Well, it was deja vu all over again….The evening of Andi’s delivery, I went to check all the ligaments again before bedtime, and Terra’s were definitely gone. Terra had been bred to Guy 149 days ago, and we expected twins. She didn’t seem to be laboring, but it was too cold outside to risk leaving her out. I put her in the second indoor kidding stall, and she and Andi kept each other company. Terra was significantly more bothered by the presence of the barn cats, but she eventually settled down and had a quiet night.
The following morning, she was definitely starting her labor. She was uninterested in her alfalfa and grain portion and was digging around her pen a lot. I kept an eye on her via the camera while my son Charlie and I did his remote learning. We have been doing remote learning for both kids since the pandemic started, and Charlie’s 1st grade curriculum definitely requires a lot of hands-on teaching from the parents. By the time we knocked out Language Arts and Math, Terra’s posture had definitely changed. Science was next on the agenda, but I had to take a break from teaching to do some real-world biology. Terra had begun “streaming” so I checked her to see what the position of the first kid was. I like to check before pushing begins because if the kid needs repositioned, it’s much easier to do before they are wedged in the birth canal. This kid was lined up well, and he was out with just a few pushes. He is a STUNNING buckling who is mostly white, with some red. Terra was very attentive and dried him off quickly. I checked positioning on the next kid, and she was out within 10 minutes. This time, we had a blue-eyed girl! She was sucking before she was delivered all the way, and trying to walk before her older brother. Since we just expected twins, I figured we were done, but Terra was pawing the ground again, and quickly delivered kid #3. He looked nearly identical to his brother, except he is also polled. All 3 kids are vigorous, noisy and healthy. They weighed in at 4lbs, 10oz; 4lbs, 6oz; and 4lbs, 8oz. Terra is definitely overwhelmed with THREE kids after having only a singleton last year, but I know she will settle down and be a good mama.
