Second scan

I know I said I was going to wait it out but I couldn't help it, plus I was keen to try a smaller, closer vets as thinking of switching to them instead of using Braids.  They re-iterated the warning that exact numbers are very hard to see with an ultrasound but this time I was able to look at the scans with the vet and he showed me at least 4 distinct puppies.  It's not very clear especially as jess was panting like a steam train moving everything around inside but you got glimpses of spines and heads :)  Vet confirmed timings, that Jess is nearly 7 weeks pregnant - 2 weeks to go !  They like to see both Mum and the pups the day after to make sure everyone is doing ok and offered plenty of advice at a leisurely pace rather than Braids where the whole thing seemed very rushed.  Plus, while Braids scan cost £80, this one only cost £36 !

Got the puppy advert up on Champdogs website now - cost for a years membership was £32.

http://www.champdogs.co.uk/puppy/17854.html

Made another purchase yesterday in preparation for the puppies - a Lindham gate and extender to be able to keep them confined to the dining room area (well, what was once a dining room area !). Cost of gate and extension was £33

Costs : Second scan £36, Champdogs membership £32, Puppy gate £33

Pregnancy confirmed !

Jess has been to the vet and had an ultrasound which confirmed that she was pregnant :D Yay !  Unfortuantly the vet had some stupid rules about not being allowed in the room where they do the scans so I was unable to pester them about trying to see how many pups she might have. By the time I got handed the scans in the waiting room the vet wasn't prepared to offer more information then the fact that heartbeats had been seen and she was definitely pregnant :(

Still, ultrasound is known to be somewhat unreliable for determining the exact number of pups partly due to the size of them - at 4 weeks old they are only one inch long ! Still, would have been nice to have a "rough indication" eg 2 or 12 :)  Another scan could be made at a later time (or a x-ray) but I think we'll just "wait and find out".

I've uploaded the pictures from the 2 scans - you can see them in the section on the right hand side "Photos - Pregnancy". I'm going to take some time-lapse photos of Jess so I can see how her body shape changes over time (nothing obvious at the moment).  Just have to get her to stand still in the same place each week :)

Time for some more research now into what else is needed for the whelping process. We're borrowing a whelping box from a friend so that saves some money - otherwise this place looked excellent, I liked the idea that they were designed to be thrown away after the event

http://www.petnapwhelpingboxes.co.uk/

They've got a number of other things which I may get from them : Whelping kit and heat pads for starters.  Not sure what if anything else is needed/recommended.

Cost of ultrasound : £73, total now past the £1300 mark ! :(