Chance's birth continued

Abby settled on the bed as being her whelping spot. The room was set up with a large crate, a card table with towels, lots and lots of towels that hubby brought home from his hotel stays, iodine, scissors, dental floss, thermometer, rubber gloves, and garbage bags. Next to the bed lay the whelping box and above the whelping box hung a heat lamp and a room thermometer. I thought I was ready, and looking at the video after all was done, I did seem calm enough, however my nerves inside were fraying at the ends. I can't do this alone! I thought. I reached for the phone.
"Hello?” I heard Jason answer.
"Ja, it's mom, and it's time, can you come over?" I asked. "Kyle is home, but I don't know how much help he will be."
Kyle takes after hubby when it comes to anything medical and disgusting!
"I'll be right over." Jason said. "Can I bring anything?"
"Yeah, some vodka!" I said.
Jason laughed. "Okay, I can handle that."
Shortly after Jason arrived Kyle came downstairs.
"Hey Kyle, it's time." I said. "Do you think you can video tape while Jason and I tend to Abby?"
"Yeah." He said. "No problem."
Abby started crying as she lay on the bed, then got up and turned around a couple of times and plop! Out came the first pup, sac and all, and shortly after the pup came out Kyle disappeared and we could hear him getting sick two doors down in the bathroom.
"I think we lost our camera man!" Jason said.
"It doesn't sound very good." I replied.

I was surprised to see a dog giving birth while standing. I would think lying down would be a more comfortable position as I thought of my own delivery experience. After ten hours of labor a nurse said to me, "If you get up and walk a bit, it may happen sooner." This was not something I wanted to hear so I kept silent until she left the room. My darling husband sat in the chair next to my bed as I struggled with pain, and then he said, "Maybe you should try walking, just a little, around the room."
Try to be nice! I thought. I gave him the death stare, gritted my teeth while trying to smile, my lip turning up like I was Elvis, and said, "I'm not getting up, you get up and walk around, then shove a watermelon out of your privates and tell me how it feels." Grin.

Abby tended to her first pup very well, she licked him all over breaking the sac, and continued to clean him until he cried. Then she lay back down on the bed while Jason and I tied and cut the cord to make a nice little belly button and laid the pup with Abby so he could nurse.
A half hour passed and Abby was not showing any signs of hard labor.
"I think I'll get some coffee, do you want some?" I asked Jason.
"Nah, not right now." He said.
" I went to the kitchen grabbed some coffee and sat down on the couch trying to calm my nerves. Of course with coffee and nerves comes smoking! I rang Hubby's cell phone to tell him the news.
"Hello?" Peter said.
"Hey, we're having babies!" I said.
"You're kidding?"
"Nope and I bet you wish you were here!" I said snidely.
"Uh, of course I do." he replied. And with that we both laughed.
"Don't worry, I said, apparently it runs in the family. Kyle left us shortly after the first pup came out."
"A man after my own heart." he said.
"Call me back later if you have the time." I said. "I'm gonna' finish my coffee and head back to the room now."
"Okay, will do." he replied.

An hour passed, then an hour and a half, still no second pup. Wow, this will be easier than I thought! One pup every hour or so, piece of cake!
On the second hour Abby had her second pup and took care of it much like the first. The third pup came a half hour later, this time Abby was laying down when she pushed him out. When the fourth pup came about three hours into delivery, Abby did not pay any attention to it. From what I could see this pup was not fully out of her body, so I waited for her to push a little more, but she did not. Fifteen minutes later the pup that was once moving inside the sac was no longer moving. Feeling frantic I tried to remember everything I had read about delivery and possible problems, but my mind went blank. I grabbed for the phone.
“Hello, Watsontown Emergency Hospital, how may I help you?”
“Yes I have a pup that was left in the sac and is not moving.”
“You’ll have to break the sac with your finger, and then rub the pup vigorously.” The lady said.
“I’m doing that but nothing is happening!” I cried.
“You’ll have to try mouth to nose resuscitation, do you know how to do that?” She asked.
“NO!” I said.
“Okay, cover the pup’s mouth and nose with your mouth and breathe lightly into the pup. Continue to rub in between. If nothing happens in ten minutes consider him gone and put him aside. Call us back and let us know how you are doing.”
“Okay.” I said.
Jason stood at the doorway watching, clutching a towel between his hands ready to clean and warm the pup. Kyle also returned and stood just watching quietly.
Please God, don’t let this pup die! I prayed over and over between each breath.
I watched the clock closely. Three minutes, nothing, four minutes, nothing, five minutes nothing. Oh God please help me, I promise I will keep him and he will do good things. He will not be just an ordinary family dog, just let him live! Six minutes, nothing. The somber look on the faces of Jason and Kyle told me it was over, he was gone.
To be continued…