.
Even so, I definitely cried for two days straight.
Because newborn pups need to be bottle fed every 2-3 hours for the first two weeks of life.
Because newborn pups need to be stimulated to go pee and poo every 2-3 hours for the first two weeks of life.
Because Nate and I both work and can't afford to take two weeks off.
I didn't know what to do.
Amazingly, a group of people have stepped up to the challenge. This week alone, I have been overwhelmed with the generosity of the people in my life.
My family comes over every day and keeps us fed.
Jennifer is a life-saver! Literally. And Tanner, too.
Natalie fed the pups during the workday on Thursday - and Friday morning too.
Lara came over with her daughters and friends to feed the pups while Mom and I weighed them and replaced their little embroidery thread collars.
Susie and Jessie came over for an early-ish morning feeding.
The words early and late have somehow lost their significance in my life.
More people have helped and are offering to help in the weeks to come.
We will need every one of you.
Thank you.
Random funniness....
- Don't sit in the whelping box with the puppies, they will suck on your toes.
- Purple girl is a screamer.
- Poor Brown Boy ... Green Boy keep sucking on his wee, hoping milk will come out. Nope. Surprise! It's actually pee.
- Puppies make little contented groaning noises when they're pooing or peeing ... usually all over your legs.
- My hands smell like milk replacer.
- Last night, I was so tired that I talked in my sleep. Nathan says I was quite angry at him ... something about onions and cheesecake with ribbons on their legs.
Sigh. Happy weekend, everyone!
Puppies:
Brown Boy (actually brown, last puppy born)
Red Girl
Purple Girl
Green Boy
Blue Boy (first puppy born)
Yellow Girl
Brown Boy (not actually brown, just has a brown collar)
Grey Girl
Brown Girl (actually brown)
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