Nesting in a Big Way Part III

Part 3 of my nesting that has been going on is a bit different.  There are 10 things that I make sure are taken care of in my own home before the calves start to arrive.  This is very similar to the list I had and many others have before they have a baby of their own.

1.       I make sure the freezer is stockpiled with meals that can be warmed up by anyone in the family.  If we have calves that need special attention, I am typically the NICU nurse (I have a little more mothering instinct than the other members of the household.  This means that Randy or the boys are in charge of meal time and all 3 of them are at least capable of running the microwave.  Here is a list of items currently in my freezer:

•  French Dip
• Cheesy Enchiladas
• Christy’s Not so Famous Pork Loin
• Grandma Jessie’s Zucchini Cake
•  No Boil Lasagna
• Easy, Beefy, Cheesy Burritos
• Pork Chalupas
• Smoked Beef Brisket
• Beefy Nacho Potato Soup  
• Barbecue Meatballs

2.       A snack supply is a must.  If there is a birthing emergency, lunch time might not come until 2:00 if ever.  Often we keep some packaged emergency snacks in the feed trucks with us just in case.

3.       We get up in the middle of the night, usually around 3 am to check on the heifers (first time mothers) to make sure they aren’t having any problems.  This means a nap in the middle of the day is needed or A LOT of caffeine and sugar.  I try to stock up on pop before we get started.  I am well into week #1 of the nightly checks and have only begged to have a nap twice.  Pretty good for me. 

4.       Adult beverages are also a necessity in my household.  Some days things don’t go as they should or we spend a couple of hours with a special patient or two late at night.  When we are wound up on adrenaline, sometimes a beverage can help you sleep a whole lot better.

5.       I always make sure the mudroom is clean and organized before calving season.  This room of our home becomes the calf NICU.  Any calf that is having a hard time immediately after birth may get brought to the house for some special attention (including middle of the night feedings) and extra monitoring.  Just imagine having a 4 legged newborn in your house, except they don’t cry, instead they get up and bump around until you feed them or take them back to their mama.  :)

6.       Speaking of the mudroom, lots of laundry detergent is used in my house over the next 5 weeks.  Not only to our clothes get pretty gross helping new wet, slimy calves, but we also use blankets and towels for the calves and they need washed as well.

7.       It’s always a good idea to keep a supply of bleach or other disinfectant around.  The blankets, OB chains and calf bottles all can use a good wash and disinfection when multiple newborns are involved.

8.       Now, here’s one most wouldn’t have to worry about: Birthday Treats.  Our 7 year old has a birthday right at the beginning of calving season.  I try to make his treats for school ahead of time and freeze them.  I never know when a weather system will move in and  cause calving to move earlier.  Cows are just like people and that due date is usually plus or minus 10 days.

9.       As a mom, we also try to work on school Valentines ahead of time.  Remember, I have 2 boys that hate to write and if the weather is cold and wet it is likely that we will spend more time in the barn than in the house leading up to Valentine’s Day.

10.   I also try to keep all the laundry washed and put away while I have time.  I also take advantage of sunny warm days when the calves start arriving to get caught back up on the laundry.  The boys do like to wash the laundry this year, so maybe they will help out some, but they hate to fold and put their laundry away.

My friends all think I am organized and I think I have them all fooled.  I try to control what I can in my life, because I know when I walk out that door in the morning surprises can be around every corner.

Have a great week everyone and be sure to follow me on Facebook to see new baby calf pictures.

-A Kansas Farm Mom

You might also like:

Nesting in a Big Way Part I

Nesting in a Big Way Part II  

Nesting in a Big Way Part I

Imagine with me if you will, that your home is going to be the headquarters for about 200+ babies to be born in the next 45 days.  What supplies would you need?  What would you want to have on hand in case of a late night emergency?  This is a snapshot of the checklist that I go through and make sure I have in my house before calving season starts.

Most cows have their babies without incident, but just like people somethings happen.  I had HELLP Syndrome and I have told you about Killian who has CDH.  It is always good to have experts available with supplies to keep everyone safe during and after birth.

10 Things I Get Before Calving Season for the Bovine Patients

Farmer Randy was not my willing model in this picture, but I thought you needed to see how long the sleeves really are against a guy who is 6 foot 3.

1.        Latex gloves and loonnnngggg plastic sleeves.

 Just like OB Doctors we like to keep things as sterile as possible.  If we have to go in and check to see if a calf is coming the right way or reposition the way it is coming we use these really long OB sleeves to keep us clean and so we don’t take contaminants into the cow that will cause an infection.

2.       Colostrum Replacer (usually freeze dried colostrum) and calf electrolytes (think Pedialyte or Gatorade for calves)

Colostrum is the first milk that a cow produces and is very important to keep a calf healthy.  It actually has antibodies that keep the calf from getting sick until their immune system is mature enough to produce their own.  Calves need to have a good dose of colostrum in their system in the first 12 hours to keep them healthy. 

Yes this bottle is a little bigger than the ones we used for our kids.  It holds 2 quarts.

3.       Calf bottle with new nipples and an oral feeding tube.

Sometimes cows don’t like the thought of being a mother, calves are weak or cows have twins.  These calves often need some supplemental nutrition, just like human babies.  I remember using a tube type feeding system for a couple of days with my now 10 year old son that was born 5 weeks early.  Of course, the ones for calves are much larger, but are still very similar to what we use on kids.

4.       Antibiotics and Vitamins along with syringes and bawling gun.

Just like human babies that are born in certain areas get a shot of vitamins when they are born we give some of our calves vitamins and minerals when they are born.  We also have a limited selection of antibiotics for those calves that get an infection or pneumonia.  Often these calves get sick when the weather is really bad and the roads are not fit to travel to the vet’s office.

Last summer, the whole family worked together to put straw in the barn for this winter.  Love it when 3 generations work together.

5.       Straw bedding

When the calves have to come in the barn, we like to have some clean bedding for the calves to sleep on.  Most of the calves are born outside and stay there, because in all honesty things are cleaner outside than in a dark drafty barn.  The UV rays from the sun do a great job of killing bacteria outside and that sunlight can’t get in to kill things in our barn.

Here is the link to Part II of Nesting.

-A Kansas Farm Mom