Pregnancy 5 weeks

We are past the 1/2 way mark in Rowan's pregnancy now. She is beginning to show some, altho most folks might not quite notice yet. She is distinctly thicker in the middle and her ribs have expanded quite a bit. Also her nipples are enlarged and quite pink, hopefully getting ready to provide milk for her pups.

Rowan has also developed an amusing narcolepsy.... She will be running around the yard, or the house, with her ball, or a toy, and the next moment we look, she is sound asleep, in the middle of the yard. She will wake in a short time, looking around as if to say, "How did THAT happen??"

Rowan is also now back to eating her breakfast. We have not increased her food much, but will probably need to do so soon. Right now she is eating well, but not ravenous, so what she is getting seems to be enough. Next week we will begin adding a hard boiled egg to her meals occasionally to provide extra protein. My dogs all get the NUPRO supplement with their food (a tasty vitamin powder which they quite like and which seems to give them a good healthy coat) and Rowan's "dose" has been doubled during her pregnancy. During the last week or two, the mom has quite a bit of trouble getting any quantity of food to fit in with the pups, so we will need to break up her meals into 3-4 smaller ones. Often I will add powdered goat's milk to their food as it is extremely high in fat and protein and a great supplement. We use it for the pups, as well, so we will be stocking up in preparation!

Here are a couple of photos so you can maybe see some progress. This is LAST week's photo:

And THIS weeks' photo (you can see her waist, the indentation just past the ribs, is slightly less):

Here is one of her moving last summer, with one of her moving today:

Clearly her posture is a bit different, but you can see how much thicker in the body she has become.

So, more waiting. There are some things to come - we must keep Rowan fit and healthy. We are still showing Rowan's brother, Cooper; we are trying to get his championship finished before the pups come, if we can. He did win at the shows today, picking up one more point. He now just needs 2 more. We will need to clear out our kitchen to make room for the whelping box. More on setting up for puppies soon!