Restful Evening
Rally and the pups are having a restful evening.  The pups are nursing well and mom seems comfortable.  Rally's appetite seems normal and she is staying hydrated.  She does not like being away from her pups for too long so she makes sure her trips outside for a potty break are quick.

Home from the Hospital
Rally and her surviving 3 puppies are home from the hospital.  We have 1 red boy, 1 black boy, and 1 black girl.  Rally is happy to be able to clean them and care for them.  She is a very good mother and was very upset about the whole ordeal.

Out of Surgery

Rally is out of surgery and in recovery.  She is doing well.  They were able to deliver all 4 of the puppies but the one in distress faded quickly after delivery and they were not able to revive him, a black boy. 

 Rally and the 3 surviving puppies should be discharged in about 2 hours.

Emergency C-section
Rally started pre-labor at 11:35pm on December 6, everything seemed to progressing normally and at 1:30am she had her first contractions.  By 2:30am we were beginning to get worried when she did not have the first puppy since she had whelped quickly and easily for her first litter.  At 3:00am we called the UC Davis Emergency Clinic and told them we thought there was a problem.  They asked us to wait 30 more minutes and then if no puppy was born then call back.  At 3:30am there was still no puppy, we were instructed to bring her in.  Once we were there, they did a physical exam and got her in for x-rays.  The x-rays should that the first puppy was mispositioned and could not enter the birth canal.  They tried to reposition the puppy with no luck.  They did an ultrasound to check on the status of the puppies, 2 had healthy heartbeats, 1 was in distress, and 1 could not be located.  We agreed that a C-section was the best option for Rally and the pups.  They began calling in the surgical team at 4:45am.  Rally was mostly prepped by by 5:45am and the surgeon wanted to begin the procedure by 6:15am.  They have sent us home to wait and get everything ready for the pups.  We will hopefully hear about the condition of the pups in the next hour and everyone should be ready to come home by noon.  Sam and I are a nervous wreck and it is difficult to keep busy while waiting for news.

So Big Around
This is as curled up as Rally can get with her belly as big as it is.  She has been periodically checking out whelping spots.  We are keeping an eye on her.  We are entering the "anytime now" stage.  Though her due date isn't until Wednesday we have gotten everything ready.

Spines and Skulls
Today was Rally's x-ray.  She was very excited about going for a car ride since everyone else has been going to agility class and she has had to stay home.  She was very disappointed to find that we were only going to vet not to play with all the fun stuff.  She was good for her x-ray and ate her cookie happily while we waited for them to develop it.  We could easily see 4 pups, just like in the ultrasound.  Everyone has a nice amount of space and mom is progressing normally.

8 Weeks, 1 to Go
We are at 8 weeks, 1 more week until her due date.  She is pretty big now and asks to go out more often.  The pups are pretty active in the morning and the evening.  I can feel them moving around pretty easily now.  She has been very cuddly this week and gives us a look that seems to say, "Okay, they can hurry up and be born already."

Whelping Box
We have finally put up the whelping box.  Rally seemed happy to see it.  She checked it out to make sure we set everything up right.

They Kick
Laying in bed with Rally this morning, I could feel the pups moving around!  Rally had a nice Thanksgiving and enjoyed her small sampling of turkey.  The pups must have liked it too. :)

7 Weeks, Bed Hog
With her belly so big Rally doesn't curl up to sleep anymore.  She stays all stretched out to give the babies room.  It makes her quite the bed hog.  She likes to keep warm staying close to the heater or snuggling laying close to her daughter Rio.  We should have the whelping pen up by the end of this weekend.