DAY 52 / New Years Day / WHELPING LIST

Treasure enjoying the warm winter weather on the afternoon of New Year's Eve.  Day 52

Christmas is over, the New Year is now upon us and we all look to the future months ahead with hope. As we open our new calendars we are greeted with 12 months of blank pages, ready to fill in with birthdays, appointments, schedules and all manners of events and reminders.  These blank pages of tomorrow will soon become today only to be replaced by yesterday. And it happens very quickly, more so as time marches on.  I determined what my so called "resolution" would be just a few weeks before Christmas.  In the past I have started diet and exercise programs, changed my way of eating, thrown out every unhealthy bit of food in our house and replaced it with purely natural/organic items, signed up for a gym program, bought exercise equipment and more. John and I both quit smoking one year for a resolution, back in 1984 and we have not picked up a cigarette since. Having said all of that however, my resolution is to keep things simple, or in other words "Simply Life".   John can't do it for me, and I can't do it for John. I'm not sure he even could because he's a Type A person and we march to very different drums. So how do I begin this on today, January 1, 2011?  By referring to a list.  But not the kind of list which tells me to do this or to do that at what time, when, and with who. Although those are very helpful that's just too complicated for me today. My throat is still sore, glands swollen, and energy level is well, what energy level?!

In my bookcase there is a large, formal black and maroon notebook with gold letters on the cover which read "LABORATORY NOTEBOOK".  Although a well made book, it is also a well used book with the spine of binding cracked.  I suppose being a Mainer I will eventually repair it with duck tape. This book is usually found next to a smaller red notebook. These two books are probably two of my most important ATB resources.  The smaller of the two contain the whelping notes from my mother and father's breeding program of Boston Terriers, back in the '60's.  The larger book is the one containing most if not all of our whelping notes including information from our very first litter of Brittanys born to us in 1990.  And this book is what I reached for this morning, this New Years Day 2011 in regards to lists.

Way in the back of the book, on the next to the last page is my handwritten list called "WHELPING SUPPLIES".  Items are added and removed as needed and checkmarks, highlighted notes run along side the list.  We probably know this list by heart but simplifying my life includes knowing we  have everything we could possible need on hand for when Treasure gives birth to her puppies, soon.  Thinking like Santa this morning "checking my list and checking it twice" I began:

Veterinary Thermometer

Vaseline &/OR KY Jelley

Paper towels, cloths, towels

Latex surgical gloves

Blunt Scisors to cut cord if needed

Heavy quilt thread to tie cord

Cotton balls/Pads

Nasal Aspirator to suction mouth

Alcohols for sterilizing things on this list

Iodine for the umbilical cord

Infra Red Heat Lamp W/Hood

2 Hot Water Bottles

Puppy Basket and Liner

Digital Scales

Egg timer to time temperature readings

Colored Yarn, rickrack or Pup ID tags

Pen, notebook

Handcleaner/sanitizer

Clock

Esbilac/Milk Replacer

Teeny baby animal bottles

Feeding tubes w/syringes

Rolls of Unprinted Newspaper

Surgical kit: forceps, sutures, needles, scalpel

Pedialyte

Benebac

Tums

Whelping box

Camera

Books, music, vet phone number, phone etc.

Peptobismol

Puppy Pads

Karo Syrup

Cooler with people snacks/coffee maker

Comfy chair, blanket, pillow, cot

Monitors and walkie talkies

Ingredients for Nursing Mother's Pudding

All of these supplies are typically kept in a nice storage unit down in the dog house but we will be christening our new puppy room soon.  I gathered everything this morning, brought it up to the kitchen, looked things over, washed, sterilized, and then opened my book to check my list twice.  I think we're in good shape.  Many of these items are never needed but I would not want to find ourselves in a situation where they were and we didn't have them on hand.  Most of the time mom delivers with very little human intervention but we are never less, close by. 

Speaking of the new puppy room, here is a photo of what it looks like so far. You will notice Jack is lying in the section reserved for growing puppies. There is a shelf encompassing the entire area making it easy to keep supplies on hand.  The room divider has the dutch door.  We have yet to bring the whelping box up from storage but it will be set in the enclosed area.  There is a swinging arm that will make it easy to adjust the heat lamps above the whelping box. There is a hot air furnace. The walls are made of washable panels. It's a nice warm, cozy area with Treasure's needs in mind as well as the well being of each puppy. The first part of the room is still going to be the grooming studio and has two comfy upholstered chairs. There's a radio, t.v., etc. If you look in the picture you can see at the far end of the area is the framed portrait of our very first litter of pups; Crickett and her 5 babies one of whom was of course our "Hunter" who lived to be 13. 

TRIVIA: Most Brittanys in our breeding program are traced back to Crickets line as many others in the New England area and across the country also are  (FC Pride & Joy's Buschman). Owned by Linda Hamel (McCartney-Roy) we bought Crickett in 1986  and  in 1990 bred her to a very nice male which we had bought out of the Apple Valley field champion lines. We've been a multi-dog family for many years beginning with Hunter and his parents in our lives.  We were all about bird hunting then with no idea that we'd eventually develop the program we are now so proud to share with so many wonderful people. Both of our now adult children grew up with Brittanys in their lives; our daughters family actually has a nice male closely related to Cricket/Hunter as well.  Pretty cool legacy !

But what is the most important at this point in time is what just happened to me, seconds ago.  Treasure came and stood next to me, reached out with her paw and then tried to stand on her hind legs to get close enough to kiss my face gently. She couldn't do it of course, she is so large and she's uncomfortable.  She decided she'd settle down on top of my feet instead.  This is along the lines of SIMPLIFY too.  I am simply going to turn to her and give her my undivided attention, she so deserves it. It is right now truly - all about Treasure.  Take care and God Bless, John, Ann and All Things Brittany - Happy New Year and thanks for your ongoing interest so very much, we enjoy being part of your lives.