Well we ended up having quite a day. We had been told there were two puppies (the vet didn't x-ray but had palpated and said two pups). Well...her panting had to with the fact that there were four pups total. Five hours after giving birth to the second puppy she surprised us by giving birth to a little girl and an hour after that a little boy. The last two births required more intervention - the little girl puppy - the placenta didn't deliver with her and we had to cut the cord and then Jade pulled the placenta out herself. The third little boy came out tail first and his sac was all ready broken. She couldn't push the head out so I had to very carefully deliver his head. The cord was shredding so we cut that as well and then I had to manually deliver the cord. I did not think in any way that he would survive but he is strong and healthy. All the puppies are a miracle but the last two are extreme cases of miracles as they took so long to deliver and are both very strong and healthy. The pups are all good size - Puppy #1 6.5 oz., Puppy #2 6.1 oz., Puppy #3 (girl) 6.2 oz. and Puppy #4 5.9 oz.
The vet will be here tomorrow but all seems well today. I am thankful to have a vet that will come to the house as it is cold here in NYS and I would hate to have to take them out in this weather.
Jade is very nervous about leaving them so bathroom trips have been short and not overly productive. I know in time she will get a little less nervous. The puppies are energetic little nursers so I think it is taking some time for her to get used to it. She seems more at ease with the nursing this morning. Hopefully we can get her cleaned up today without her having huge anxiety over being out of the box and away from the puppies.
All in all, it was a crazy day yesterday but we did it and I have to say I am proud of myself because I had educated myself ahead of time, worked with my mentor (who unfortunately was out of town due to a family emergency) and I was able to step in, do what needed to be done and remained calm the entire time. I was up from 6am on Friday until basically 10pm last night when I finally got some much needed rest. Today we will rest some more and just enjoy our new additions.
(I posted some pictures in my album)