After months of waiting, July 16 had finally arrived.
Around noon, I noticed MC starting to pant. She was restless but otherwise acting like herself, so I figured we were getting close. I put her in the whelping box to get comfortable. She laid down for a few minutes, but then she had other plans. A few minutes later, she started trying to hop right back out.
Thinking she probably just needed to use the bathroom, I took her outside. As she squatted, our first puppy started making his entrance. I definitely wasn't expecting to deliver a puppy outside, but I acted quickly and caught him in my shirt before bringing everyone back inside.
At 2:15 PM, MC officially welcomed her first puppy, a healthy chocolate male. Once we got him cleaned up, he settled in quickly and started nursing. Seeing everything going well was a huge relief, and before long we were waiting for puppy number two.
At 5:00 PM, our second puppy arrived, a champagne and white male. He came breech and was a little slow to get started, which is always nerve-racking. Thankfully, breech puppies aren't always an emergency, and after getting him cleaned up and giving him a little time, he started moving around, making noise, and eventually made his way over to nurse with his brother.
55 minutes later, at 5:55 PM, MC delivered our first female, a healthy chocolate girl. Everything seemed to be moving along well. Three healthy puppies were nursing, MC was doing an incredible job taking care of them, and we figured we'd be meeting the next puppy before too long.
Instead, everything stopped.
MC continued panting, but the contractions were gone. There was no pushing and no obvious signs that another puppy was on the way.
Earlier in the pregnancy, our veterinarian estimated that MC was possibly carrying six puppies based on her ultrasound. We knew it was only an estimate, but it was enough to make us question whether she was truly finished.
So we waited...
We took her outside for short walks. We watched her closely. We checked on the puppies. We hoped labor would start back up on its own.
So many questions started going through my head. Was she just taking a normal break? Was she finished? Was there still another puppy? If you've ever been through a whelping, you know that's probably the hardest part. There isn't a clock that tells you exactly when it's time to go to the vet. You just have to keep watching your dog and trust your instincts.
After about three hours without any progress, we decided we'd rather make a trip to the vet and find out everything was okay than stay home wondering if something was wrong. We quickly loaded up the car and drove to the emergency vet.
The veterinarian confirmed there was still another puppy via x-ray and gave MC a dose of oxytocin to help stimulate contractions.
About ten minutes later, at 11:11 PM, our final puppy arrived, another healthy chocolate female. The relief in that moment is hard to describe. After hours of wondering if there was still another puppy, finally seeing her arrive safely was exactly what we'd been hoping for.
In the end, MC welcomed four healthy puppies: two boys and two girls. The ultrasound estimate of six ended up being just that, an estimate. It was a good reminder that every pregnancy and every whelping is different.
Looking back, the biggest lesson from the day wasn't about puppy count or labor times. It was about paying attention to the signs. We prepared as much as we could, but there were still decisions we had to make in the moment. Thankfully, everything worked out exactly the way we'd hoped.
We're incredibly proud of MC. She handled her first litter like a pro, and we're thankful to have four healthy puppies and one healthy mom. We hope you'll follow along with us as the Fantastic Four continue to grow and develop.