Chipmunk Litter Weblog
Dec 26th - After a mad trek to the vets on ice covered roads (some were like glass) the 3 vocalists arrived. I don't recall puppies being this vocal when born and especially after a c-section (usually they are sleepy, not wild)....but these three were a riot right off the bat. They were crawling all over Mulan's face and generally saying "no" to milk thank you, we'd rather explore. That made them a bit unusual...and then the harmony they got going. They were almost singing a song. I mean sometimes you get one or two vocal puppies in a typical litter...I think Jazz had two out of 11 and rarely at the same time....but 3 out of 3 at the same time?...that was just crying for a more appropriate name than "rest stops" on the Iditarod...that just didn't cut it.
Then I thought of my childhood favorite cartoon - Alvin and the Chipmunks....all vocalizing to Mulan's sleepy "Dave"...it just fell into place. Alvin even had an almost characteristic "A" on his neck nape spot....You can plan all you want, but sometimes they are who they are. It's 9:30 pm now and Mom has settled in with her new babies. She's already protecting them by curling around them as if to say "MINE"....she's still popping up when she thinks food is involved, but otherwise has settled in to cuddle for the duration. I would say she's fallen in love.
Dec 28th - Well, so much for "sleep"...they've gotten much more mobile in 2 days and are cruising everywhere. Particularly behind Mommy Mu...She still seems kind of sleepy and I see why...I was up 15 times last night to check on a squeak or squeal - about half the time it was nothing, but the other half they were under a leg, behind Mula or just too far away. I don't think she's getting much sleep either. She's not one to doze when the puppies doze (which is all of 2 minutes at a time). They are quite active. The little girl, Simone is lightening up a bit and all three I swear have grown. I never weighed them when they got home so am not sure, but it's obvious they are all getting plenty of milk (little fat bellies) and there's a lot of yellow milk poop. So all are doing fine...biggest concern is Mula does not want to lay down and prefers to curl around them - which makes it a bit hard for them to get to all nipples - which might be a problem with more than 3, but with 3 there's still plenty of "watering holes"...
Dec 31st - Happy New Year puppies! They are getting fat and happy. Alvin is most definately the leader as he is the big explorer - and when he gets lost he yells ALVIN! The other two seem a little more content to stay together or with mom. So Alvin is winning the personality contest for now. Mula is starting to relax a LITTLE...she still keeps count and I haven't been able to sneak a puppy out of the room yet! Talk about watching them like a hawk.
Jan 10th - Ok, I've been bad but they really weren't doing anything until a couple of days ago...now they are like cuddly beanie babies and are trying to walk - and just about as successfully as beanie babies. They got their first taste of food yesterday - a mush of hamburger, yogurt and egg. Simone loved it immediately. Alvin is starting to figure it out. But Theodore thinks the dish itself is for eating... They are starting to get itty bitty teeth - so maybe that's why he'd rather chew the cold dish than the food. Teething. They are trying to walk, but are so chubby their legs don't support them yet....sometimes they'll stand for a moment, then fall down. Eyes are open and and they'll look at you with this combination of wonder and curiosity. It's adorable when they sit and look at you. They're just starting to wake up if you walk in the room when before they would just stay asleep before....they're becoming puppies!
Jan 14th - Theodore is still being a picky eater. He wants to be hand fed puppy mush! Simone and Alvin dig right in, but not Theo....They are really getting mobile now. Trying to walk and sitting up. They are becoming more interactive and look at you. I was even having a conversation with Theodore today "squeek, eeek, squalk" and he would answer me! Simone is a little sassbox - she was chewing on Alvin and I picked her up and got cranked at!! Alvin appears to be quite mellow after all...of course since there are only 3 of them they are all being carried all over the house constantly so how can they NOT be mellow! They have no choice ;-). All the dogs have met them now (while we hold them). Mocha is totally in love with them. She thinks Aunt Mula is the COOLEST Aunt on earth (next to Auntie Pod that plays with her). She is in total awe of these small creatures and is so polite so she can be near them. Superman can't quite figure out what their purpose must be. Jazzy gets that knowing look like, cool, puppies...been there done that. And Riggs is totally ho-hum...and absolutely gentle and trustworthy with them. Auntie Pod can't figure out what they're for either and Gracie just looks at them wistfully. Grandma Holly checks them over with a fine tooth comb, then nods her approval..."good job - nice addition to the pack". Everyone got wormed and weighed today - boys are both 5.75 lbs already and Simone is 5.5 lbs...little porkers for not even 3 weeks old!
