...and stop!
It was Christmas week and our suspicions were confirmed with obvious signs that Cocco was indeed pregnant. There was no mistaking that her pear-shaped belly was moving when we held her.
Samuel and I immediately commenced some heavy research on "what to expect when expecting guinea pigs". Of course, I was relying more on my farm animal experiences growing up when I helped deliver lambs, and there were baby kittens and rabbits born on the farm. Samuel went way beyond the basic necessities and soon was full of statistical information for complications, signs to look for indicating distress, length of normal labor (10-30 minutes by the way), and even measuring Cocco's hips to determine how close to delivery she might be. I was just sleepless and stressed out with the fact that Cocco could get pregnant again with 30 minutes after birth!
Samuel deserves a badge or something for his vigilance and watch-care that ensued over Cocco for the next couple of weeks. Thankfully we were on Christmas break so we were able to keep a close eye on her.
It was January 4 at 3:15pm and we were about to head out to the store when Samuel peered into the upstairs house and saw a dark mass next to Cocco. He said "I think Cocco had a baby," and all of us immediately rushed to look for ourselves. Sure enough, there was a wet brown little fur ball! We must have just missed the birth because it was "born fresh" as a little Emma from long ago would have said.
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| Our first look at baby |
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| Pure fascination over pure tiny perfection |
We watched and waited to see if she would give birth to another baby, but it was clear when a while later Cocco was eating the placenta (thanks for that observation, Samuel) that she carried just one pup. It was fitting and special for Samuel to be the first to see the baby. It was a very emotional experience for him.
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| So proud! |
It was love at first sight! And the pup was a photocopy of her dad, Rambler.
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| First human contact several hours after birth |
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| Birth weight: 105 grams |
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| Photogenic on flannel |
Rambler was immediately separated from mamma and baby (whew!) and a few weeks later had surgery. After his recovery and a five and a half week separation from the ladies, he was finally reintroduced to the herd and could not be happier.
It took a couple of weeks to be sure of the baby's gender so we called it "baby" before confirming that it was a female and then naming her Lakota.
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LAKOTA
January 4, 2019
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She has grown so quickly and is absolutely thriving. She is spoiled as Cocco still allows her to nurse but I'm sure mother nature will take care of that soon. Watching her growth has led us to believe that maybe we adopted Cocco and Rambler at 3-4 weeks old instead of 8 weeks.
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| Her ears were kind of floppy after birth |
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| Tiny but actually big for a pup...the advantages of a single litter |
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| 24-hours old and already learning how to eat hay and fresh veggies |
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| Growing so fast! |
Lakota is a talker, just like her dad and so we have a lively and noisy bunch of pigs at feeding time and playtime.
So glad it was just one pup AND that she was a female AND that we decided to keep her! She is a blessed addition to our family for sure!
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Lakota, Rambler and Cocco
February 12, 2019 |
