Of course this being my first litter, I am reading everything I can get my hands on about whelping. My learning curve is still very steep and I'm sure will stay that way for a long time. After reading in the book , "Puppy Intensive Care" , by Myra Savant-Harris R.N. I was having dreams of Belle dropping puppies and I'm running her to the whelping area, then getting mucus off the face, trying to get Belle to lick it, and trying to get the puppy to eat for we know that the colostrum is very important that first 24 hours, whoa. I woke up, checked on Belle, sighed as big relief, and didn't get much sleep after that. Then it has been serious shopping for the supplies I needto get ready for those pups. I know, dogs have been having puppies forever and they do just fine. But, I want to be ready in case she has problems.