Please welcome:
10:10 AM – Blue Collar Boy – 11.9 ounces – “TEDDY BEAR”
11:57 AM – Green Collar Boy – 16.1 ounces – “FROGGIE”
1:47 PM – Purple Collar Girl – 16.1 ounces – “ELLIEPHANT”
3:47 PM – Yellow Collar Boy – 13.3 ounces – “PENGUIN”
4:08 PM – Brown Collar Boy – 12.8 ounces – “MONKEY”
7:50 PM – Red Collar Girl – 12.8 ounces – “LADYBUG”
11:13 PM – Latte Collar Girl – 14.6 ounces – “BUMBLEBEE”
Don’t worry, folks, these names are just temporary…
…
For those interested, here’s the play by play:
On Tuesday night, Friday started panting heavily. (A whole day early, oh no!) Her temperature had also dropped; an indication that the first puppy was due to arrive within 24 hours.
That night, she was absolutely restless. Barry (the husband) got up with her six or seven times.
By morning, we realized she was close (temperature had gone up again) and went to set-up her whelping box on our kitchen floor.
Panting. Lots of panting.
At some point, Friday ditched the whelping box for the crate. I knew she was after “a dark hole,” so I put a lid on her box and let her dig around a bit to make her nest. (There’s a skylight in the kitchen that makes everything a bit too bright.)
10:10 AM. The first puppy arrived, head first, in the sac. A boy!!!
It didn’t take him long to figure out how to nurse.
And then we waited for # 2 to arrive.
Meanwhile, Boy # 1 had the milk bar all to himself.
Proud mamma.
I gave her a paper towel roll to nap on. Also in the box, my morning coffee. 🙂
11:57 AM. Another boy!
Brothers.
Cord shot. (Sorry.) Isn’t it kind of cool how many cords there actually are?! And to think they ALL have to work properly for 63 days…
Glamour shot.
Contractions suck.
My stack of temporary ribbons.
A babe, confusing Friday’s arm for the milk bar.
He eventually figured it out.
A nap in between contractions.
To help speed things along, I offered Friday some ice cream. (She also had meatballs throughout the day to help keep her energy up.)
Mmmmm….
More contractions after the ice cream, and within MINUTES…
We got another puppy! Finally, a girl. Arrived at 1:47 PM.
Definitely still more inside.
The girl.
Cuddling with the babies to keep them warm.
Climbing all over mamma.
Sibling love.
3:47 PM, another BOY was delivered. The current count: 3 boys and 1 girl. At this point, I texted everyone I knew saying “please hope for more girls.”
Tired Friday.
Lunch.
Already pooping…
So I presented him to his mamma for cleaning.
At 4:08 PM, another BOY! arrived. So now we’re up to four boys and only one girl. We need more girls!!!
Cat nap.
Five at the milk bar.
Once contractions returned, I temporarily put all five babies into a basket under the heat lamp to give Friday some more room.
And then she got a little dinner.
A view of puppy headquarters from the end of the kitchen.
At some point, contractions died down again so I put the babies back to nurse (to induce more contractions)…
Which worked! Because # 6 arrived at 7:50 PM. And it’s a GIRL!!!
Already a gymnist.
Cudding with mamma.
Working up towards her ear…
He wanted a hat.
Forgot who this was, but ain’t it a cutie?!
Six babies in the basket while we wait for what we think is one more…
At 11:13 PM, we had one final “yelp,” and then there were seven. Another GIRL. Thank goodness! Here’s their first group shot.
Everyone continues to do great, and new pictures will be posted in a few days.
For ALL posts and updates about these puppies, please click here!