Gloria, our second sow, farrowed yesterday morning during our first stormy night. She had 8 babies in total, but two were stillborn. Of the 6 remaining, 4 are male, 2 female.
My mom and step-dad (Janet and Bob) have just left, having been with us for the last 10 days.
They got to meet the rabbits and pigs, both new since they were last here, and even had piglets eating out of their hands and sucking on their fingers. But of course the animals were not really the reason they came, they came to meet the new grandson and play with the older one.
Leo is a very loving, fun, funny, sensitive child, but boy can he be obstinate and infuriating when he wants to be. He's had a rough month - mama was heavily pregnant, then an invalid with a new baby; papa has been busier than usual, picking up the slack of mama being out of action; both are getting less sleep and are thus less patient and energetic; and Leo has suffered some from all the changes. Then came Bob and Janet, which meant that he has been overexcited. He has missed much needed naps, and replaced them with a meltdown almost every day since we've had visitors. We all felt for him deeply, but at the same time could not let him get his way. Hopefully for all of us, this stage will not last long.
Nico is now a little over one month old, can you believe it? We took him to the clinic and he's doing great. After one week he weighed pretty much the same as when he was born, but after one month he has gained a whopping three and a half pounds! Not too surprising seeing as the little guy nurses A LOT, still every two hours for the most part, although he is starting to let a little more time lapse in between feeds.
Leo by this age was already smiling in response to things you did (kind of rare), and has continued to be extremely social ever since. He also did not like to be put down. Nico by comparison seems more serious, and more laid back. Obviously too soon to start characterizing him, but it is interesting to see the differences already shown. I really love the dynamics of having two sons, and am looking forward to them growing together.
Yesterday afternoon, Wanda, one of our sows, gave birth to 7 beautiful little piglets. We had expected her to have more, but this is her first litter and having less might not be such a bad thing as she learns the ropes of motherhood. She is a great mama, being very careful to make sure her babies are out of the way before she sits down and keeping them all within her sight. She is also very calm with us (even with an overexcited little three year old) being around her and her brood.
We all went out after lunch to check on her (we knew her time was fast approaching) and there she was, with one piglet running around and another coming out of her. They really are so cute at this age. Unfortunately, Gloria (the other sow) was right next to Wanda and her nest, so we decided to move her out, as she could accidentally squish a piglet. Abe had to push her unwilling ass into the pasture and shut her out of the pen. She is very annoyed. She's not used to being alone and she feels her place is beside Wanda. Just for a couple of days, Gloria - sorry.
We went into the village today to the doctor. I had my stitches out. I'm generally doing really well and am relatively pain free. Nico had his first checkup. He's looking great. His umbilical cord stump has fallen off and healed fine; he seems strong and alert; he hasn't gained a whole bunch of weight, but it is the first week, and his bowel movements are frequent and healthy. All in all, a normal little baby.
At 5.55pm on the 28th April (his aunt Shelly's birthday), we welcomed little Nico into our family. He weighed just over 7 lbs (as opposed to the predicted 9 lbs or so of an ultrasound a few weeks ago!?) and was 20" long. Pretty much on a par with his big brother Leo, and he looks uncannily like him at that age too, although a little darker.
He was delivered via C-Section, as he refused to turn out of the breech position, again just like Leo. Even under the best of conditions, Cesarion is not the most romantic image of birth out there, but in this case it was even worse than usual. For some reason, the hospital was packed, with a bunch of emergencies coming in all the time. The result of this craziness (other than no family members allowed into the operation area) is that Nico was left on the infant table in the operation room for almost an hour an a half, crying, as there was no one available to take me to the recuperation room and give me my baby.
We went to a hotel to stay for a couple of nights before making the ride home (for those of you unfamiliar with our place, we live off a bumpy and long dirt road). Jim and Vickie, Abe's parents, were at the hotel as they had come down to watch Leo. They did the perfect job - bringing him lots of toys, spoiling him rotten and making him feel special during a difficult time. Thank you.
All in all I am recovering very quickly, and although still a little sore, I can walk, turn over in bed, do small chores. What I spend a large part of my time doing is nursing Nico. He has an almost insatiable appetite, partly because he finds comfort at the breast, so likes to nurse when pooping or when he has gas, etc. Luckily my supply can keep up with him.
We are all delighted with the new arrival and very much in love. I cannot believe I have two beautiful sons.
We also managed to finally finish our wicking beds this week and make a bed for currants and berries on the overflow to the gray water system (that feeds the inside flower beds).
We emptied the rest of the compost pile we had made for a winter heater for the bedrooms into the both beds, and then finished off the fence around it (one of our dogs had assumed we'd made the bed just for her). We have soil blocks with little seedlings ready to go out there. We have been taking them out each day so that they can harden up a little, before we transplant. Next week we plan to plant.