First Galavanting Poodle puppies of 2022: Grace's birth story

GCH Lakeridge Galavanting Never Out of Style; Grace gave us the best gift of the new year. Grace had puppies!

A bundle of white poodle puppies hours after being born.

Grace gave birth to nine lovely white puppies.
Six boys.
Three girls.
All of the puppies are healthy and thriving. I am filled with bliss as I help Grace mother her little brood!

Grace’s birth story:

Before Grace even went into labor, I’d made a plan. I’d laid out some milestones and some warning signs that I would watch for through Grace’s stages of whelping. When Grace hit a milestone, I felt comfortable moving along to the next step in her labor process. And if certain warning signs cropped up, I'd made the decision that I would head in to my vet's office.

This is the moment I want to say that I understand that everyone is has different levels of comfort when whelping a litter. And I truly believe that every well thought decision is the right decision for the person making it.

For me, I knew how far I was comfortable going in a natural whelp before calling in reinforcements. And that's exactly what happened on Friday morning.

At about 9am on January 7, I called my vet and let him know I was heading in with Grace. He agreed with my assessment and said he'd have everything ready for our arrival. Mike drove, and I stayed in the back of my rig with Grace (I'd already laid out her blankets, supplies and whelping area in the van before she went into labor as a just in case scenario).

Once we arrived at my vet, he did a check of the puppies and of Grace. Everyone was looking good, there was one puppy the vet couldn't see real well because that boy was already headed into the birth canal, but everything else looked good and Grace was in no distress.

But, Grace also wasn't progressing in her labor.

And here is the next point in which I say again; everyone has a different comfort level for whelping, and any well thought out decision is a right decision for the person making it!

My decision, made with my vet, was to go ahead and move forward with a c-section. Grace was tired, she was packed full of puppies, and I wanted all of those little lives to have the best chance of survival.

What a good decision the c-section turned out to be!

The little man who was headed into the birth canal ended up being in distress when he was pulled out. His placenta was starting to disintegrate (normal) and he was still a good ways from making his exit (not so normal). The vet tech worked her magic and brought that boy back from the edge of death! It was truly an amazing experience for me as I know, without a doubt, I would not have known to do some of the things she did to get him going again. And I definitely know I don't have some of the equipment she used to get his little heart and lungs going.

It was seriously a miracle to my eyes!

A newborn white poodle puppy male, resting comfortably.

Other than just being in the birth canal a tick too long, there was not a single thing wrong with this boy. He weighed in at 11.9oz (good weight!) and is continuing to thrive. Although my son does joke that he thinks this boy (Silver Collar) is a bit of an adrenaline junkie now

All the other puppies were born without issue. Their weights ranged from 12oz to 13.6oz. They were feisty right from the start! My vet said that these little pups were pushing on the uterine horns even as he was removing the horns to get the puppies out. This is exactly how Sojourner was as well. I guess these Galavanting puppies are all born ready for adventures!

Grace woke up from her c-section in great spirits. She immediately took to feeding the puppies. She doesn't have a ton of milk right now, so we're doing some supplemental feeding. After about the first 15 hours, I think we finally hit our stride with rotating puppies and making sure everyone is getting their rightful share of food from Grace and from being hand fed.

It took Grace about 18 hours to figure out how to nurse by herself and how to potty her puppies by herself. I am SO proud of her for taking to these maternal instincts so quickly after her c-section. Kluane took about 5 days to really get into gear, so this was a VERY pleasant surprise for me!

The drive home from the vet's office was a dream for me. Many of you know how much I've wanted a beautiful litter. I've been waiting a while for this litter and I could not be more happy in my exhaustion

Everyone is safe and comfortable back home in Talkeetna. The temperature is about -26ºF, but the house is cozy and warm. Benjamin is still home from university and is absolutely beside himself with excitement about these little lives. He has Facetimed all of Juneau to share their cute little faces

Mike and I have a pretty good system down. I don't want to jinx anything, but so far, things are going according to plan!

I'm exhausted, I don't know what day or time it is, I'm living on CheezIts and Dt Dr Pepper, but I've never been more happy about nine dogs in all my life