I want to thank everyone for the incredible information about the birthing process. It means the world to me.
Molly had her pups Wed morning, starting around 3 AM. Sadly, only the first four survived.
Molly, herself, didn't seem to have a difficult time. She was given some vanilla ice cream - and it seemed to stabilize her blood sugar - so no shakes. And my daughter arrived the day before - so I was worrying needlessly about that.
This was the first time I attended a birth and it was bittersweet. Our regular vet was gone on vacation, but we had the number of a stand-by vet and we gave her a call when Molly first went into labor. Nice gal, young and didnt' mind being roused in the wee hours at all.
I had the job of holding the baby to her momma for licking while my daughter took care of the cord. The first one totally shocked me - the mess that arrived with the pup, but just helping out was fantastic.
When the fifth pup came out - my daughter cursed. I couldn't figure out why - but the sack it was in - was a little different, kind of crinkly looking. She worked on the puppy for a couple of minutes and told me it was no use. I wanted to try longer - so she handed the little girl to me. I rubbed, used the aspirator and did the 'puppy swing' until my daughter told me to quit - that it had been over five minutes without any air and there was no real chance anymore. We had a physicians stethoscope - it was silent. I had the hardest time stopping my efforts. Part of me knew I had to stop - but another part of me wanted a miracle. I haven't cried so much in a long time.
The vet on the phone was not encouraging anymore. She told us we needed to get the other puppies out. We were instructed to walk Molly outside to try to get her to deliver them. We did and she delivered the next one in about fifteen minutes - but the same thing happened, although with this baby - my daughter suggested I not work on it as long - its tongue and feet were white - a bad sign I guess. After that, Molly relaxed, laid down and fell asleep while her four precious babies were nursing. Her breathing slowed and she rested peacefully. The vet told us she was done. That wasn't quite the case. About four hours later, after Molly had gone out to the restroom she returned only to start panting again. One last stillborn pup arrived almost immediately.
The vet didn't have a good explanation for the events. The sacks on the last three pups slipped - but why? Her labor was not too intense. I just don't get it.
Molly will be spayed very soon. This was her last litter. She is a wonderful mum, so tender and caring for her babies, but this is not going to happen again.
I'll post some pics of the babies when I get a chance. They are beautiful.
