 |
| National Geographic - Embryo at 25 days |
We had some terrific news this past week: an ultrasound confirmed our sweet, beautiful girl Mango is expecting! This is an exciting time for all of us as it seems like an eternity since we have had puppies in our household!
Diet is so important at this stage as the puppies will begin to grow rapidly now. Over the next few weeks as her abdomen expands, Mango will obviously begin to slow down.
Above is an amazing photo by National Geographic of an embryo at 25 days of age. This is approximately the time Mango had her ultrasound (day 27). From day 35 on, the embryos are known as fetuses. At this point, the embryonic sacs are a little over 4 cm. Although several sacs were detected during the ultrasound, it is still difficult to determine exactly how many babies Mango will have. Fetuses are approximately 1.3 cm. which may seem small but they will triple in size in just one week.
Between days 29 and 35, their spinal cords and all their organs have begun to develop and their heartbeats can be easily heard. Their faces are forming and their canine features are becoming increasingly more pronounced as their eyelids, ears, whiskers, claws and separated toes develop. Interestingly, their eyes are initially open but their eyelids fuse at around day 35 to protect them from contamination during development and will remain closed until approximately 10 days after birth.
The gestation period in dogs is approximately 63 days and that means only 27 days to go. We are looking forward to the miracle of birth once again around May 29 or 30th.
Stay tuned….
Comments
Post a Comment