Teagol's pregnancy diary: around 54 days

Teagol (above) enjoys the sunshine this morning on the patio, as she approaches 8 weeks pregnant. As the pups take up more room it gets harder for Teagol to find a comfortable place, especially when they are moving about. The first bit of video (below) my daughter, Florrie got, as I had asked her to sit with Teagol for a while in the quietness of my bedroom to check the pups were moving around. At this stage you should be regularly checking for movement and keeping an eye on any discharge from a bitches vulva. Some clear or whitish discharge at this stage is normal, anything else like blood stained or a thick dark discharge, veterinary advice should be sought. 
Florrie certainly caught the pups moving and you won't need to rewind a couple times to see it now. The second bit of video (below) I took of Teagol, as I came back indoors and asked Florrie how things were going and she had excitedly  shown me her bit of footage. Teagol's expression in the second bit of video. I think anyone who's ever been pregnant will empathise with. 
There are two distinct phases during the development of the puppy during gestation. The first is embryogenesis during which all future organs come into place. Eyelids appear at 32 days, fusing of the palate at 33 days and differentiation of toes at 35 days. At the end of this phase, the pups are not very big, although most structures are in place and all organs have started to develop. At this stage the embryo becomes a fetus and under observation it can be recognised as a canine fetus.
The second phase is the puppy gaining weight. Three-quarters of a puppy's weight at birth will of been gained after the 40th day of it's gestation.