3/8/16When we were finally finished up with our first kidding of the season, we were exhausted. Even though it been an easy labor all around, it had been a long day. By the time everyone was clean, dry, fed milked, etc. we were beat. We decided to have an early dinner and get the rest of our evening barn chores out of the way early so we could have a little time to relax and play with the new babies.As we were finishing with the feeding and milking, I gave Leia a good look over, as she was the next girl who was ready to go."Is that mucus!?" I called out to my husband, eagerly pointing to a gooey strand full of shavings coming from Leia's rear."Probably just her plug. She's way too perky to be having babies anytime soon." I didn't agree. That mucus looked a lot more like steaming than a plug to me. I watched a bit longer, but I didn't see anything that looked like a contraction, and we agreed that the babies still didn't look like they had dropped down yet.We brought Leia in with the same group as Abby, and she was also older and had never been bred. We also couldn't get her settled in the first season we tried, but she took for this season as well. We had an early ultrasound done on her and were stunned when the vet told us there may be up to four babies in there. That's a lot for a first time mom. I was as apprehensive about her kidding as I had been with Abby'sWe stayed up later than usual that night because I wanted to give the new babies a good late feeding before I put them to bed for the night. When we crawled into bed, we checked the camera and Leia looked pretty comfy and settled in for the night. My husband agreed to set an alarm for an hour later to do a check on the babies and Leia.At midnight, I was being shaken awake. "She's pushing!" Half awake, I stumbled out of out bed and raced to pull on my boots and jacket, grabbing an armload of fresh towels on my way, my husband right behind with the rest of the supplies.When we got out the barn we quickly moved Leia over to her own stall , and within minutes she was pushing in earnest. In rapid succession, we had two lovely black and white doelings. The placenta followed the second girl, and I was stunned. I gave her a quick bump and couldn't feel any more babies. After expecting 3-4 kids out of her, this was a relief. Just more proof that early ultrasounds are not reliable, and we would shoot to do them later in gestation if we opted to go that route again.It was an incredibly cold night, and we were exhausted. When Leia showed little interest in her kids, we made the decision to bring them in and have them on a bottle with Abby's kids. Not our favorite choice, but it was the right one at that given moment.Her two doelings are gorgeous, and to top it all off? Leia is the most stunning first freshener we've ever seen in our herd. Her production is insane for a first timer with twins. My husband, who does most of the milking, is so in love that is insisting we retain one of her doelings. Considering I have to fight him on every one I want to keep, this is kind of a big deal.

2016 Kidding Season - #2 Leia

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