Thank you eveyone. Yes, I've been researching like mad for the last couple of weeks.
I do in fact have a very good vet who's well versed on the toy breeds and on standby. I even have home phone numbers to help speed things up if need be. Yes, I of course did my homewark & checked out a few before picking the perfect vet. This one deals with 2 seperate Chihuahua breeders as well as a few other tiny breeders. I too was extremely concearned with the age & size of her. The vet feels my fears are unwarented and that she should be just fine to free whelp. Her vulva to anus & horns are far enough apart now for puppies to pass, and said it's actually a good thing she's on the younger side at her size, because her bones are still soft enough they can spread easier just in case. However at slightly over a year old the concearns of her not being mature enough to properly care for the puppies is also no big concearn at this point either. The only concearn the vet has mentioned is for the usual complications.
I have no idea why any one would automatically assume I should spay her strickly based on her size
Especially since the vet feels she's fine & not once mentioned it. Wouldn't a sane person wait to see how this whelping goes before assuming she absolutley needs spaying? I wonder why in the world someone would think to suggest putting this poor little girl through a surgery on top of delivering if it's not absolutely needed? Since she is only a year old she still may have a bit of growing left to do yet, and just might have a good growth spirt left in her. Her parents are both 5 lbs so it stands to reason she may get a bit bigger yet.
I too wish there were at least one more puppy... it would certainly make me feel better about the situation too. More/smaller puppies is always better.
I should mention that I may be new to the breeding thing myself, but not new to whelping. I have a retired Shih-tzu breeder (vg friend) & a well renowned English Mastiff breeder freind as well, both calling daily to see how we are progressing & offering help if I need it. I've witnessed c-sections & helped raise many puppies over the years. Every 2 hour feeding, moist swipes to the rear and all. I've just never taken on the breeding task on my own before.
Anyhow, thanks to everyone for their sincere & empathetic ears. It's not something that was expcted, and I truly don't feel my preventative methods were all so stupid... it's worked fine through many heats, it's just unfortunate that something went wrong this particular time. I was using a pampers diaper with elastic legs & waste band at the time... not panties. I don't believe in caging my dogs & they have free access to my entire home & sleep with me every night. Completely shutting one away would be cruel in my opinion. Not that this situation is any better... but it's done now & we are dealing with it the best way possible. From this point on (providing Lilly is ok) I won't have these huge breeding concearns. My other female is due to go into her 3rd heat soon & I intend on allowing her to mate with my male. If Lilly does in fact have problems delivering on her own, I will decide a that time wether or not to spay her once her puppies are near ready to find new homes.
Thanks again and I look forward to chatting & learning from all of you
Tina