Getting worried for my Pregnant girl
 

I have a 3 yr old Yorkie, which I bred the week of Xmas, we just confirmed Monday she is in fact pregnant via blood work & her ever growing belly... she's due around the 20th of next month... BUT-

Im a little worried that her nipples arent enlarging. She 39 days preggy, her belly is HUGE but I dont see the nipples getting any bigger... is this normal, will they eventually get bigger? Or would they already show signs of getting bigger?

Should I prepare myself for bottle feeding???

Also heres a link of pictures of her at about 36 days, any idea/ guesses of how many puppies???

Yalee Pregnancy

Nipples are perfectly normal at this stage...they may not enlarge much until the pups start to nurse...and the nipple does not have to be that big for a puppy to grasp...they do not nurse on just the nipple area...their mouths open wide and they get a good part of the breast itself...

It is not like a human sucking milk through a straw..lips pursed around the straw..it is like cutting a hole in an orange and wrapping your lips and mouth around the hole to suck out the juice....

She looks full to me...a bit uneven so I think it is an odd number.

Thansk a million... I will post more pics this week... we'll do xrays this Friday. Keep ya'll posted.

congratulations on the upcoming litter. I wanted to mention that if she is only 38/39 days, it will not do you any good to get x-rays yet. The skeletons will not show up yet. Wait until around day 58. Then you will not be wasting your money and should get a good idea of how many and thier sizes.

Her nipples look enlarged to me. insomuch as that's what mine looked like in her first litter. Multiple litters maybe enlarge sooner??

hope this helps
 

:animal-pa Id def keep a good eye on her and get your xrays around 58 days as it was already said. We had xrays at 46 days 2 in fact and still could not see bones, You want those xrays closer to the whelp date also so the vet can see the size and postion of the pups to make sure she can have them on her own, Since your babie has a big belly at only 35 days she could have more then three pups or they may just be large, My girl just had three babies Sat the 29th there 3 days old today, She started having her babies and the 1st was breech and became stuck, even with my help the pup would not come out , we had to rush her to the vet, were it took the vet another 30 mins to remove the fetus, We lost that one, But she did have two more little girls on her own without help, but let me tell you boy are they small. Bella, my babie didnt have a belly untill the later part of her preg, She never had milk come out, she did not pant,dig,or nest before labor, She eat and drink water, every thing was fine except her temp was low for two days before the whelp,She gave birth on her 61st day, but the best clue she gave me was I had set her a place in my walk in closet to deliver, she never would go in there thou, but Saturday morning she was found in the whelping box and I new it was time, Her labor started at 12:30pm and by 1:00pm she was delivering the 1st pup, After the drive to the vet and many tears worried, will my little girl be able to do this? Will she need a c-section?Or shots?Or worse could she die, Youll see yorkies online giving birth not making a sound they make it look so easy, Well my baby cryed the hole time even screaming when the vet had to remove the stuck fetus, Every time shed push shed open her mouth real wide as if she were in pain, It was hard!On us both! Iam not telling you my storie to scare you, but I only want to inform those out there with a love pregnant, that things can go wrong and fast, and even thou sometime we may know excatly what to do things go wrong, I belive I was one of the lucky ones althou we lost the 1st little girl pup (she had all girls) She didnt need a c-section,no shorts,or help on the other two,(Still a verey expensive vet bill) It was upsetting thou because once at the vet I could not be with my babie. I was like a daddy sitting in the wating room waiting for the nurse to come in with the news, I hope your whelp and babie gos good, My prayers are with all those yorkies expecting.:aimeeyorkAttachment 336864

Thanks everyone for the input, her xray is this coming Friday when shes expected to be about 46 days... I guess Ill move it towards the end of the following week. I have been calling the vets to find out the cost of a c-section, JUST IN CASE, & getting everything ready... I was at her birth & her mom was a trooper, no issues at all... so Im hoping daughter has the same success.

The only thing I was thinking is, doing an xray for the 55th-59th day, isnt that cutting it too close? B/c they give birth upto the 63rd day, but most go into labor alot earlier, her mom went into labor on the 57th day, so Im kinda doing a ballpark around that time... so thats why I wanted to do the xrays a little earlier... I will keep ya posted. Ill take her 7week belly pic tomorrow & post, thanks.

The 55th day from the first breeeding is the earliest an x-ray should be performed as to not harm the pups. Whelping can happen anytime from the 58th day of the first breeding to the 63rd day of the last day.

Preparing yourself for bottle feeding is one of the many things that you should prepare for. In other words prepare for every possible emergency scenario.

I understand your concern with finances; however, don't let this be the main factor in deciding upon vet. Questions you could ask include how experienced the vet is in c-sections, especially with a toy breed. Also, will he be available 24/7, will he give you a cell phone number so you can reach him? Which anesthetic does he use, what type of after care does he provide?

Great questions, thank you so much for all this, I think Im ready but I know I am nervous too... I think im OVER thinking it, but I rather be safer than sorry...

BTW Day 43/ 7 weeks pic is up.... I cant believe how big they get & she still has more to go! Here ya go

QUESTION???:confused::confused:

When is it that we should stop feeding her cottage cheese/ hard boiled eggs with her food?? She is 44 days in!!! Thanks

No cottage cheese (or any other extra calcium) until AFTER the whelping.

Feeding natural calcium from food is perfect fine, vet recommended and needed before whelping.
Calcuim suppliements are not given before whelping...food is totally different.

Really? I always heard differently. I guess I was just focused on the "no extra calcium" (meaning supplements) but I could have sworn my mentor told me no cottage cheese either. Maybe that's just her opinion. Guess I'll leave the answering to the experts in the future.