Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms who are watching the blog!

Here at my house we started our Mothers Day by all going to church together.  (At least all of us at home....My hubby is out of town at his brother's wedding)  When we got home the kids gave me roses and chocolate.  Then they set about to make me breakfast with waffles, strawberries, and whip cream.   Just as you might expect, they put too much butter in the waffles, and didn't mix the eggs properly...so the waffles were kind of like rubber.  My daughter was so crushed that they didn't turn out perfectly.  I thought it might ruin her day....but I hugged her and told her how much it meant to me that she would go through all this trouble and that we were all together celebrating this day.   That lifted her spirits quite a bit, and we sat down together and ate the waffles despite their interesting texture.  Everyone agreed that with lots of strawberries and cream, it wasn't so noticeable after all!

After breakfast, I sat with Dixie for a while.  Her belly is not a smooth ball but has hills and valleys that wiggle about.  It makes me feel bad for her.   One of my kids was so active in utero that I had trouble sleeping at night.  I imagine that Dixie must feel the same...but probably worse as she has several little ones kicking and squirming at once. 

After that I followed Dixie outside where she meandered around the yard.  For me, the anticipation of puppies on Mother's Day brings out all the joyful memories of anticipating the birth of my own children.  This morning I notice that Dixie has a bit of diarrhea.  No worries, as this is a typical Stage 1 Labor thing.   She kept trying to relieve herself, but nothing happened.  It is quite possible she is beginning to feel pressure and contractions.

When we came in, I sat down at the computer to write this update post.  Dixie climbed into her crate, sleeping quietly for several minutes, then breathing heavily and panting at times.  She definitely is showing more labor signs then yesterday.  My kids wanted to take a walk through the trees, down to the lake behind our house...but I don't think Dixie can do that kind of a walk today...and I don't think we should leave her either.  I think they will be OK with that.

I think I will start charting her activity so I will notice the pattern of her contractions.   It will give me a better idea of when she is in Stage 2 labor.

Dixie panting heavily in labor

...oooo Dixie's panting some more....wants to go outside.  Well I better follow her out there.

.....Ok  now she's back in her crate moaing and tearing her linens aapart....I have to take care of her now... I'm taking her to our largest bathroom where we will put her whelping box...and have everything ready...I think she's going to have puppies soon!!!!

In between contractions she rests.

The stages of Labor

Here are the signs I am looking for as Dixie progresses through her labor.  I suspect she is currently in Stage 1 labor....but this can last for several days.

Stage 1

• Temperature will drop to 98 degrees or so...
• Eyes will dilate
• She will stare at you and want you near
• Refusal to eat
• Hide under your bed or a dark place
• Laying on her side but can't seem to get comfortable
• Mucus Discharge

Stage 2 - Pre-Labor
• Digging
• Shivering
• Panting
• Staring at her rear end
• Licking vulva excessively
• Mild Uterine Contractions

Stage 3 - Labor
• Hard Uterine Contractions
• Extreme Shivering
• Water Breaking
• Grunting and pushing
• Visible sign of the First pup and delivery (Whelp)

Still nesting!

When I walk into the office Dixie immediately climbs into her crate.

This last week of waiting for puppies it is so hard to have patience.   Just knowing the puppies could come at any time keeps me on my toes.  Over the last few days I got most everything that I needed for the whelping.....but I forgot one thing.... the thermometer.   If I was taking Dixie's temperature, I would not be caught off guard with the birth of the puppies.  24 hours before the litter is born, the dogs temperature drops several degrees down to 98 degrees.  It would give me a good amount of warning for the whelping of the litter.   But since I do not have a thermometer, I just have to observe Dixie.

Tonight she is going around from one corner to another digging around.   If I sit in the office she will go into her crate right away.  Hopefully, if she happens to begin whelping without my noticing...she will choose her crate to do so.

Last year, it was quite noticeable when Dixie went into heavy labor.  I was able to sit with her through this time and observe the birth of the first puppy.  So hopefully, I can do the same this year.  Beginning tonight, I will have Dixie sleeping in the master bathroom.  So she will never be alone.

First signs of Labor!

            I was awoken this morning at 2:30 am by a scratching noise on the main floor.  I knew right away what it was, and nervously jumped out of bed and ran downstairs and into the front office room.  Just as I thought, Dixie was in the closet, scratching vigorously at the carpet floor.  You can imagine how vigorously she was scratching, since it woke me up in the room above her.
           I called her out of the closet and she came over to me and plopped down on her side, breathing heavily.  I stroked her belly for several minutes as she lay there.  I noticed a discharge that had come out around her vulva.  "Oh great", I thought, "it looks like Dixie is going to have puppies earlier than I had expected!"
          With past litters, Dixie has gone through this for several days before birth.  She walks behind chairs and under beds and scratches at the rug.  This is called, 'nesting' and it is what Mama dogs do to get ready for their puppies.  It is also a sign of early contractions.  She starts nesting most vigorously the stronger the contractions.  I have not seen her nesting up to this point, so it seems she has just started to feel the contractions.  I am more concerned about the discharge.  If that is what it is, then I can expect pups in 24 hrs...and that is little warning for me!
          Today is the day I had set aside from my busy life to get all the supplies together.  My hubby went out of town a few days ago, and as he left he said, "I think Dixie's having her puppies this weekend!"  I just thought, "She better not."  In my mind I had this coming Wednesday pegged as the day.  My hubby would be back from his trip, and things would be less chaotic. I am actually the kind of person that has all my ducks in a row pretty early.   But with my husband going out of town this last week I was counting on Dixie following her normal schedule for delivery.
         So anyway, it is now 3:30 am and I am still up...Dixie is sound asleep on her bed in the office room, and I am making my list of supplies to get first thing in the morning.
         This is what I will do, I will get up this morning and clean and disinfect the plastic kiddy pool.  Bring that into the office room, throw one of our older sheets in there, with an old blanket, and leave instructions with my older son while I run out the door to buy items on my list.

Here's my list of to do's
1) Putting the plastic baby pool in the office.  We use that for a whelping box.  I don't plan to whelp in the front office, but Dixie needs to have it with her when I am away...just in case.
2) Then I have to visit Goodwill and see if I can obtain a stack of old linens. (I had got a large stack ready six months ago, but they disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle of the storage room.
3) Go to Pet store and pick up puppy formula....just in case a puppy has trouble nursing.
4) go to Pharmacy, and pick up the following:From drug store:
  -- bulb syringe for removing fluid from nose and throat of newborns
 ---latex gloves, Ky jelly, hand towels, paper towels,
---nail polish for toenails to identify pups
--safety scissors (for umbilical cord) and dental floss for tieing it off

5) Get my stack of Newspapers together.  Newspaper is very absorbent and I go through a ton of it during whelping, since I keep Dixie's bedding dry in between each birth.
6) Collect the doggie blankets
7) Take out the Heating pad to keep newborns warm.

Allright!  I have my plan for tomorrow.  I am STILL hoping that Dixie has more than 24 hours!   But I will plan for pups to come at any time.  Now I have to get some more sleep!