This is Sunshine (Sunny) and she was born on Thursday, 9/23/10 at 1:55 p.m.  Sunny is Zieran and Abbee's daughter that was a preemie baby born 11 days early.  Sunny's 2 sisters unfortunately did not survive but a few hours.  This is a daily pictorial journal of Sunny's fight to live.  She was born weighing only 5.5 oz and with no hair and not able to nurse and was tube-fed every 2 hours around the clock by Debbie.  Send your good thoughts and prayers to my "Ray of Sunshine" on her journey. 

Watch our Miracle Girl - Sunshine as she grows in the photos below.

Sunny - 24 hours old - 9/24/10.

Sunny - 48 hours old - 9/25/10.

Sunny - 72 hours old - 9/26/10. I am growing hair.

Sunny -  7 days old - 9/30/10.

Sunny -  10 days old - 10/03/10.

Sunny - 12 days old - 10/05/10.

Sunny - 14 days old - 10/7/10 - before vet appt.

Sunny - 15 days old - 10/8/10 - She looks like a bear cub in the last photo - too cute... 

Sunny - 18 days old - 10/11/10.  She no longer fits well into her weighing tupperware dish. 

Sunny at 3 weeks old - 10/14/10.  Her eyes are now open and her right ear points outward and her left ear points backwards...still waiting for her ears to unseal.

Sunny at 25 days old - 10/18/10.  She is on the move now and starting to get up on her feet more and more.

Sunny at 4 weeks old - 10/22/10.  Enjoy the picture of Sunny with her "real mom" Abbee - who got in a few minutes of time with her while Iris was outside.

Sunny at 4 1/2 weeks old - 10/26/10 - pictured with her "foster mom" and half-sister, Iris.  She is getting more active now.

Sunny at 5 1/2 weeks old - pictured with her first meal with the older poodles and then today with her "first haircut".

Sunny at 6 1/2 weeks old and starting to enjoy her outside time.

Sunny at 7 weeks old with our grandson, Ayden.  This was Sunny's first road-trip to Atlanta and she did great.

Sunny at 8 weeks old after another haircut and her first bath and blow-dry.  She wasn't too keen on blow-drying.

Sunny at 11 weeks old after another haircut and bath. 

Sunny's photo at 16 weeks old. 

Sunny and her sister's x-ray taken 1 hour prior to Sunny being born.  Look hard and you can see both of them.

This is Iris' first litter of "latex puppies" before she stepped in as surrogate mom to Sunny.

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May 2013 UPDATE: Sunshine (red collar) is 3 years old now. Shown with her cousin, C.C.

September 2011 UPDATE: Sunshine is a year old now and lives with her cousin, C.C. in Birmingham, AL and will continue to live the time of her life "Against All Odds".

Sunshine - Photo taken on 2/9/2011 at 4 1/2 Months old.   

Sept. 23, 2010 - Abbee went into labor at 5 a.m. and delivered a stillborn girl.  Took Abbee to vet at 12:30 p.m. for x-ray and consultation.  We got home and Abbee started up labor again and delivered "Sunny" at 1:55 p.m. and at 4 p.m. her sister.  Unfortunately her sister passed at 8 p.m. and left Sunny by herself.

Sept. 24 - I tube-fed Sunny throughout the night and she lost the 1/2 oz from when she was born.  We are at 5 oz. now... Sent out requests for help from dog friends.  Mystic Collies responded with suggestions and encouragement.

Sept. 25 - Increased feedings to every 2 hours around the clock as suggested - no increase in weight today.

Sept. 26 - Sunny is starting to show a little more activity and the scale is starting to move oh so slowly.  The 2 hour feeding schedule now seems like only 15 minute intervals between feedings to me now...  

Sept. 27 - Sunny is 4 days old and at 8:00 a.m. she finally is at 6 oz. - hurray - a gain of 1 oz. I had a meeting to attend from 10-12 and when I arrived home for 12 noon feeding I see that Sunny's face is peeling - she is not strong enough to get out from under her mother and she now has a skin burns on her face - and her face is peeling - hope this doesn't complicate matters - waiting for call back from vet to consult.  I now cannot leave Sunny home alone with her mother even for 2 hours - she will go everywhere with me from now on.

Sept. 28 - Sunny is nursing more and more - not enough to stop tube feeding by a long shot - but it is good to see that she is nursing for about 1 minute at a time.  Still on 2 hour tube-feeding schedule around the clock - she will be going to work with me for a few hours today.  Hard to believe she is 5 days old now.  No additional gain of weight to report today.  Sunny developed a sore on her belly and it was very painful for her today - was glad to bring her home after work - it was a long day for her to be away from her mom and she was very happy to nurse on her mother when we got home.  Every day brings some new challenge for Sunny and me...

Sept. 29 - Sunny has decided she wants to nurse all the time now and is really turning the corner hopefully. I still got up every 2 hours during night - but only supplemented at 12 midnight and 8 a.m. this morning.  She could only take 3 cc - by tube - so I know Sunny is doing so much better today.  The sore on her belly is looking great today. Yesterday, Sunny's 1/2 sister, Iris, decided while I was at work to have 4 babies - in all reality, they were 4 latex toys that she felt were her puppies and had gathered them all in her dog bed and growled if anyone thought they would play with those latex toys.  Iris is coming into a great milk supply - whereas Abbee is almost completely dried up - due to Sunny unable to nurse the first week - so I made the decision this morning to try and let Sunny be nursed by Iris.  It went better than expected - Abbee just layed next to her daughter, Iris and didn't put up a fuss at all about Iris nursing Sunny.  It was like Abbee knew she couldn't help that part anymore - she watched Iris and then proceeded to clean Sunny and show Iris how to do that - as Iris is only a year old.  Iris is thrilled - never looked at her "latex puppies" again this morning.  So will watch and see how the day progresses with the new arrangements. 

Sept. 30 - Sunny will be 7 days old in a few more hours - just 4 more days to go and she will be at what was suppose to be her real birthdate. I will take a 1 week picture of her later today at 1:55 p.m - actual time of birth.  She is being cared for by her 1/2 sister, Iris beautifully.  Iris took over yesterday morning and  through the day and night I did not tube feed any formula - belly was full.  Iris, Sunny, and I all slept together - so I could supervise everything during the night.  I woke up almost every 2 hours - guess 6 days previous of 2-hour shifts is engrained in my brain.  Iris has not gotten the hang of cleaning Sunny very well yet - so Abbee was glad to have Sunny for an hour this morning and clean her up thoroughly and say hello to her baby.  Iris' milk is really coming in this morning - so Sunny will have plenty to eat today and hopefully will start to gain some weight again.  At noon Sunny was weighed and she was starting to go below 5 oz mark - so back to tube feeding at noon and 2 p.m.  Just when you think you are coming out of the woods...you are brought back to reality.  Once again I am shown that I cannot put my guard down at all.  When taking her pictures today after being fed she was crawling everywhere - could not keep her still - so when looking at pictures you can smile - as Sunny is on the move and was in search of her mother (s) to cozy up to and nap...(pictures to left).

10/01/10 - Last night I slept with Iris, Abbee and Sunny - Sunny did not sleep well and cried and was restless all night long.  I spent the whole night switching Sunny between Iris to feed her and Abbee to clean her and comfort her.  Today her belly was so hard - like she was constipated and suffering with pain - so today was enema time - and she was finally quiet after the enema did what it needed to do - so tube fed her and then put her with Abbee for some comfort and finally she is quiet and peacefully sleeping.  I'm guessing the "real thing" she was getting from Iris was binding her up after being on powdered formula for 5 days.  Every day something different with Sunny...  3 more days and she will be at her original due date of 10/4/10.

10/02/10 - Today was such a beautiful day here - cooler and sunny.  Sunny had a great day also - she is almost at 6 oz. this evening and nursing great today.  Nursing at around 10 minutes each time - such a long way from 1 minute that we were at last week.  She seemed much more relaxed today - hopefully she will sleep and be a bit quieter tonight - I could use a better night sleep tonight.

10/03/10 - Sunny is 10 days old today and she weighs 6 oz. now.  Sunny slept very peacefully through the night and looks like a full-term newborn now.  I wonder when her eyes will open - at 14 days old or will she wait until 14 days from now.  Time will tell.  She had pictures taken today in the tupperware dish that she is always weighed in as I finally got her to hold still for pictures - because she was full and sleeping...

10/04/10 - Today was Sunny's original due date and she is doing fabulous - she weighed in this morning at 7 oz. - about where she would have been if she was really born today.  Welcome to your new world Sunshine - keep on shining.

10/05/10 - Sunny continues to do very well - she is eating and gaining great.  Sunny now lays curled up in the blankets and Iris lets her sleep by herself some now.  Sunny weighed 8 1/2 oz. at 3:00p.m. today.  Took some new pictures of her - she now fills out the tupperware dish and took some pictures on her warming disk to compare the size from when she was 24 hours old to today.  I am thinking I might try and have her tail and dewclaws removed on Thursday - the day I would have had her done if she had been full-term. 

10/6/10 - Sunny is having another great day - what a wonderful thing to say - another great day for Sunny - that is 4 days in a row.  Sunny now weighs in at 9 1/2 oz this afternoon.  I can hardly squeeze her in the tupperware dish any longer to weigh her.  Her nose works great - she is always sniffing my hand when I pick her up to either weigh her or apply some aloe to her legs and ears.  She doesn't like the cool aloe gel applied and squeeks and squirms in disgust - but it has helped her. 

10/7/10 - Sunny is 2 weeks old today and weighed 10 oz. on my scale - will have official weight at vet's office at 3:40p.m. when her appt. is for tail and dewclaws - keep us in your thoughts that I am doing the right thing today.  Pictures of before and after will be posted later today.  It's 5:00 p.m. and we just got home - Sunny made it fine through her tail docking and dew claws.  She officially weighed 10.5 oz at vet's office and temperature was normal and Dr. Saenger said her heart sounds good - no signs of a heart murmur.  Sunny is exhausted from the ordeal - will watch her very closely tonight to be sure she is nursing and acting well. 

10/8/10 - Sunny is doing well today - she is at 11 oz. and acting totally normal after her tail and dews yesterday.  I got such a cute picture of her this evening - she looked like a little black bear cub sitting on her rump.  Will post the picture tomorrow after I download. 

10/10/10 - Sunny is 17 days old today and is becoming a little fat baby bear...  She is 13 oz. today - my scale only goes to 16 oz. - so the time is near that she will not have to be pushed into her tupperware dish any longer for daily weigh-in's - as she is already to big for the dish.  Who would have thought this day would come?  I have moved her out of the "queen size real bed" today that she has been in since birth and is now put into the bottom of a dog crate - like all the previous puppies born here.  I have been worrying that she would crawl to the edge and fall out of the "real bed" and plop on the floor - so now she is safely on the floor in "her own bed" and not Rebecca's guest room bed.   I am looking forward to her eyes opening next - should be in about 7 days from now. 

10/11/10 - Sunny is 18 days old today on this beautiful Columbus Day and she weighed in at 14 oz.  Today is the last of her pictures in her tupperware dish, you will see why her weighing days are over in her pictures today...  Sunny climbed out of her "new dog bed" arrangement last night and I found her quite mad on the carpeted floor next to my bed when she woke me with her and Iris crying and not knowing what to do and how to get back into their bed...  So now will have to put her against the dresser or start putting the board in to be sure she doesn't climb out.  Iris was happier with Sunny in our bedroom last night - we didn't have Iris walking the halls wondering why I no longer sleep in the guest bedroom all night long with them both. 

10/14/10 - WE HAVE EYES TODAY...  Sunshine woke up today peeking at me with her little eyes open...  She is 3 weeks old today and just as a Vet friend thought - Sunny's eyes opened at around this age. Ears are still looking sealed closed - her right ear sticks straight out like a little right turn signal and her left ear lays flat against her head - but pointing backwards towards her tail.  Looks funny to look at her - 1 ear straight out and 1 ear pointing backwards - soon her ears should unseal and hopefully lay flat against her cheeks like normal.

10/18/10 - Sunny is on the move today - she climbed out of her box - over a dog bed and out of her pen to the outside world...well not really - it was my grooming room...  Then was crying - as she couldn't find any of us - because we were all outside in the yard enjoying the beautiful fall weather.  She was very happy when we found her and cuddled up with Iris in the dog bed.

10/21/10 - Sunny is 4 weeks old today and starting to show her cute personality.  How could she not - she has been cuddled for 4 weeks now by poodles and us.  She is so cute trying to get up on her legs and travel around the family room with the poodles.  All the poodles take great interest in this new addition and her starting to join in with them.  Will take some photos tomorrow of her trying to coordinate her legs...and share with everyone who keeps tabs on her. 

10/24/10 - Sunny's personality is getting cuter and cuter by the day.  Today she thought she would puppy growl and lick me at the same time...  Then she was chewing on my fingers like she was playing with a sibling - if she had one...  She also likes to get on the floor and watch all the poodles circle around her and check her out as she sits like a little princess in the center.  No teeth coming through yet - but should be anytime now.

10/26/10 - Sunny had picture day today - but it is so hard to get that "perfect picture".  She has some teeth nubs coming in and should be anytime they start to come in now.  Sent in for her AKC litter registration today - I think she will make it just fine and finally feel like I can apply to register her now.

11/01/10 - Sunny had her first haircut today at 5 1/2 weeks old.  She is the typical size of a 4 - 4 1/2 week puppy and mentally about the same also.  She decided to join in on the dinner 2 days ago of the older poodles and just started to eat out of their bowls.  So decided it was time for her to have her own meals now.  She loved her Chicken Glop mixture that I cooked in the pressure cooker today - Chicken, brown rice, broccoli, carrots and green beans.  Made giving her the first haircut and new pictures easy - full belly and tired.

11/13/10 - Sunny is now 7 weeks old and such a smart one.  She always cries if she has to go potty outside or just is tired and wants to go to her bed.  She is on her first road trip to Atlanta for a few days and was at her first agility trial today so that she could be microchipped.  She wanted so bad to get down and see all the dogs - she is fearless and loved watching the dogs run agility.  She doesn't like to be carried around ever - she thinks that is for babies - and she is a big girl in her eyes.  When we return to Atlanta we will download the pictures that have been taken of her recently.  Sunny had a great time playing with our grandson, Ayden.  Puppies and children go hand-in-hand...

11/18/10 - It's official - I have finally registered Sunny with AKC and she is now officially named - Eaglehill's Against All Odds.

11/19/10 - Sunny had another haircut and her first bath and blow-drying experience.  She did not enjoy the hair-dryer at all.  But quickly forgot about it - because she could go outside and play with everyone after we were done.

11/28/10 - Sunny's storied appeared in the Sunday Charleston newspaper - Post and Courier.  Enjoy.  Sunny was 9 weeks old on Thanksgiving - and thankful we are for her.

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/nov/28/sunshine-proves-to-be-a-real-survivor/

12/12/10 - Sunny is 11 weeks old now and is doing fantastic.  She has learned to come up the front porch stairs and I am anxiously awaiting her learning to go down them.  She always follows me around and helps me in the yard daily.  She has a favorite "cow pillow" that she lays on and watches tv with me in the evening.

01/11/11 - Sunny is now 16 weeks old and she is growing up to be such a pretty girl.  I will now be posting her photos on the "Puppy Photos" page of my website.  The long journey is over and Sunny was a survivor and she is a typical poodle puppy now playing and running with sticks and doing what poodle puppies do - enjoying life to the fullest.  I want to thank all who have followed Sunshine and my journey and give your poodles a hug from us here at Eaglehill South/eClassic poodles.

Eaglehill's Against All Odds (Sunshine) at 16 weeks old.

 

Sunshine at 4 1/2 months old.