Spread-eagled Like Bambi on the ice
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 02:42PM Little Dinky has taught himself to walk today...after his first feed of the morning, I put him down on the lid of the basket in which he sleeps at night (once upon a time, it was a laundry basket), and after a few minutes, he started trying to get up on very wobbly little legs. Eventually, he gave up and settled down for a snooze.
When I sleep, I like to curl up in a tight little ball,
with my head on my haunches (my fur is so soft and warm)
I have such a funny little nose that twitches and wrinkles all the time
And the crest of hair on my head always seems to stand up like a bottle-brush
Trying to get up on spindly, unfeasibly long and wobbly legs is very tricky...
In fact, I'm not having much luck at all.
I think I'll settle back down...
And have a snooze instead...
But half an hour later, when he tried again, up he got and there's been no stopping him since! He's even running a little bit and attempting the odd jump which so far has always ended in total collapse. When he tries to move too fast on our cement floors, his tiny hooves slip and he ends up belly flopping on the floor, with his legs spread-eagled and pointing to all four corners. It's hard not to laugh because he looks so comical...and he manages to get straight up again, so he is not hurting himself.
Now that he's found his feet, Dinky has taken to following me around and sucking my leg. He's also starting to establish some places in the house that he obviously thinks are now his. If we're in the sitting room, he finds a little corner next to our big armchair, if we're in the kitchen he curls up next to the bin, and if I'm working in my office, he snoozes under my desk. Amazing to think, he has only been with us for 24 hours, yet already is establishing these habits and making this place his home.
Now that I can walk, I'm becoming very brave and adventurous...
So, during the day, we are just letting Dinky run free around the house with us. I took him out on the lawn this morning, but he seemed non-plussed about that...I guess until he starts eating greenery, he won't be too excited about garden forays. I think he's probably only a few days old (because his umbilical cord is still attached, and because he only started walking today), so will expect to ween him in 6-7 weeks' time. For now, it's half-hourly to hourly feeds during the day until about 10pm, and then one feed in the middle of the night (about 1am) and that's it until morning. He's taking between 8 - 12ml each time. I'm not sure he really needs the 1am feed, but as I was awake then, I thought I'd give him some milk - after all, he only came to us yesterday and he is still so very tiny, I don't want to risk him going hungry.
His teeth are already growing (and have grown a lot since yesterday) - with his long ears and buck teeth, he reminds me so much of a little rabbit sometimes...
Reader Comments (3)
Isn't he lovely! Great news that he's starting to get up and about - I think I'm right in thinking that if he was out in the wild, he'd be up in a matter of hours, right?
What a delightful couple of posts. He is adorable though I'm sure he is taking up much of your time and thoughts right now. I couldn't help but think about the lack of potty training. Thank goodness for concrete floors. I look forward to updates.
He is so cute! Great photos.