Pedicures
Mood:  bright
Now Playing: Puppies get their first Pedi
The puppies got their first nail trimming today.  Man did they need it!  When they start scratching up my chest and leaving red marks all over me, it's time.  They just get so excited when they're nursing, they get into it by digging and scratching and pushing, which is quite a painful experience for the mom, let me tell you.  I was very happy to see them getting a much needed Pedi today.  They didn't like it much though.  They weren't quite sure what was going on.

My babies
Now Playing: growing and growing and growing

My puppies have about doubled in size already.  They eat and eat and grow and grow.  I'm eating really good this time.  I'm not as in shock as I was the first time.  I've got this thing down!  Mom is great at making sure I get my supplements and my 3 meals a day.  I won't let Brady near the puppies yet.  He's still just a big oaf, so he's not allowed near the whelping box.  He can look, but if his head crosses the door, I tell him to back-off.  I know he can't wait to have playmates again.  He really misses the first litter of puppies.  He played with those babies non-stop from the time they could climb out of the box until they left.  It'll be sad again when we have to say goodby. We're going to make these 8 weeks with the babies wonderful and memorable! We love them so much!

-Bella  (picture is mom with a baby boy)

Puppies, puppies everywhere!
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: Birthdate 1/11/10

I can't believe Meghan was totally right!  I know her number is always 11, but she guessed totally correct!  11 puppies were born on the 11th!  Let me start from the beginning.  So, mom went into her room to go to bed, but I wasn't feeling the greatest.  They knew it could be soon because I haven't eaten much in the past 2 days.  It came so quick.  I went down to my whelping box and had my first puppy by myself.  I cleaned her off (a little girl) and then went up and got my mom.  I scratched on the door until she came out and then she heard the little cries from my puppy downstairs.  She was so excited!  She tood me back down to the whelping box and sat with me for the rest of the night while I had puppy after puppy.  She thought we were done at 10 because #9 and #10 were twins-they came out together.  They are so cute!  All of them are cute! So mom cleans everything up and goes to rest upstairs.  I'm nursing my puppies and "bang", here comes #11.  Mom didn't even know until she came back downstairs after a short nap.  She was petting me and counting the puppies and she was in shock.  "Oh my Bella, you've been busy while I was sleeping!" she says.  I was just glad she stayed with me all night.  I knew exactly what to do this time, but mom inspected each puppy and helped babysit whenever I had to push again.  1 more than last time and it's a girl.  So now I have 4 girls and 7 boys and they are all healthy and beautiful.  My family is very proud of me.  We have plenty of love here for 11 more puppies.  Time for a nap.

-Bella

X-Ray Day
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: and the answer is...

So I saw the Dr. today.  I didn't like her because she had on a white jacket.  She scared me.  I mean, who wears an ugly white jacket like that?  I much rather preferred the man in the blue scrubs.  He smiled a lot, was supper nice and knew just where my ichy spot is.  I let him take me to the X-ray table because he's nice.  They told my mom that it looks like 9 puppies.  However, the doctor was clear to point out, "But it could be more, we just don't know for sure."  Apparently I have a very long torso and there could be all kinds of puppies hiding that they can't see in the X-ray.  We're counting on 9 puppies for now.  That's much better than mom's prediction. Yay!

-Bella

The Day ...
Mood:  energetic
Now Playing: The arrival date will be...

So everyone in the family is putting bets on how many puppies I'll have and what day.  Mom thinks I'll have 14 and I'll have them around the 15th of January.  That's crazy!  I can't deal with 14 children! No way!  Meghan thinks I'll have 11 on the 11th.  Kobe bet on me having 12, but he doesn't know when.  Dad says I'll have 13 around the 20th.  Common dad, that's an unlucky number!  Thanks a lot!  Personally, I just want to have them now.  I'm so huge, I don't see how I can grow another day.  I have an X-Ray at the doctors office on Friday, so we'll find out more then.  I can't wait!

-Bella

Opps, I did it again!
Mood:  accident prone
Now Playing: I think I'm preggo again...

OK, for the record, this wasn't planned.  Let me be the first to tell you that although it's a mistake, we are prepared to live with the consequences.  My parents tried to keep Brady away from me when I went in heat again, but we have our ways.  Try as they might, we had several rendevous behind their back, which made it all the more exciting.  Expecially when I hadn't seen him all day.  Anyway, I'm starting to think it wasn't such a great idea because my belly is growing quite large again.  I can still win him at fetch, so it's all good.  I wonder how pregnant I am?  How many will I have this time? How many boys and how many girls?  I have so many questions, but at least I know what I'm doing this time around. 

-Bella

Bella's Blog
Mood:  irritated
Now Playing: Not one for holidays...

I really don't understand the whole idea of people's holidays.  I know that mom stays home, which is good, but the rest is irritating.  Sometimes they bring a nice, big, green tree in the house and put all kinds of cool stuff on it and then yell at us if we get near it or even look at it.  But it's so pretty!  How can a dog not play with shiney balls hanging right at eye level?  Talk about torture!  (That's beyond Brady's self-control meter.  He can't resist a shiney ball!)  Sometimes they hide yummy hard boiled eggs all over the house, and then our boy has to find them in the morning.  We like to help, but if we find them before the boy does, we get in major trouble. (It's best if we eat every scrap of evidence. Then they just think they forgot where they hid some.) Oh, and what about that night when they all dress up like scarry strangers and they have other scarry strangers come to the door and they give them candy.  I can't trust any of them and I don't like people constantly at the door.  I really hate that night. 

Today has to be one of the worst though.  Actually it's the night I hate.  There's loud sounds through the air all night long.  It sounds like gun fire.  Sometimes there's lights in the sky.  I swear I smell smoke too, so maybe they burn things too, who knows?  I just really hate this night and I hope it ends because I'm scared for my puppies.  At least mom and dad closed all the windows and blinds so that we would feel safe.  I don't think I'll sleep well tonight.

-Bella

Bella's Blog
Mood:  bright
Now Playing: It's the little things...

So, yesterday and today, after I ate breakfast, I didn't go right back into the whelping box.  I went outside and sat birdwatching for a while.  I really missed watching and stalking the birds in the backyard.  Then, Brady thought he was cute when he ran passed me in the house with our squeeky.  He ran right up to mom and almost knocked me down!  Well, that was it!  I ran after him, grabbed the squeeky out of his mouth and out the door and around the house before he even noticed it was gone!  (He's not nearly as fast as me!)  He never even saw it comming.  I bet he thought I'd never play again.  Ha!  Fooled him!  When he came looking for me and the squeeky I was already back and playing fetch with mom.  It was a blast and I felt revitalized.

I guess every now and then it's good for a mom to have some fun herself, so that she is energized to be the best she can be.  I wasn't gone from the puppies that long, but some bird chasing and game of fetch sure did wonders for my mood.  Maybe I'll make that a part of my routine everyday.   

-Bella

Bella's Blog
Mood:  not sure
Now Playing: A Good Parent?

I have been a mom for a couple days now.  Most of my time is spent in the whelping box with my puppies, licking and nursing them.  They are so weak and defenseless.  I won't even let their father near them because I can't trust him.  I left only to eat and "do my business" outside, but that was it.  So, I wonder, does this make me a good mom?  I give all of myself to my offspring, giving myself only what I need to survive, just so that they can thrive.  Does a good parent neglect their own needs and desires so that their children are taken care of?  Do they have to?

Every time one of the human children run through the house and outside, I sit up and look out of the box longingly, wishing I could run with them.  I smell mom cooking in the kitchen and I see Brady sitting at the doorway, watching her, knowing that I can't.  If I'm lucky someone will come over and visit me and give me some pats and say nice words, but I so want to run and jump and play.  Does my deprivation make me a good parent?

I wonder if humans ever go through this?  Do they ever give up everything they enjoy just to take care of offspring of their own? Maybe it doesn't have to always be like this.  Maybe I can slowly get my life back.  Maybe tomorrow I will play with my boy, if only for a little while.

-Bella

I'm a mommy!
Now Playing: times 10

I must appologize for missing yesterday, but I was a tad busy.  I spent all day Saturday in labor and from 6:00 P.M. - 12:30 A.M. I delivered 10 puppies.  Of course, my family helped, and it was the hardest day of my life, but all my puppies are perfect!

OK, from the beginning. Saturday morning I was still feeling slow.  I got up when my mom did and went into the kitchen for breakfast.  I was hungry from not eating much yesterday, so I heartely ate my breakfast, but it didn't stay down long.  I had to run outside fast when the nausea hit.  It didn't stop there.  The nausea continued all day.

My mom knew something was wrong and she stayed with me all day.  I felt better when I walked, so I paced back and forth accross the backyard throughout the day.  Sometimes mom would walk and talk to me. I really just didn't know what was happening, but she seemed to understand, which helped.

When I started dripping fluid all over the floor, I received a lot of attention from my family.  They made me stay in the whelping box/bed, so I thought I was in trouble.  Mom said soft words, but I was scared. I felt very uncomfortable and everyone was staring at me.

All of a sudden something dark and squishy came out of me while I was standing up.  Mom tried to get me to sit down, but I couldn't.  She tore at the thing and took out a little grunting wet ball and showed it to me.  It scared me.  I wanted nothing to do with it.  Mom started drying it off and I saw a nose, then little ears and lips.  It started turning silver like me as it dried and it was almost cute.  I sniffed it, but still not sure what to do with it.  Mom put it in a box and then made me lay down.

Now it gets really weird.  OK, she pointed at the dark "stuff" that was still there and some primal wild instinct came over me and I did something that I will not discuss, but let's just say it was not at all ladylike, though it seemed necessary at the time.  Now, if anyone thinks they can judge me, first have 10 babies without so much as an asprin, then I might listen to what you have to say, but I even doubt that.  Desperate times call for desperate measures...that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

After the initial shock, I kinda got the hang of it.  I even cleaned the babies myself and cut the umbilical cord.  I became quite a pro around puppy number 7.  The first 7 were 15 to 20 min. apart.  Wow, was I tired!  I had a boy, girl, boy, girl, boy, girl, boy.  Then, the last 3 were 2 hours apart each and all 3 were boys.

By the time we were done, it was 12:30 A.M. all the babies were nursing and I was asleep.  The last one was the only one born on Sunday, so my mom calls him "Sunday."  She called the first one "Hercules" because he's so big and buff.  Once they're all together in a big pile it's impossilbe to tell them appart because they all look so much alike.  I must say, they are all equally beautiful and perfect.

Mom stayed up all night watching us to make sure they all got to nurse and that I didn't squish any of them. (Not that I would, but she was so worried because I was so exhausted.)

So, I must say I look marvelous again as my girly figure has returned.  My babies are beautiful and I'm very proud. I won't let Brady get near my puppies, although he is the father, I just don't trust his clumsey butt.  In fact, he really irritates me now.  If he walks too close to me, or looks at me, I just have to snap at him for being so stupid.  I've been though hell and he should just stay out of my way.  In fact, he should be out hunting for me or something useful.  Oh well, at least Grandma Sunny (the Lhasa Apso) knows to stay away and now I know why she's so angry all the time.

Ta ta for now...

-Bella