7 or 8 Pups on the Way!

(Pickles on 10/29/09)


Well, I took Pickles to the vet today to get xrays done so we know how many pups she has (we didn't do this last time and when no more pups came out after #8 in January I was uneasy and couldn't go to bed thinking she might have one more stuck inside). After the xray we saw 7 puppies for sure and maybe 8; it was hard to tell for sure b/c one might have been hidden by her intestines. 7-8 puppies again! Wow, no wonder she is so big already.

So I have something silly to admit to. When I was driving home from the vet, I felt so sad... why was I sad about 7 puppies... I felt like something was missing... Then it hit me... we had 8 puppies last time and I was subconsciously sad b/c I wasn't sure which puppy we would be left without this litter. How stupid!! We have all new puppies this litter and my heart is ready to love on each of them! We aren't getting the old litter back which I loved so dearly, but instead getting blessed with new precious little pups! How silly am I?!

Just starting yesterday really, Pickles has been getting real tired; sleeping more and avoiding the stairs if at all possible. She still likes to go for walks, but we make them real short now. As long as we go to the lake, she's a happy camper. If we try to head back b/4 we get there, she's walking back with her tail b/w her legs... our babies are spoiled!

About a week and a half or two to go...

2-3 more weeks

Here are the proud parents today! Pickles is getting bigger every day. Yesterday I thought I felt some flutters through Pickles' tummy, but you never know if you are feeling gas or puppies at first. Today I was trying to see if I felt anything and bang... a little thump on the palm of my hand. How cute!!! I can't wait to give the little pups hugs and kisses.

Pickles is doing real well. She still has a lot of energy which is different from her first pregnancy. She wakes up at night a lot though to go the restroom or drink water. Poor girl... Noodles just stays in bed though most of the time.

The rest of these pictures were taken this past Sunday. Poor pickles stretching out trying to get comfortable...

Here's daddy having no trouble at all getting comfortable!

Aww... all 3 animals inside napping together. (This is pretty rare so we're glad we got it on film!)

Weird pic of Pickles giving her 'sexy face'...

Surprise! Litter #2 on the way!

On August 29th Pickles started her 2nd heat cycle since she delivered puppies in January. We decided we were going to let them mate this time. We were expecting them to mate sometime after Labor Day weekend, but Noodles never really seemed 'interested'. We just figured her system is still trying to get back to normal after puppies and she never released the 'scent'. So, a week went by and we figured that we weren't going to have puppies this time around.

So... the past couple of weeks we noticed Pickles was getting tubby, but just figured she was becoming a 'mature' basset. She was full of energy, which was nothing like her first pregnancy. The minute she was prego last year she became so lethargic. Well, this past week Jason and I kept looking at her and rubbing her tummy and telling each other, "She has to be pregnant... just has to be." So by Friday we decided that she must be prego, but I wanted to take her to the vet to make sure there wasn't some infection going on instead. I'd hate to think we ignored something and she was hurting.

So I took her to the vet Saturday morning and the vet said her uterus is definitely enlarged and she can feel something in there. We will take her back in a week or two to get x-rays to determine how many pups she has. We didn't do this last time and I was so worried when she 'finished labor' that she still might have another puppy in there.

We expect her to deliver sometime around the week of November 8th, which would allow the puppies to be ready right before Christmas!

Here is a pic of Pickles now, roughly around 5 weeks or so along. We're going to go get her puppy chow today! Noodles will be a lucky duck and get this treat as well. Jason and I can't wait to love on these new precious little cuties soon!!!

Mommy and Daddy on 10/18/09

Extras

Noodles likes to grab two toys every time he comes into the house when we get home from work. He is so excited he never knows which toy to play with first so he grabs as many as he can!