May the Force Be With You

Day 8 and the fatness is increasing. So is Halo's indifference. Here she is doing what she does best instead of feeding crying babies ...

And here's the solution to what she does best. I put an ex-pen around the whelping box so she has no choice but to bloody stay there. I also have to force her to lie down properly with them. I did put the red moose bed in also so that she could sleep in a comfy place instead of chancing her lying on a puppy. I am 100% certain I'll come home to her having destroyed the foam pieces and find her sleeping on the moose bed. If I find that she's not going in with them at all I'll make the ex-pen smaller and she won't have any choice but to stay in and feed them. Halo is no escape artist so I don't worry at all that she'll try to get out.

We did have a moment of motherly love where she was being careful not to squish a baby with her leg. I wouldn't say that she doesn't like the puppies just that they are a lot of work and I'm not in there to keep her company - nor is the whelping box particularily comfortable. Less comfy now she's ruined part of the only softness in there. She's trying to be good I think but her desire for all the comforts of non-motherhood are over-riding her maternal instincts. Domestication anyone????

I started feeding them again while she nurses because they aren't getting full enough. I also want them to sleep for several hours at a time ... so I can sleep for more than 2 hours at a time. I can already tell work tomorrow is going to be a struggle for lack of sleep. Ah well, it's only 3 days so we'll make it through.