Quick update… yes, both girls ARE pregnant! Deja is scheduled for a progesterone blood test, x-ray (to count skulls and spines to get a puppy count) and a C-section (4/22 or 4/23). I will start taking her temp twice per day starting a week prior to her due date (that will also monitor her progesterone and that drop).
Progesterone is the hormone that maintains pregnancy. Just before (within a 24 hour window usually), progesterone levels drop signifying impending labor. That drop in progesterone causes the girls temperature to drop by a full degree… a sure sign of impending labor. Another way to monitor that progesterone level is a simple blood test. We want to make absolutely sure her progesterone levels drop, and puppies are “ready” to be born, before they do that C-section.
Vee is about a week behind Deja and also pregnant. She, will have that pre-whelp x-ray to count skulls and spines (to know how many puppies to expect). She is scheduled for her C-section on 4/30; her actual due date.
Meanwhile both girls are ravenously hungry! When they aren’t sleeping, that is. They are getting moderate exercise but separate from my more rowdy dogs. It is just an added precaution but neither need to be darting and diving for say a tennis ball! And as those puppies grow… Many more potty breaks for both provided these days!
I’m still waiting for my collars to arrive. They said they’ve shipped but this certainly is NOT Amazon which we’ve become so used to in regards to fast shipping. Fortunately, I do have “plan B” if they don’t arrive in time.
This weekend is pullout and clean/bleach “puppy stuff”! I will feel good being “ready” with things set up; I just hate leaving anything to the last minute! That is IF the weather cooperates?
I WILL try my hardest to keep folks updated but please know, my first priority will be mom’s and puppies health. That first few days (actually first week) is so critical in monitoring mom’s and puppies health for any problems. Just as soon as I’m sure all are doing well, we get to go through the entire process again with Vee. This is the hardest part/time, in my experience. Then, the next “hard time” starts again at around 4-5 weeks when we start transitioning puppies onto solid food.
Lastly, and really sort of silly are “technical difficulties”! As we’ve all experienced, just when you’ve learned a new program/software, they change it with “new and improved” functions! What used to be easily done now takes longer to figure out how something new works! I guess this is “good” as it keeps our brains thinking/working but yeah… frustrating to figure out how new improvements work too!
Keeping fingers crossed for a safe whelping and healthy puppies! And as I write this, just thought of yet another question for my vet… pain management post C-section? What does she recommend for mom’s surgical pain that won’t cross over into milk and sedate puppies? Hmmm??? I guess we cross that road when we get to it. I’ve already been told that due to Covid and mandates, only one person will be allowed “to help”, sigh! I will help the techs “revive” puppies; hubby will be waiting to help wherever he is allowed? It would just about kill me to NOT be with my momma’s and babies in real time! Maybe by some miracle, our Covid mandates will be lifted in the next few weeks? One can certainly hope!!
Jema Golden Retrievers 