It didn't take long for Faith to figure what the thermometer looks like and an even shorter time to determine she doesn't like to have her temperature taken. Even if it is followed by a taste of peanut butter or Bacon flavored dog treat. (When she sees the thermometer in my hand she will run away form me.)
Since I know many of you are anticipating the birth of the puppies, I will try my best to keep all of you in the loop with everything that is going to happen this week. Since Faith will be going to Hardcore Computer with me this week, and I will be taking her temperature at work, most of the updates later in the week will be just her temp. In the mean time, hang in there with me this week; I'm sure it will be interesting.
Here are the temps from the last two days:
Date- Temperature/Time, Temperature/Time
3/6/09 - 99.9/7:00 AM, 99.7/8:00 PM
3/7/09 - 99.9/8:00 AM, 99.7/7:10 PM
For those who are new to this experience, like me, there is a reason why we take the Mother-to-be’s temperature: “A decline in progesterone is reflected by a decline in body temperature.” “If the rectal temperature is measured four times daily, beginning a week before expected date of whelping, a decline in body temperature of greater than 1 degree often is identified. Most bitches begin whelping within 24 hours of the temperature drop.” Faith’s favorite Vet at IGH indicated, as the source sited below does, that drop in temp is does not always happen for every bitch. But it can be one of the indicators.
Taken from the Dog Breeders Guide to Successful Breeding and Health Management by Margaret V. Root Kustritz, DVM, PhD, DACT, Copyright 2006, Elsevier Inc. Pages 180-181.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Milestones and Listening to Life
Two Milestones in One Day
Faith is at the stage in her pregnancy where I will start taking her temperature on a regular basis. I will start by taking her temperature twice a day at first and increasing the frequency as she gets closer to her due date. Second, as she has started to produce milk and I found some discharge on her fur today. I know this is typical and really doesn’t indicate anything surprising. But it was still another milestone along the path. Over the years I learned the milestones from Tiga, waited to hear about Sheba reaching her milestones, and marked them with Cheers. Now Faith and I are experiencing the milestones ourselves.
Listening to Life
Today I got to hear the puppies’ heart beats. My friend came to visit Faith and I today. She was checking on Faith. Having been an OBGYN nurse, she has a stethoscope and brought it with her so we could listen to the puppies’ heartbeats. It took a couple of tries to find one, but once we got Faith to hold still we could definitely hear the fast rhythm of their hearts. It was so very precious.
Here are some pictures I took of Faith today. I put Cammie next to her for comparison.
Faith is at the stage in her pregnancy where I will start taking her temperature on a regular basis. I will start by taking her temperature twice a day at first and increasing the frequency as she gets closer to her due date. Second, as she has started to produce milk and I found some discharge on her fur today. I know this is typical and really doesn’t indicate anything surprising. But it was still another milestone along the path. Over the years I learned the milestones from Tiga, waited to hear about Sheba reaching her milestones, and marked them with Cheers. Now Faith and I are experiencing the milestones ourselves.
Listening to Life
Today I got to hear the puppies’ heart beats. My friend came to visit Faith and I today. She was checking on Faith. Having been an OBGYN nurse, she has a stethoscope and brought it with her so we could listen to the puppies’ heartbeats. It took a couple of tries to find one, but once we got Faith to hold still we could definitely hear the fast rhythm of their hearts. It was so very precious.
Here are some pictures I took of Faith today. I put Cammie next to her for comparison.
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