The Longest Night...and Morning.

So if you haven't heard the news already Rogue had her babies last night and this morning. So technically they are Solstice babies and not Christmas but we'll see what I can come up with for names over the next couple of days.
Rogue freewhelped two. A black boy and a brindle boy. Then one puppy got stuck and sadly didn't make it. The rest tumbled out via c-section at around 10 am.


And here they are...

Jolly

Black Boy 1, 11 oz., born naturally.

Elf

Black Boy 2, 8.5 oz., C-section. Maybe what is referred to as a Black Brindle... hmmm.

Yule

Brindle Boy 1, 11.5 oz., born naturally. He seems to be asking, "Ever have one of those days where you wonder why you were born?"

Nog

Brindle Boy 2, 10.5 oz., C-section.

Nick

Brindle Boy 3, 12 oz., C-section (and so are all the rest that come after).

And now for the Brindle Girls...

Ummmm, can you say Double Trouble? I can hardly tell them apart!

 Angel

White-headed Girl 1, she has a spot on her belly, 10 oz.

 Spirit

White-headed Girl 2, no belly spot, 9 oz.

Holly
This one's markings are similar to her black brother, 8.5 oz.

Ginger

And tipping the scale at 12.5 oz. is this beautiful girl.

Rogue is a fantastic mother and all the babies are doing great!
Big thanks are due to many people. First to my husband and my three girls. Thomas and Chloe the oldest in particular helped keep watch over Rogue while I had to work. Because they do so much to keep my little hobby going in a healthy way they helped with names.
Also much thanks to Orchards Veterinary Clinic. The staff are so great and I am so grateful they weren't too busy for Rogue and her babies. They all stopped whatever else that could wait to get the many babies started on their first breaths and latchings.

Rogue's Advent Calendar

4 weeks to grow... I mean go.

Belly getting rounder, belly hair thinner, and milk faucets getting bigger... yep! TM x Rogue babies in there!!!
Since we did progesterone testing we are pretty certain the due date is Christmas Eve/Christmas Day... give or take a day or two. But I've got a pile of potential names based on Christmas movies and songs. And I've put up a countdown widget for the litter's expected arrival.
If you would like to be considered for one of these puppies please contact me. Babies will be black or brindle.
***Correction (11/28/11): babies may be black with tan or brindle points, brindle, red/sable. See chart here. Both Rogue and TM are brindle and carry tri.
##### Further understanding (11/29/11): TM is homozygous for brindle. (Rogue probably is too.) He carries red and tri. (As does Rogue as all brindles carry red and Rogue's sire was tri which means he had to give her a tri gene.) Brindle is dominant and only one gene is needed for it to be expressed. So if the babies have a red base they will be brindles, some will carry tri. If they express the tri (they have to receive a tri chromosome from both TM and Rogue so only 25% chance) they will be black with brindle points. If you're confused by all of this I understand. It's taken me 2 days of reading whenever I had a little spare time to make sure I have it right. I might at some point draw up a Pundett square but the bottom line is there will be mostly brindle babies and a few black/brindle-pointed babies in The Christmas Litter.

Little Doubt Now, Lucky Number 7?!!! and Happy Birthday Celie

I think we can see that she has definitely got somethin' goin' on in there. Every time I look at her she seems to have grown more round. And she still has about 4 weeks to go!!! (Due date is actually March 19th.)

One of the developments in pregnancy is the bitch will shed the hair on her belly to make it easier for puppies to find the milkshake valves. Chloë and Lexie were examining her and noticed: "She's only got 7 nipples!!" Sure enough there are only 3 on one side and the usual 4 on the other. Two are aligned directly across from each other but the rest are staggered. I've never heard of this phenomenon.

And today she gets extra cookies and belly rubs for another reason. She turns 3 today. Happy Birthday my Special Girl. Love you!!!

5 weeks (almost) and then something else in my basket

Storm 3 lbs., 8 oz. "I don't say 'cheese.' I say 'Sassy!!'"





Rogue 4 lbs., 4 oz. "I think I got this cuteness thing down."





Remy 3 lbs., 10 oz. "Let's go!!"





Charlie 3 lbs., 9 oz. "You woke me up for this?"






Mags 4 lbs., 8 oz. He'll have to stop here because my kitchen scale doesn't go any higher.
"Did you just see a real bright light?"





Logan 4 lbs., 2 oz. "Hello again, my dear old friend."





Jean 3 lbs., 15.5 oz. "I can't possibly get any sweeter cuz I'll melt."





And there's more!! Introducing the new FPST (Feline Puppy Socialization Team) of Black Jack, Jinx, and Samuel.

new beginnings

It seemed appropriate to announce my new babies along with the new kennel name.

The first to enter the world was a little girl. As she came out she took one look, stuck out her tongue and tried to go back to where she came from. As I mentioned sometime ago the litter theme is the X-Men. It seems "Rogue" suits her. The vet helped us get her out. She weighed 10 oz.

Meet Rogue. She has white streaks on her ears, perfectly symmetrical ear markings.






Next came a boy. He slipped out on the way back home. A friend called him "Taxi" and that stuck for a day but it's not in keeping with the theme. Notice the lightening bolt on the back of his neck. I think I'd like this one to be Magnus (aka Magneto). He weighed 11.5.

Meet Magnus.






#3 is a boy named Remy (aka Gambit). He was 9.5.





#4 Kim called this boy "Devil boy" so that's my Wolverine.

Meet Logan who weighed 9 oz.






The next 3 came to us via c-section.

A boy, nearly "bald" I'll name Charlie after Charles Xavier. He was 9 oz.

Hello Charlie.





This sweet girl is my Jeanie (Jean Grey aka The Phoenix). She had quite a bit of green stain from meconium all over her head. Weight: 9 oz. We're glad you're with us Jeanie.





And last but not least, my favorite female X-Men character, Storm. May be more appropriate for a blue girl, or a black. But this little bit, weighing only 8 oz., is a fighter with a tornado on the back of her head. Meet Storm.






Momma Kayla loves her X-Puppies. She is the best mother.