1– The engagement

Lola is an essential part of our family, she is sweet, tender, good-hearted and very generous. A mum.

My usband and I decide to let her meet a young guy to live the experience of pregnancy with and to share it with our 3 children.

One day we leave alltogether to go at Roberto and Marzia’s home where Lola meets Ciccio, the one who would become her puppies’ dad.

Love at first sight!

And it could not be otherwise. Ciccio is a Labrador in chocolate color, a joker, a little bit impulsive, but very, very manly 😉

After about 45 daays from..engagement, we go and see the first ultrasound.

The astonished faces of my children when they have heard the small hearts beaten, ” a small drums orchestra in Lola’s belly!”
Obviously I got moved, but I don’t count! I also cry when I watch cartoons!

2 – The waiting

The two following months pass so fast as light but we have all the time to rea up, prepare the birth room, clothes, towels, the lamp to warm the puppies, homeopathic medicines to help Lola to keep calm, homeopathic medicines to help us to keep calm..

The childerd do a hard workd to decorated the birth room with drawings and make it comfortable.

One week before the date of the birth we start to measure the rectal temperature that is normally about  38° /39° C , when it goes to or under  37° C it means we are there: the birth will note be more than 3 days later. We know that the day before the birth, dogs usually refuse food and we feel ready and full of enthusiasm and energy. The veterinary is costantly informed about the developments too. We are sure to have all under control, we did searches on the web! But it will not be exactly like that….

3 – The day

The night before the birth Lola doesn’t eat ( well, we knew that!)
Temperature goes down at  37,5 °C. (All under control).
It is day 61 of pregnancy.
8:00 a.m. – I send children to school and leave the nurse at home with Lola asking to keep here under control and to call me at the minimum change.

13.00 a.m: the nurse tells me that Lola is quiet on the sofa and goes away. The time to go and take children at school and.

13.30 a.m.- arrival at home. Lola has been  30 minutes by herself. I open the door and I find her with wide shut eyes, there is blood everywhere, it seems a crime scene…

Lola wants to go out, I put her the leash on and the children take her in the garden.
In the meanwhile I start washing the floor of the whole house to take time with myself and think about what doing in that inexplicable situation.

I hear a strange sound, at first it seems the cat mewing, I call him thinking he is scared in seeing Lola feeling bad, but all is in silence, therefore I go on in my unuseful ( for the investigations) but necessary ( for my tranquillity) cleaning of the house floor.

Another lament near the sofa.

I go and see.

In a hidden corned behind a cushion I see this small all black puppy.

Lola has started the birth!!

But how, but when? What shall I do???

Excited and scared I start screaming like a fool ordering the children to take Lola back home soon because she is giving birth.

In the meanwhile I leave the brush and the unuseful cloth and concetrate myself: therefore, to give up screaming no to scare the puppy ( done!), take gently the puppy ( done..my God how tender!) and carry him in the birth room ( done), lay him under the red light to keep him warm ( done!)

I’ve got it!
Now I can tear up.

What’s happened afterwards are memories in a soap ball, in a wadding cloud. Lola enters home and she doesn’t want to ( she is the mum!) and with a fast jum gets on the sofa and soon she gives birth to puppy nr 2! A small shape in a bag with mixture of white liquid and blood. We look at him move. It doesn’t last so much. Lola licks him, breaks the bag and eats the placenta ( she is the mum!) under my and my children’s deadlocked eye: Matheiu, 6 years old without moving his eyes, fixed on Lola: ” mum can I tear up???” . The girls are worried: ” mum does it hurt her? Does it hurt?”  ( now I realize how the girls were soon projected in the future thinking about their motherhood, while the guy teared up soon like it usually happens to fathers.. incredible!)
As soon as I recover I go on with the instructions read many times to be ready at the moment: and then take the puppy, dry the puppy with the towel and lay him under the lamp together with his brother ( done, very well!)
Now I can look at them and be touched. Puppy nr. 2 is chocolate color.

They move in a funny way, they look like small walruses all wrinkled.
Lola finally enters the birth room, she relaxes and the two puppies hold on to their mother and start to drink the milk.
Nature is really incredible: it all has been like Lola did it already and knew exactly what doing. She.

I can call the veterinary and inform her that 2 puppies were born, in the meanwhile I ask the children for controlling Lola and calling me if they note some changes.

I can realax as well and also try to have ” the crime scene” to disappear from the rest of the house.

4 – Surprise!

After 10 minutes the veterinary arrives and my daughter Gaia welcomes her by screaming:
– Run, run, the dog has the condolences!!!
– The condolences?? –
– Yes, yes, those “things” that squeeze the belly!!!!
– Ah! Le contractions!!! –

After time I realize how much that word was only apparently wrong, since it was well contextualized becasue puppy nr 3 was born dead. He goes out without the bag, very small, all black and with a white spot under the neck. My daughter Celeste and the veterinary try to bring him back to life in all ways, it was a devastating scene and for a while we almost forgot Lola. When the veterinary confirms there was nothing left to do, we lay the puppy in small shoe box to bury him that night.
But the day is still long.

The puppy born dead has left the placenta inside Lola’s belly and it is necessary to make her expel it to avoid infections and for this the veterinary’s special hand has been precious who sets Lola free from that bad memories in a few minutes.  Ma la giornata è ancora lunga.
Lola is exhausted, like we are.

She eats the 2 boxes of food we offer her very fast.

She was hungry!

After about 1 hour, when we have relaxed, surprise! Puppy nr 4 was born too, a fat one in chocolate color. Like the good last onem he was born comfortable, in the birth room.

But he is not the last one.
That is to say, we think that but after one hour also puppy nr. 5 was born.

At this point Lola stands up and wants me to follow her.

I am behind with a towel and she gives birth to small puppy nr. 6 in my hands  in a few minutes. Now I have also learnt what doing: I open the bag, Lola eats the placenta while I dry the puppy. A perfect cooperation!

Now all is quiet, Lola lays in the bright room and sleep while the puppies are all hone and dring the milk with gluttony.

Now we can all relax.

As never said.

5 – Happy ending

Not two hours are spent and Lola stand ups and looks at me with wide eyes.

I think she wants to go out for a walk, but I am wrong because while we are walking she stops, she contracts and I, now full aware, bend to take puppy nr 7 fast, run home, dry him and lay under the lamp with the brothers, while waiting that Lola ends her wal.

I alwayas talk about male puppies because Lola has only given births to males, fat and wrinkled. To mistreat with snuggles!!!

We ‘ve done it. Lola has been very good and my children have been fantastic assistants, for sure stressed by this moving experience but at the same time enthusiast to have been presented at this miracle.