A Tale of Tails

Hi everybody, I am the little Orange Boy - the smallest puppy in the litter.  I wanted to tell you that my brothers and sisters and I don't have tails or dewclaws any more!  It was pretty scary but Mama Pat made us laugh when she and Dr. Nairn tried to convince Aunt Lynne that breeders make a necklace out of the tails and wear it in the ring for luck!  Aunt Lynne was too smart to fall for that though!  Anyway when we get around to it, we will all pose for a group photo with our new look!

See my pretty star on my chest? 

Everyone says it looks like the Star of Texas but I am  not convinced!

Bella's puppies have arrived!

Bella started having her puppies around 4:30 a.m. on Friday, May 6th, and she finished up just before noon. EIGHT beautiful healthy babies - 6 boys and 2 girls!  Everyone is doing great and after a brief moment of looking at me with a "you expect me to do WHAT with those puppies?" look, Bella has been an excellent mom!  Everyone is gaining weight and looking good.

Bella showing off her new family on Mother's day!

Bella's X-ray!

Bella had her check-up yesterday and an x-ray to give us a good idea of how many puppies she is carrying - Dr. Van Brunt saw EIGHT puppies!  Amazing!  Although Bella looked big to me, I never dreamed we would get this many puppies from a frozen semen breeding to an older dog!  Tristan once again is the MAN!  Now to get them all here safely!

Here are some photos of Bella taken this past weekend. We spent Saturday getting the puppy room set up and all is ready and waiting now!

Bella has lots of milk and looks like she will need it!

Bella still seems to feel great and is getting bossy again with her brother Kolt!

That cool tile feels good on Bella's belly!

Babies are moving!

Today for the first time I felt Bella's babies moving!  It's always so exciting and makes the whole event more real to me! I'm sure Bella doesn't need to be convinced this is really happening though - I have to wonder how it all feels to her!

Take a look at Bella in her slimmer trimmer days in the video below - this is Bella at the May 2010 Standard Schnauzer Club of America National Specialty almost a year ago!  She wasn't even two years old here! 

Waiting for the Easter Bunny

This weekend we visited friends for Easter and Bella and Kolt got to play with their brothers Jager and Luke.  Bella is settling into her role as a soon to be mom and was much calmer than she normally is. She seems to sense that she needs to take it easy, and while she'd run occasionally in the race to get the ball or the toy, she always walked back.  Lots of naps and plenty of rest!  It won't be long now and Bella is getting bigger by the hour - today she measured 28" around her middle!  She also isn't eating with her usual gusto - it's getting crowded in there!

Bella patiently waits for the Easter bunny to bring her toys and goodies!

It feels good just to snooze on Mom's bed these days!

Bella is getting bigger!

Bella has already gained 3" around her middle since just before her ultrasound two weeks ago - she is now 27"!  She has gained 4 pounds in the two weeks since our last vet visit.  We go back to the vet on May 2nd for an xray which will give me a better idea of how many puppies are there! 

Bella is not not quite so bossy with Kolt these days, tho she still rules the house of course!  So far she seems to feel great and is enjoying all the extra attention! Here are some photos taken this past weekend at 5.5 weeks into her pregnancy!

Bella surveying her "kingdom" - the backyard - from the deck.  Looking a bit tubby!

Oh boy - that looks like a lot of puppies in there!

Here are Bella's new "vintage" baby scales - we will use these

to weigh puppies when they are too big for the food scale!

Bella's pregnancy confirmed!

Exciting times - Bella had her ultrasound on Wednesday and my vet saw 4 puppies for sure - possibly as many as 7!  Ultrasound is used to confirm pregnancy but not to give definite numbers - however it is fun to speculate!  All heartbeats looked good and strong.  Bella's due date is fittingly on Mother's Day, May 8th, but she could of course go early or late! So far she has gained just half a pound and about an inch or so around her "waist"!  Here are some of the photos taken of the ultrasound!