Happy Birthday Autumn!

Thought I would do some more blogging as my floor dries...ya I'm getting back into the swing of things today...still not too sure what was up with me??? PMS...maybe?? Anyway back in a mode of cleaning and getting things done!
Today is Autumn's birthday!!! I usually don't remember birthdays of theirs but hers is quite memorable in several ways. The date alone makes me remember.
Her delivery makes me remember. She was born by c/section along with her siblings. Avery's delivery was not progressing so off to the vets we went. The vet confirmed that something was not right and decided to do a c/section. Avery was shaved and iv was put in and anesthetic was given. Around the a previous c/section there was alot of scar tissue on the inside, when the vet finally got to her uterus, she found that all the puppies were stressed and all had meconium in their sacs. Long story short....there was the stress issue with the puppies and there was a mumified puppy in there as well that had died a few weeks before in utero. All the puppies were not doing well upon birth, she had 5 live puppies as well as the mumified baby...6 in total...an insane litter for a yorkie. We got the puppies breathing and all seemed to be going well until 1 by 1 they started gasping again. Within an hour of birth I lost 3 of the puppies and a girl (Autumn) was not looking so good either. They administered straight oxygen to her and she started pinking up again. After careful observation I was allowed to go home with 2 babies. I felt completely defeated and really sad for the puppies that I had lost. I felt sad for Avery and I felt sad that she would never know these babies of hers. Avery was spayed on the table which was my intention to do eventually anyway. This is the absolute worst part of breeding, people who think it is so easy to just put 2 dogs together and away they go are so wrong. Being a good breeder means you put your heart and soul into each litter starting with the planning, breeding, pregnancy, birth, post partum for mom and babies, and the nurturing of the puppies. When things go wrong it is devasting and I usually take it personally like I could or should have done something different.
However getting back to my story... the next few hours seemed to go ok and the puppies were nursing and I was monitoring their weight and it seemed like things were going to go ahead. Avery was doing ok too which was a relief.
By the time the puppies were about 18 hrs old I noticed the girl (Autumn) was not looking so good, she looked dehydrated and her weight had dropped a 1/4 oz...both not good signs. I started tubing her which is basically inserting a very tiny tube into their stomach...this is something that is not just as easy as reading a text book to learn. You can easily insert into their lungs and that is fatal. You have to go by intuition and experience to know when you've got it right. Anyway every 3 hrs I tubed Autumn. Her weight maintained for the next 12 hrs which made me optimistic. The other female was doing great by this point and gaining steadily. Autumn was looking better but I was still tubing her and she didn't seem to want to nurse..not sure if it was fading puppy syndrome or what but this is a very frustrating part of breeding. So for 5 days I tubed her every 3 hours, I had to go to work and came home on my breaks to feed her as no one dared to try at home. Finally at 5 days old she took hold of a nipple and I walked in to feed her and she was attached! What a beautiful sight! After that she never looked back. She was about half the size of her sister but quickly caught up and eventually passed her!
So in a sense, Autumn is my miracle baby! She is completely spoiled and I know this and I don't apologize for it! She has matured into a gorgeous girl, I love her temperment!
So here is a small peak at her photo album, I have lots more but you can see her as she grew.
Here she is at 3 weeks....I guess I didn't take birth pictures of her...
With her sister Carli Dawn...rocking with tissue paper...8 weeks old
Already a lap dog at 12 weeks...

Absolutely no fear, she would have crawled right in Reece's mouth if she could have reached...
Christmas time...3 & 1/2 months
5 months old...first top knot..

8 months old...
Autumn as she is today. Her head is completely cleared, she has a gorgeous blue steel coat and wonderful tan/gold. I love her eye rims. She had a perfect top line and nice movement. She is doing some training for the show ring. I hope to enter her in a couple of shows this fall and see what she does.
Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl!