 I'm up
Barely....haha
Okay, i'm sure everyone wants to know how the night went. I think we passed with flying colors. All three puppies are still alive and now kicking.
When the little family arrived, we got the pen all set up in a quiet part of the house...my daughter offered up her bedroom...After Steve left, I inspected the puppies... I thought they seemed lethargic and i checked for dehydration, as Kimberly had told me to do. They were def. dehydrated. And now looking at the contrast of them this a.m. vs. on their arrival, i wonder if they weren't at death's door. I'm so thankful for their sakes that Steve made the call that he did, as hard as I'm sure it was. He was very emotional about leaving them, but he felt it was best.
i started trying to get a hold of K right away to get help with the dehydration, all the while reading in my Myra Savant... puppy intensive care book. Fortunately, K called me back and guided my DEAR husband through subcutaneal rehydration (is that what it's called?) I'm needle phobic and we've talked about him helping with any "needle situations' with our animals, and he had agreed. He was nervous, but willing. I think it probably saved them. I began syringe feeding them a half hour later. K called back and found out they took the formula and sounded tickled, according to my dd.
So my Darling 17 year old girl got up with me all night, every 1 1/2 hrs. and we partnered to get them fed. The first feeding puppy blue and puppy orange did great....not so puppy purple. He ate, but kind of slowly and weakly. By this morning's feeding even he is doing better, though not as vigorous as the other two. All three are now getting round tummies after feeding, and cry when mommy leaves, and paw while eating. The first two are sucking HARD...so i'm hoping we can get at least those two to latch on today.
Daisy is a dream girl....she's very sweet and calm, and tries to be a good mom i think. She licks them alot, and curls around them. it looks like she's encouraging them to nurse, but they try and haven't been able to latch tightly. Maybe today. Any hints? This is all new to me too, though i've been researching and reading and following posts for 2 years.
I need to feed again at 8. Kim, I will call you after that feeding. Should I weigh them before or after the feeding?
Oh... Their weights
10:25 pm
Orange 94 g
Purple 90 g
Blue 88g
Blue is actually the most vigorous, so i'm thinking his weight will be up this am
keep praying for me to do a good job and keep these sweeties going. Again, Kimberly is an AMAZING help, available at the drop of a hat.
deb |