New Adventures: Baby Guinea pigs

So, many of you don't know that I own Guinea Pigs.  Which, in and of itself has been an adventure.

It all started when Trent hit his 6 month mark.  I decided that since I had made it 6 months I should reward myself in some way.  So, I decided, randomly, to buy a guinea pig.  My friend Kenzie and I skipped class and went to the local PetsMart and I got set up for my little guinea pig.  I named him Gatsby, in honor of the fact that the name not only fits him, but also because it's Trent's favorite novel.

So, I had my little pet.  He was so super shy (still is, in fact he hates it when I try to pick him up).  Anyway, he proved to be a nice way to relieve my depression.  So, I tell people that's why I have him, which is partially true, it's been nice to have an animal to take care of.  Plus, I feel it's making me more responsible. 

Anyway, I had to move to a new apartment complex because the place I lived was going to become extended MTC housing.
 (For those of you who don't know what that is, when young men and women leave on missions for the LDS Church they spend a period of time in the Missionary Training Center.  Depending on if they're speaking a language or not determines how long they stay there.  And since the Church lowered the age for young men and women to serve missions there was a huge influx of missionaries, so they needed a place to house them.)
I got permission though from my new complex to keep Gatsby and so we moved to our new place.

Over the summer I read that Guinea Pigs do better in pairs and several breeders I met confirmed that.  So, I decided to try and get Gatsby a friend so then he wouldn't get too lonely while I was gone in the Fall.  Being a senior + working = not as much time as he needs. So, I started looking on KSL for a guinea pig for sale that I could get for cheap.  And one day luck arrived, the ad said "Free Male Guinea Pig".  What the heck right?  So I contacted him and we met up and I got my second pig:

I kept them separate for a couple of days, then put them together in the same cage.  After a little bit of dominance issues, they got along fairly well.
Then about a month later I felt like I should check to be sure my new little pig was really a boy.  And.... yeah, she wasn't a boy.  By then, they'd been together awhile so I figured she was pregnant.  And deciding to stick with "The Great Gatsby" and literary classic names theme I named her Daisy.

Anyway, I kept watching her for a good month or so, and by the end of September, she was noticeably pregnant.  I spent time at night to hold and pet her, and to check her progress so I could try to estimate how close she was to giving birth.  Several times I was able to feel the babies moving in her belly, and that was a sweet experience and I was reminded what a miracle life is.   Over time, they stopped moving as much so I figured she was close and they must be packed really tightly in there. 
This past friday I was hanging out with my baby sister in my apartment and she wanted to hold Daisy.  Daisy was grumpier than usual so the petting and attention didn't last too long.  A few minutes after we put her back, she started making a weird high pitched squeak and was behaving weird.  After several minutes of that I figured she was about to have her pups, so I got super excited.  Mainly because I had thought I would come home from school one night and they'd just be there, so being able to be there during the birth was really neat for me.
  I'll spare you all the details, but after about 30-40 minutes Daisy gave birth to four little pups.  Unfortunately, one was born dead.  I'm not sure why, I really think she was breached and so wasn't able to get air in time.  That may be the reason, and it may not, but I was still really sad because I didn't think that was going to happen.  Especially since two had been born just fine.   But I soon found comfort in the three little ones that lived, and i have spent the last several days just loving them.  Here's some pictures:

Three little pups

I think this one is a boy, he looks just like his mama

This little guy is the smallest of the litter, but the sweetest and calmest

I think this one is the only girl of the bunch, she's a cutie too and she's going to look like her dad!

The last 72+ hours have been awesome.  They are so sweet and cute, and I'm floored at how tiny they are (yet how big they are in comparison to their mama).  I get to keep them for 6 weeks and I want to make every moment count because these little guys are an adventure in and of themselves. 
Who would have known 7 months ago that I would have had this adventure in my life.  But I'm loving it and I'm grateful for it.  Just like the title of this blog "New Adventures" life is AWESOME! And it's so worth living, especially when you experience something as small as the birth of some baby guinea pigs.