I somehow knew early on Saturday night that I wasn’t going to get much sleep. Anneliese had been in her whelping box all day and had slept during the evening. I knew that she would keep me up all night as she produced her offspring! So I went to bed at 8:30 in an attempt to get some rest before the critical paw holding began.
At 11:30 she woke me to go out to wee-wee. As soon as we came back in, she began digging and pacing about in her box. I lay down and tried like crazy to get just a little more sleep.
At 12:30 she woke me again and after that I was awake all night long.
Her really active labor began at 2:26 AM on Sunday morning April 26th. I could literally watch the contractions taking pace, as she worked to expel the pups, one by one!
At 3:02 weighing in at 8.3 ounces, Baby Girl Princess (Black Collar) was born. She was tiny, but came into the world mewing for her mother. I cleared her airway and toweled her off and returned her to Anneliese’s care.
At 4:06 AM, Baby Boy Prince (Yellow Collar) joined us weighing in at 8.8 ounces. He was quieter, but fully fit, and I cleared his airway, and then toweled him dry like I did his sister.
Before I could relax (or Anneliese either), at 4:26 Baby Girl Princess (Green Collar) whooshed into the world weighing 7.9 ounces. She just came flying out after Baby Boy Yellow, and I worked hard to clean her up and keep up with cleaning the whelping box in between deliveries.
I was concerned because Anneliese has a ton of milk, which has prevented her teats from popping out. She also would not nurse the babies as she continued to moan and pace.
In a panic I called the Emergency Vet to ask how long babies could go without milk after they were born? She suggested I come and get some puppy formula. Hubby got up, and he stayed with Anneliese, as I drove over and got the milk.
I arrived back and before I could get settled in or bottle feed any of the pups, Anneliese spit out puppy number 4. At 6:45 Baby Boy Prince (Blue Collar), was born. he weighed in at a whopping 9.7 ounces!
After that I was able to get the pups to alternate either nursing Anneliese or taking some formula from the bottle. Eventually Anneliese settled down and the pups appear to be nursing quite well. I will know on Monday morning when I weigh them in, if this is the case.
So as I write this, it is Sunday night and I still have not gone to bed. I am running on empty. However, I feel very, very happy, and the babies are beautiful!
More pictures to come!!!
