3-26-12

Last night Jared went out to check on the sheep and noticed that one was in labor. We moved her into a separate stall but she was not happy being away from the other ewes. So we moved her back into the big stall but the door was shut to the outside (where the other ewes were). We went inside for a little while but when we came back to check on here she was not longer in the barn. She had gotten throught the gate and was outside behind our barn. We finally caught her and took her back in the barn. Jared shut the barn doors and we let her and some other ewes roam the barn. Jared and I sat up on the hay deck behind the hay bales to watch her. It was a cold night. After almost 3 hrs of her pushing and no progress I checked her. I had never done this kinda thing before so I was a little nervous. I was able to feel that a large lamb was breech. So I gently pulled the lamb. From reading I knew I had to pull quickly once it was past the ribs because the cord is pinched and can break. We cleared the mucus from the lambs mouth and nose. He started breathing right away so we put him by his mom's head so she could lick him. We moved them to the stall and Jared noticed another lamb coming. I checked to make sure it was in a normal position and it was. Not long after that we heard a plop and saw another lamb which was much smaller. We towel dried the lambs while the mom was licking them. Then we cut the cords shorter and put iodine on them. I striped the ewe's teats to make sure she had colostrum. We gave her some food and water and then went inside for a little while. After a little while we came back out to check on them to make sure they were nursing. The large boy was standing and nursing. We helped the small lamb get up and helped him try to nurse. He couldn't stay latched on to well. We weighed them there in the stall. One weighed 9lbs 10 oz and the other was 6 lbs. I pumped some colostrum and tried to bottle feed some to the small lamb. I only would eat about 1/2 oz. We set the alarm and checked on them at 3am and 5am. The lamb still wasn't nursing or bottle feeding so we had to tube feed it. I was nervous about doing this but it went ok and we fed the lamb a couple ounces this way. Jared had to leave for work and I did my exercises. I took the boys out in the morning to see the lambs before going to school. They loved seeing them.

 

Boys 2 yrs old

Jacob

Adam

Elijah

3-24-12

 The boys love playing in "the forest". Here is a picture of their house in the woods. They crawl right down in that hole.

Jacob showing me how he can do the splits. Umm, maybe not.

3-25-12

We repainted our glider rocker (from Grandpa) and are going to get new cushions for it. For now we are using the couch cushions:)

3-23-12

Playing at Nana and Papa's

Jacob's drawing of the Lone Ranger (in the white hat). The bad guy is in the black hat. And also there is Tonto, Scout, and Silver.

3-22-12

3-21-12

 

This morning Eli and I went to Salvation army and then to the Library. We had a lot of fun at the library for Move and Groove time. Then we stopped at TSC to get a mineral block for the sheep. We had about 20 minutes before going to get Adam off the bus. We went out to the barn to check on the chicks and give the sheep their block. Adam was talkative on the phone with Daddy this afternoon. When I asked who wants to talk to Daddy Eli quickly raised his hand and said, “I do!” After lunch Eli took a nap. Adam and I watched Clifford. Then we went outside for awhile. We sat on a fallen tree in the sheep paddock and watched the sheep grazing nearby. Adam balanced as he walked back and forth on the tree. Nik and Megan came over after school. Jacob was excited to show Nik his favorite show, The Lone Ranger. Then we went outside to play. Adam and Nik rode bikes in the driveway. Nik and Megan had to go home at 5:00. The boys had me help them move hay bales for for their house on the hay deck. Jared got out the tiller and started working in the garden. Then the boys asked if they could play in the water in our back yard. I thought the water was nasty but Jacob said, "We are men! We love this kinda stuff!" They had so much fun and played until just before dinnertime. Eli thought the water was too cold. He did like walking around in water boots with daddy. Daddy found a snake in the water. The boys played with the sled and were able to float in it if they held really still. They came inside and took a shower before dinner. After dinner Jacob worked on homework. He was counting money and Adam liked watching him.