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| Mama Anna and baby Miracle. |
It took two days before she could manage to stand and another day to learn how to use her legs. She was pretty wobbly for several more days but interested in exploring everything. Once she could stand well I put her mother on the milking stand and help Miracle find a teat. She took right to it.
Now she can find her milk on her own and is no longer interested in the bottle. That means no more middle of the night feedings for me! I think most folks would have taken her into the house to tend to, but I'm glad I kept her in the stall with her mother. The bond was already forming and the nursing has sealed it.
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| A good place for a nap? |
She is still very small, so I worry about her being out and about. But she thinks she is one of the goats and so that's where she wants to be.
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| Belle and Cy check out their baby half-sister. They are six weeks older than she is. |
Anna is an excellent mother and if any of the others get too curious about her baby they get a head butt for their trouble.
I have no idea about kids' developmental stages during the last two weeks before birth, so it will be interesting to see how she looks on her official due date, April 8. At least I'll get to find out.
Baby Miracle Update © March 2018 by
I'm glad things have turned out well.
ReplyDeleteGood job, Leigh. I hope she continues to come on well :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I missed the last post so am just catching up. Congrats on little Miracle. What a cutie. Also - good call leaving her with Mama. No midnight feelings is huge for you. Rest well Leigh.
ReplyDeleteShe is strikingly colored!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great job you did giving her every chance to bond with her mama . . . and the other way around, too! It's always so much better when things can progress "normally," isn't it? Makes for happier, healthier campers all the way around. (That includes the surrogate mother, YOU! :o]) The little babe is gorgeously colored.
ReplyDeleteGorges, thanks! I'm relieved as well.
ReplyDeleteQuinn, I still worry a bit. I keep her under the heat lamp at night, adjusted so that the temperature stays in the low 70s. I've not seen her shivering any other time, but I don't want her to have to put her growing energy into staying warm. Today she really has the jumping bean feet, so she's active!
Lady Locust, yes, it's hard to keep up with everybody sometimes! At least there is a happy ending with this news. :)
Michelle, yes she is! And very similar to her older half-sister. I think they'll be very pretty does.
Mama Pea, thank you! I figured even if I ended up with a full-time bottle baby, she still needed her mother. Getting her on her mom was a real bonus! In more ways than one, LOL
So glad to hear little miracle is growing strong :)
ReplyDeleteI am glad to read that all is going well with Baby Miracle! Great that you don't have to bottle feed her anymore. Nancy
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad all is well.
ReplyDeleteTricky Wolf! Good to hear from you. It's amazing how fast they grow. :)
ReplyDeleteNancy, me too!
Sherry, thanks!
So glad she's doing well, Leigh!! What are you naming her?
ReplyDeleteYay! Mama is always best, if possible.
ReplyDeleteI'm horribly hard-hearted, so even my orphan bottle babies live in the barn (the only time I let them in the house is if they are newborn & wet, to dry off & warm up enough to take a bottle (even tubing them is better left to when they have warmed up). When they stand up and start hollering for food, out to the barn they go. Yes, it makes it a little more work for me, but in the long run it is better for them. They learn to be goats (or sheep, as the case may be), which is good, since I don't want them to be house pets. When I show up with a bottle they come running, but once I wean they fit right in with the rest of the flock.
She looks so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI think of it as kind of an Easter miracle story. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteThanks Debbie! I'm calling her Miracle!
ReplyDeleteSue, I'm with you on that. It's worth making the extra effort to keep them in the barn for a smoother transition later on.
Tania, I agree!
Phil, it is! Rather timely, too.
Just precious! Your photos are excellent. Makes me feel like I am right there looking at her. Can't help but smile! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHow precious is that little one and all the more so because the odds were stacked against her. Good job with the night feedings and leaving her with her mom....that was 'extra' sacrifice on your part.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh Leigh, she is SOOOO TINY!!! So happy to hear the good news! I hope you and Dan are doing well and he's still healing well! xx
ReplyDeleteThat rubber pan she is curled up in with room to spare? That is exactly the pan that we use as a litter box for the 2 barncats. She is so tiny and adorable, and I love that she knows she is a goat!
ReplyDeleteWyomingheart, she's so cute it's hard not to take tons of photos, LOL Just thankful she made it.
ReplyDeleteSam, it was worth it! But I don't mind that Mama Anna took over, LOL.
Rain, tiny but growing! Quads are always small but two weeks premature made her extra small. She's growing though, so I know she'll catch up soon.
Mrs. Shoes, with plenty of room to spare! My cats and chickens are bigger!