On a beautiful late Summer day, Friday, August 26th, I came home from work and did my daily check on the heard. I took a look at Valentina (Val), who was almost eleven months pregnant and she looked considerably thinner. It was only day 313! I looked up to the barn and saw a large pile and my first thought was "Oh NO!" she has lost her baby. I rushed up there and I saw that the pile in the barn was the afterbirth. Right by the barn entrance, in the dirt the same color, was a tiny cria and IT MOVED! We have a live one, dried and ALIVE! I called the kids and asked for a cria coat, the medical kit and HURRY! We have a baby boy. He sat up straight and his mom came over, just a little concerned. We took his temperature and it was 101 deg F, good. We weighed him and he weighed 11 1/4 lbs, good. We haltered Val and lifted up the baby to nurse, he had a good suck reflex, but was not really able to latch on long due to his inability to stand well and he was not conforming to being held under Mom. His ears were a little curled and his teeth had not erupted, but he had good leg/ tendon strength, both front and back. He walked around a little and seemed to be a fighter. Intervention in action.. been there..done that. I got a clean cup and tied Val in the barn to milk her. She really didn't have a big udder, but I was able to get about two ounces. (That's a good start!) I put it in a bottle, since the baby was willing to suck and we got that in him. I knew that I would have to be the human helper and that ment two hour feedings. Two hours later I got the alpaca milk from the freezer that I saved from Bella when her baby was euthanized in the Spring and defrosted it in a warm water bath. Just 2 bags. It was brilliant sunset the night after his birth, so that is how he got his name, Sunset Brilliance. Our last cria for the season was about to be due. Cenicienta (Cinnie) was a three time mom and she was looking pretty tired as of late. I did not check on her that morning because I had expected to be home by 1:15 pm and she had a record of excellent deliveries and likes to hide them. It was September 8th and had worked a long day at my job and did not get home untill almost 3 pm. When I got home from work, I found Cinnie on her side in the pasture. I let the herd out to the back yard. She did not get up when they ran out. My little cria, Sunset, stayed with her. When I approached she lifted her head. She is a very timid girl that is terrified of handling. She got up and acted like she was in pain in the hind quarters. I took a look and saw frothy liquid coming from her hind end. She came to me as if asking for help. I easily caught her and haltered her. I got the stethoscope out, but did not hear anything or feel any movement. I decided that the worst had happened and decided to procede with manual inspection. Cria was head back and one leg locked and it was not warm, stillborn. I had to reposition her cria and pull it out by myself. It was a beautiful Auburn/ Dk Brown Girl cria. My herdsire, Moreno, would have been 2 for 3 in girls. It was day 326 and I think she had been dead a day or so. Probably a Dystocia related death. Another cria that God thought was too beautiful to be on this earth. Blessings Cinnie's first girl cria, Heaven is your home. All I can say is that 2011 has been a year of learning. Thank goodness I was able to take Dr. Evans' Neonatal Clinic and Wet Lab a couple of years ago. One leg locked assisted delivery, two premie's, one CA girl cria and a stillborn girl cria delivery. I am glad my 2011 birthing seasons are over.