Names

Since the puppies' daddy's registered name is "Super Star" I decided that I would use names of stars (those in the sky) for the temporary puppy names. I spent some time looking up proper names for some stars and here's what I came up with:

Red Boy "Vega"
Tri Girl "Sol" (Dual meaning :)
Tri Boy "Atlas" (since he was the biggest)
B/W Girl "Polaris" (I just liked it)
B/W 1/2 Collar Girl "Sirrah" (Seems to suit her)

Pups are still gaining weight and all are over four ounces more than birth weight.

Today's pictures

All Five









The girls with the Red Boy













Same with the legs of the tri boy :)










The girls-Can you guess who's who?

They're growing

It was a pretty peaceful night. Ransom has things pretty well under control. I was up quite a bit still, just making sure everything was OK, and it was. I got up this am, fed the dogs, then layed back down on the couch while Ransom was feeding the babies (who, BTW, seem to eat ALL THE TIME!). I decided that if a few started eating, I would wake up the others and have them all eat at the same time. That way, it's much more scheduled, I know everyone is eating and Ransom gets some rest in between. Seems to be working well. I weighed them all this am and every pup has gained MORE than an ounce in the last 24 hours. I'm really happy with that. The tri boy remains the biggest at now, 18 5/8 oz (total of 2 5/8 oz increase) and the little tri girl is still the tiny one at almost 13 1/2 oz (almost a 3 oz increase) so she's gaining a little ground on the others. Ransom is eating a ton of food to keep up. She seems to feel really good today. In fact, she's actually spending some time in the yard with the other dogs.

A couple of picures

B/W Girl






Top-Tri Boy
Tri Girl sleeping
on Red Boy















1/2 White collar Girl

Newest Stats

I just got them all weighed and cleaned them, just to make sure Ransom was getting to all of them. She's doing a great job :) They had me up a bit during the night since Ransom chose to be out of the box some of the night. The other dogs didn't even seem to notice the crying this time. That helped. That little tri was a monster. She was SCREAMING at the top of her lungs when she couldn't find her mom. Then started brutalizing her littermates by trying to nurse from THEM! I quickly shooed Ransom into the box to save the others! Anyway, here are the stats. I'll list start weight and today's weight.

Tri Boy was 16 oz, now 17 even- Gained 1 oz
Tri Girl was 10 5/8 oz,now 12 even- Gained 1 3/8 oz
Red Boy was 14 7/8 oz, now 15 1/2 oz -Gained 5/8 oz
B/W Girl was 14 1/4 oz, now 15 1/2 oz- Gained 1 1/4 oz
B/W 1/2 Collar Girl was 14 5/8 oz, now 15 1/2 oz -Gained 7/8 oz

The red boy has gained the least. Looks like I'll have to make sure he's eating enough and not getting pushed out of the way.

I'll try to get a picture or two later.

Last pictures of the day :)

Ransom an all the babies :)

From top to bottom:

1/2 White collar girl

Tri Girl

Red Boy

B/W Girl

Tri Boy

Ransom and the little pistol (tri girl) :)

A couple more pictures

Picture to the left:

Top-Red/White Boy

Far left-B/W girl

Middle- litte tri girl

Right- B/W half white collar girl

Picture to the right is the tri boy.

New Day

Well, it's a new day and everyone is doing much better. I got Ransom to eat a couple small meals during the night and she's drinking plenty of water. Also, once I returned from the vet, her milk production seemed to increase immediately. No more crying babies while nursing and no more smacking noises. Ransom is even starting to feel well enough to start cleaning the babies. Just started a little while ago. That will help me a lot :) I got a little sleep last night. I slept on the couch so was up a lot but did doze off here and there. My other dogs aren't used to the baby noises so they were restless all night. It'll get better. I'm just still exhausted! Good news though, I just weighed all the babies and every one has gained weight. I remember that Shock lost weight the first day so I'm thrilled. That little tri girl is a pistol. She's gained the most. She's a pushy one. Reminds me of her red big sister! Boy does she look tiny in comparison to the others though.

As far as a litter theme, I was going to go with the Olympics but since they took so long to get here, I missed it. I think I'll just name the pups as I go along.

Uhg

I just got back from the vet again. I had to rush Ransom back for some fluids and an injection to help milk production. She's very lethargic and wouldn't eat or drink. Also, doesn't have enough milk for these VERY hungy pups. She seems a little better already. Actually drank water as soon as we got home. Still not wanting to eat but I'm glad she got some fluids into her. Here's a picture from earlier. It was so cute, I had to snap the shot.

Individual Photos

Tri boy

Red boy

B/W half collar Girl

B/W Girl

Tri Girl

Stats

They are still eating but I took them off to weigh them. Here's what we have:

B/W Girl with a half large white collar 14 5/8 oz
R/W Boy (could be tri-don't know yet) 14 7/8 oz
B/Tri Boy 16 oz
B/W Girl 14 1/4 oz
B/Tri Girl (tiny but powerful!) 10 5/8 oz

The vet said she couldn't have delivered them naturally no matter what. Felt most were too big for her. Who knows. All that matters now is that they are doing well so far!

They're HERE!!!

Well, after a horribly long couple of days, we ended up having to do an emergency C-section. Ransom was in labor almost 23 hours when she stopped having contractions. The whelpwise people recommended I get to the vet, which I did. Poor Margaret has been here helping me the ENTIRE time and was with during the C-section as well. Ransom is, at the moment, nursing five beautiful babies. It appear that we have two B/W girls, one Black Tri girl, one Black Tri boy and one red boy. Looks like no one guesses right :))) Introducing the babies and one exhausted mommy!

Tuesday Morning

Well, it's now around 7am on Tuesday and still no puppies. Spent the night monitoring, checking heartbeats, giving tums and talking to the Whelpwise people. Monitoring sessions have been every hour to two hours. Just finished the last one and her contractions are much stronger than they've been although you wouldn't know it from watching her. She seems to feel pretty good. The puppies have moved consideralby to the rear, lining up for delivery (I hope!). Keep your fingers crossed!

Exhausted

We're all exhausted and still no puppies. Contractions are getting much stronger though so hopefully, something will happen soon. BTW, I fixed the time zone of my posts. They were off by two hours (stamped two hours earlier than they actually were).

In labor

Ransom is in active labor and having about 8 contractions an hour although it still could be hours before any puppies arrive. Hopefully not, but possible! I'll post as soon as I know more or when a puppy arrives :)

Temperature has dropped!

I was up most of the night watching her. Checked her temp. first thing and it's down to 98.1. She is willing to eat though but that doesn't surpise me. I found all five heartbeats quickly with the ultrasound and they are all strong. She's on the contraction monitor now so I'll get those results when she's done an a little while. Looks like there really ARE puppies coming!

Day 63

Nothing!! I'm starting to think she NEVER going to have these puppies. She's HUGE but feels good. On the contraction monitor again a few hours ago and four contractions in an hour. Temperature still fairly high. Tomorrow, I call the vet to see what's next.

Day 62

Still pretty quiet although the mild contractions that were once an hour are now up to four per hour. Her temp. is still up and she just ate her normal LARGE dinner. No nesting yet. Hopefully tomorrow is the day :) She goes back on the contraction monitor once more tonight.

Day 61

Day 61 and counting. I skipped Shock's Novice FAST run this am to put Ransom on the contraction monitor. All is well. One minor contraction in an hour of monitoring. I also listened to four heartbeats this am. Then went to the Blitzen AKC Trial. It's about 25 minutes from home so I wasn't gone too long. When I got home, took her temperature and it's still staying above 100 degrees. I'll put her back on the monitor in an hour or so and take her temp. again. Doesn't look like anything is happening :( I swear she is bigger today than yesterday! She seems to feel very well.

Day 60

Just a quick post. All is quiet. The monitor has shown one small contraction in each hour monitored (monitored for one hour, twice a day), probably caused by puppy ruckus :) Her temperature is still up and she's eating like crazy still. Feels fine, just getting pretty big now.

Day 57 X-ray Day!

Well, just returned from the vet! X-ray shows FIVE puppies! I was thinking she wasn't that big but apparently, I was wrong :) She's gained 8 lbs so far and has six days to go. The vet provided me with oxytosin and calcium so I have it if I need it during the delivery. I start taking her temp. today and the Whelpwise monitors come today as well. Now it starts to get exciting :)))

Day 54

Today is day 54. Nine more days to go until her due date. I felt a puppy move this morning for the first time. I'm starting to think that there aren't a bunch in there, just a few. We'll know Monday morning when the x-ray is completed! They seem to be moving around so it's hard to tell. Sometimes, she looks huge, other times, not so much :) The whelping box did arrive yesterday. I just finished setting it up although I still have to get a tarp for underneath. I bought a carpet remnant as well so that has to go under the box too. I think it's just a beautiful box though. Ransom seems to like it! I also have ordered the Whelpwise service http://whelpwise.com/ (as I did last time) and the monitors will be here by Monday. They send a contraction monitor and doplar ultrasound (monitors puppy heartbeats) to ensure everyone is safe. It's a great service that assists from before whelping to after if you need it. They actually helped save Shock's life last time around. They walked me though what to do when she was ill days after she was born. Anyway, it's great peace of mind.
Ransom is feeling very well. Would like to do agility if I let her :)

Day 47

Today is day 47. About two more weeks to go. I've been busy trying to get everything ready and get all the needed whelping supplies. I ordered a new whelping box, which hasn't yet arrived. I, unfortunately, ordered it late, so it may not get here until the last minute. I have rearranged my family room since I plan to have the whelping box in that room this time instead of the living room (as I did last time). I think it will be more comfortable for all of us :) Here are a couple of pictures of Ransom. IMO, she seems pretty big. MUCH larger than last time and she's got a while to go yet :)