I've enjoyed reading about birth stories...go figure...and at one of my favorite blogs, Life in a Shoe, Kim just blogged overnight about her newest addition...her 8th child and 7th girl.  I thought I'd have our own edition of a live birth blog her at A Day in the Life...only we're going to shake things up a bit...

We're live blogging our Cow's labor and delivery.

...did I just lose my entire readership???

So...here's entry #1...Clarabelle is "due" to "freshen" (the cattle term for have a calf) between July 4 and July 18.  My hubby is out of town until Tuesday...which is fine because she's not due until next Friday...or so we thought.  We decided to do a little work out in the barn to start getting ready for her freshening this morning when we realized that the two telltale signs of an impending labor (do you really want to know???...mucous from her behind and milk leaking from her teats) are both occurring in full force. AGHHHHHH!!!!  Telltale sign #3 is that she's not frisky or fiesty which for Clarabelle is very abnormal...she let me put on a halter without so much as moving her head. 

So, after a mild panic attack, we decided to hurry up the process of getting ready.  Ran to the local store and got some fresh hay and supplies and asked the owner if he'd be on-call for any emergencies we might have.  He told me just to stay out of her way unless she was in labor for more than 5-6 hours...then I'd have to decide whether I want to "pull it out"...Jaw drop...palms sweat...do what????  So...here's hoping for a quick, complication free delivery. 

She's out in the barn chomping on hay with a fan in her face (our small effort of making birthing a calf in 95 degree weather a bit more bearable).

...more to come...