Puppies born 3/15/18

We have puppies!  Actually, we’ve had puppies since Friday afternoon but I haven’t had a moment to type - not that I really have a moment now but this is one of the things going through my head while I don’t sleep.
Normally, the MSU does the night shift when we first bring puppies home so I can get some sleep but he has a nasty respiratory infection (the p-word has been mentioned) so he couldn’t do it.
In honor of their daddy Jack, we took a tennis ball to the c-section and put it in the incubator with them.  Those little puppies were all over it (they also kept knocking over the temperature/humidity monitor.  They were quite vigorous.)
The puppies and Caly are catching on to what’s they are supposed to be doing.  She’s wants as much of an audience as possible whenever she is interacting with the puppies.  She’s not quite the mama her Mama and Granddam have been but she’s happy to have SDB (and Phoebe to help).  She’s concerned with not stepping or or lying on any of them so we’ve worked out our system of the humans - mostly me but Cindi and LeAnne have come to help too.  You know they are good friends when they come to your house so you can go to sleep - rounding up all of the puppies while she gets into position.  She soaks up the attention while the puppies eat.  At least she got the diva part of her matrilineal heritage in spades ;-).
Oh, and she has convinced us to keep the whelping pool in the middle of the floor.  I was a little slow to figure it out (blame the lack of sleep) but she would get into the second set of pools (the one I had just cleaned that was still in the floor) and lie down and fuss at me.  Since we left them in that one after the last feeding, she’s gone in to check on them and given them a few kisses.
Cousin Phoebe is being very good with them.  She’s absolutely fascinated and, oddly enough, Caly is happy to have her and GrammieSammie right there (preferably licking her and the puppies - she really does want ALL of the attention).   Phoebe’s been leaving offerings of toys for them each time she checks on them.  I keep having to move piles of toys from around the whelping box.  She hasn’t started dropping toys on their heads yet like Jack used to do but she has placed her piece of noodle in with them, given a few kisses and then picked it up to go on her way.  I think she’ll be happy when they are big enough to play with her - at least until they get those little needle teeth.