BABY GIRL

Born on April 17, 2008, Dimple Dell Farm's Wintersong was too weak to stand, too little to survive. We found her in the barn, still on the ground, mostly dry, on a freezing cold spring day. We were not expecting her or her sister this year since we didn't think her mom had been bred. Usually with goats, they will start to fill their udder several weeks before an impending birth, and mama Marilou had no udder this year. Winter's twin sister was bigger and stronger and had been able to stand and get her first vital milk. Kaylee was distraught over the fact that this little baby goat was just going to lay there freezing to death, so we picked her up and brought her inside. It was obvious that she had not developed properly in the womb. Her little voice didn't sound "right", and she was unable to bear any weight on her hind legs. It was too much for me to see Kaylee so upset over this little goat, so I went out to try to get some milk and colostrum from her mom. Luckily there was enough milk for both babies by this time and we put it into a bottle to see if tiny would take it. She did. This meant that it would be a long day, a long night, and another long day, and the odds were stacked high against this little girl's survival. If she was never able to stand, and hold her weight, she would not make it. We fed her every four hours and by the next morning she was attempting to stand on her own. She wasn't successful though, and by the second night I was feeling pretty sick about the whole situation because Kaylee was getting more and more attached. On day three, against the odds, that little goat stood and walked around on her own. Later that day we took her back out to the barn to help keep her a part of the herd. She never did learn to nurse from her mom, but she did still have a bond with mom and sister, whom Kaylee named Meadowsong. After the first few days, bottle feedings got farther apart and life calmed down a bit. Little Winter won Kaylee's heart. She has been more like a puppy following Kaylee around the pasture and yard, eating from a bottle, and giving sloppy kisses. Kaylee started calling her Baby Girl, and she would come to Kaylee when called. I know Kaylee wanted to keep her, and I would have said yes to keeping her, if we were going to move to a place where we could still keep goats. But we are not, and so we've had to find homes for all our goats. We had just four little girls left from our babies this year and since they have been weaned, and our adult goats all have a new home, it was time to list the girls for sale. On Sunday we got a call from a family looking for baby goats just like ours. They came out to take a look and it was then it finally hit Kaylee that Baby Girl may have to leave. Indeed the family wanted to take all four girls. Again, Kaylee was distraught. We talked it over with her, she knew that this family was a great place for little Winter, and that she would be able to stay with her sister and cousins, but the grief of having to let her go was almost too much. We've cried many, many tears these past two days as Kaylee tried to decide whether or not to let her go.

This afternoon, the family came back to pick up the goats. I can't tell you how terrible I've felt having to watch MY baby girl sob and agonize over her decision to let little Winter go to this new, good home. Isn't this just the worst part about parenting?

Kaylee, I'm so proud of you. You are strong, even if you don't think so. Love you, Mom.