Here they are!

I am pleased to announce that the final total is 7 girls and 2 boysAfter a good nights sleep both Gambit and I are ready for the next 7 weeks. I will describe the whelping process so you can get a feel for what went on. Gambit started into first stage labor at around 9:00PM Thursday evening. The signs she displayed that let me know she was "getting ready" were subtle. First she skipped a meal which she never does. Then she was restless she didn't seem to be able to get comfortable; she finally went in her crate and went to sleep. Also her temperature was beginning to drop. That went on until Friday evening at 6:00PM at which time she had her first contraction. The contractions came around 10 minutes apart and then she would rest in between. I realized then that she was going to be a very slow whelper just as she was with her first litter. I was prepared for a very long night. At 7:18PM the first puppy arrived! It was a black girl with a patch on her left ear. She weighted 12.8 oz. Then we waited for what seemed like an eternity for the second puppy to arrive. I was concerned because Gambit didn't seem to have any milk! At 9:35PM the second one arrived! Yippee it was another girl this time she was liver with a patch on her left ear. Her shade of liver is very dark so I wasn't sure at first what color she was. She weighed 13.6 oz. Then at 9:55PM our first little boy arrived. He is black with a left ear patch also. I'm starting to see a pattern here..... He weighted 14.4 oz. Things are starting to look better because Gambit finally started to have milk. Then 50 minutes later at 10:45PM here comes puppy number 4. Goody..Goody another girl this time there is no patch!!!! She is a black girl too and she weighed 13.6 oz. I put the puppies in a box with a heating pad when each new one arrives so they don't get wet and cold; then as soon as the new one is clean and dry I put them all back with Gambit to nurse. Since she takes so long between puppies I have plenty of time to see that each new arrival has a chance to nurse. At 11:49PM puppy number 5 makes her debut. This is the biggest girl so far weighing in at 14.4 oz. and she is black and white too with a patch on her left eye. After another hour wait the 6th puppy comes at 12:50AM. This one is also a female and I am guessing she is black but I am not ready to bet the farm on it. She weighed 14.8oz. At this point Gambit is way too tired to have any more puppies and goes about taking care if the ones she has. I knew she wasn't finished regardless of what she thought. We waited nearly 2 hours and I decided it was time for an oxytocin shot. After I administered the shot she had #7 at 2:50AM. This was the second boy and he was black and white with a right ear patch. He weighed 12.8 oz. Not long after he came at 3:11AM another girl came. This one was the biggest puppy in the litter and she weighted 15.2 oz. and YIPPEE she is a liver and white! Now we waited another hour and this time Gambit was certain she was finished or I believe she really didn't care whether or not she had anymore babies. I felt her and I could still feel another lump so I gave her a second Oxytocin shot and sure enough here comes #9 at 4:15AM. This one was also a 14.5 oz liver female!!!!!! Now we were all exhausted but Gambit needed to be cleaned up so off to the bathtub we went. I'm sure she had to feel better after getting all that mess off of her. I cleaned the kiddie pool where she has the puppies and put a fresh rug in for her and then went to bed at around 6:00AM. Now that I am rested I am trying to think of names for the new babies. I am thinking of perhaps spring flowers for the girls and since I don't want to call the boys sissy names I think they will be Burdock and Brier.