It’s going to be a wild ride.

Oh, gracious! This puppy thing is reminding me of my baby days. Since the puppies were born, I have been sleeping on the couch to make sure that the puppies are OK. It seems that Roxie has a bad habit of rolling over on one or two puppies. I don’t think she is intentionally trying to hurt them, she just moves around every so often, to change positions, and a puppy will end up under her or squished between the wall of the pen and Roxie. The poor little puppy will start to screech and you know immediately what is going on. I woke up this morning around 2:30am. to the sound of a distressed puppy. I jumped off the couch and ran into the nook to find the tiny little pup trying to get air. I reached in and rescued the squealing puppy. My mind is saying, “Am I going to have to do this every night?”

It’s funny how mothers have a built in radar when it comes to babies. I remember when I first became a mom how I could instantly hear my baby turn over in the bassinette. If something didn’t sound right, I could hear it a mile away. After my children were older, I could sleep through a hurricane. A burglar could come in the house and I probably wouldn’t hear him. Now, with these puppies, my radar is back on. It’s got to be something God put into mothers to help them do their job. It’s different with my husband. He looks into the puppy pen and counts bodies and says, “Yep, they are all there.” He goes to bed and is totally oblivious as to what is going on. He has no radar at all. MEN!

We took Roxie and the puppies to the vet the morning after the deliveries to have them checked out. That was an interesting event all in itself. TF and I put the puppies in a box and put the leash on Roxie. It was a miracle we got them there in one piece. Roxie sat in the back seat with TF while I drove. The puppies were up front with me and Roxie kept trying to get in the front seat with the puppies. We made it over to the vet’s office and got everyone inside to an examination room. The assistant weighed each puppy and checked them out to make sure they were all right. They weighed between 14 ½ to 16 ounces each. All the puppies were pronounced healthy. Dr. Marshall came in and checked out Roxie. She gave her two shots and sent us on our way home with all kinds of instructions on raising puppies. Like human babies, puppies eat and sleep – eat and sleep – eat and sleep. Roxie is a milk producing mamma. She drinks lots of water and has a good healthy appetite.

Just think, six weeks ago, who would have thought that we would have a mamma dog and seven puppies? My daughter, Jennifer, is due with her baby in 9 days. As my husband says, “It’s never dull in the Stern household.” I feel like I have a tiger by the tail and I am just holding on for dear life. Yes, life is interesting. Thank God for that.