The pot has yet to boil

Alfie massages Smudge's tummy

Smudge has yet to give birth, although she has been keeping me on tenterhooks for the last couple days. Her temperature dropped two days ago and with her behaviour I thought by now the birth of her litter would be done and dusted.
Her temperature went down to around 37.2 C and has now come back up to 37.7 C. 
She is now around two days before her due date from her first mating. She is well, showing discomfort and signs she could whelp at any time, in between long sleeps. The pups are moving really strongly inside her and just watching her stomach it looks like they might be having a game of rugby. She has had some mucous discharge after peeing, which is the cervical plug coming away and although she has slowed up with carrying such a big pregnancy, she is bright and seemingly well. 
Smudge loves human contact and seems to really enjoy having her tummy rubbed as you can see in the photos tonight, which I hope helps her release oxytocin, which is the hormone that acts as a chemical messenger to make the uterus contract and to facilitate lactation. Her milk bars are already very full, ready for the arrival of her pups. 

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I'm off now for another night of Smudge watching and I will end this blog with a photo I caught earlier of our son Alfie watching something with his brother Bert on the computer, and Ysobel decided that Alfie's backside made a comfortable place to sleep for the half hour he was watching the program.