Birthy News

When we woke up this morning, it was clear that Chive would give birth today. She was staying inside the barn, pawing the ground, lying down frequently, and not eating. It was hard to know for sure how much longer it would be, but I guessed it wouldn't be more than a couple of hours. I didn't leave Chive's side from about 10 a.m. on, and the birth ended up taking place around 11:30 a.m. Lena and Jaz were off at baseball practice, but I was joined by several other human spectators (my friend Katie and her sons, my sister Jes and brother-in-law, Chris, and Araela, Ezra, Lukas and Zeben). Here is what we saw:

Chive is lying down, having a contraction
At this point she was still standing up ocassionally
30 minutes before the birth

Another contraction
Chive's yoni is beginning to open
Chive was no longer standing up at all
We knew that things were really happening

We started to see the sac bulging,
and Jes ran to get Araela and Lukas
The first glimpse of the baby,
one little white hoof inside a bubble

Now we can see that the baby is positioned wonderfully:
two hooves and a nose, all presenting together
I put a towel down so that the baby would land on
a nice, clean, dry surface

The head is born!

The rest of the body slips out
Chive started suckling her own teat!
We assume this is to stimulate more contractions
(and to get the milk flowing?)
We think this skill is very cool

Chive greets her baby

The baby is gorgeous
We all love the brown ears
I check and see that it's a girl!

Suddenly, another sac bubble appears!
Chive is having twins! Hooray!
She sucks at her teats again

The second baby is bigger, but is born more quickly
I move baby #1 to a dry towel to make room, and out slides #2
The second baby takes a little while longer than the first to get started,
but eventually he fills his lungs with air, and lets out a good cry
He sounds just like a human baby (and he's a boy!)

Two fresh, wet goat babies
About 10 minutes after the birth

And just like that, our little herd of goats has doubled in size
(and gotten much, much cuter).

The birth went incredibly smoothly, but unfortunately the post-partum experience hasn't been quite as textbook. We ended up having a rather harrowing afternoon spent trying to get the babies to nurse. It was kind of familiar territory for me since I've helped many new human moms and babies learn to breastfeed, but I'd never had to deal with a mom kicking her babies out of the way before. That was tricky. Oh, and Lena got a flat tire on the way to baseball practice, Jaz was bitten by a snake, Petah was freaking out about being separated from Chive, and all of the many human children were quarreling about who had a better view of the action. And due to all of the chaos, we missed the PRIDE celebration, which was disappointing since I love to get a dose of over-the-top-queer at least once a year. But tonight, everything feels much calmer and the nursing situation is much improved. The goat babies are really a little too adorable, and are nearly named. Can't wait to have a much less eventful day tomorrow!