“things never happen the same way twice.” -c.s. lewis

Bella delivered early with her past litter, around three or four days early. We like to have our girls come to us about a week before they are due. This allows them to settle in to their prepared whelping area in our home or in our dog barn. When her guardian called to tell me she was nesting and restless about ten days before her due date, I was concerned. That is very early for a dog to deliver. We have our girls placed in the best guardian homes, and this family is wonderful. We know they take great care of Bella, she is spoiled in the best way! Once I picked her up and brought her home, she settled once again and spent the following days napping through the day. I made her special food to mix in with her usual kibble and the days passed by.

We are currently in the middle of a dog barn renovation. We replaced the older washer and dryer, cabinets, put fresh paint on the walls and pulled up the older flooring. We had extra flooring from building our house. I want the barn to always be an extension of our home, so an option to have matching flooring sounded amazing!

As Bella slept through each day at our home, I worked at taking care of Phoenix’s litter while also continuing on the construction. My mom is an absolute angel. She came to stay with me so she could watch the girls while I continued to get dog work done. A few days later, my dad came for a visit to help me replace the old barn doors with new ones and help make repairs to the inside of the barn. Those changes made a big difference! My husband took that whole weekend and dug new trenches for the lines. My family has been so kind to be supportive of this dog business. But they have also come to my aid when I need the help. I can’t do it all, and I’m beyond appreciative of each of them.

A bulk of the new work on the interior was completed and Bella began nesting for a few days. She nested all the way up to her due date. My gut told me to move her whelping area to the barn where it is more quiet and designed with dogs in mind, not humans. Once out in the quiet of the barn and away from my tiny humans and the regular coming and going of a household, she seemed ready. I put my little ones to bed and made a bed of blankets for me on the barn floor outside her whelping area. Her first came after midnight. Bella likes to do all the work herself, but have me near. She remembered exactly what to do. After three more hours of delivering, her second puppy came. I sat and watched as she tore open the placenta, cut the cord, and cleaned the puppy. Her third puppy came an hour later and the final puppy came around 5:00am. It was a long, but sweet night. Paris, Rome, Cyprus, and Kent couldn’t be any more perfect!

Bella is a wonderful momma, her babies are very chunky! Her area is kept extremely clean and her puppies sleep soundly when she isn’t nursing them. I’m so thankful for the puppies that we have been given, they bring me a lot of joy each day. I look forward to sharing more of them in the weeks ahead.

XX,