Stern words with Lina have no effect!

This is Bert's baby this evening!!
Why is it that the babies with problems arrive at the worst moment?! Bert's baby started well with his plasma but then he really started to fight against the bottle - and the rain lashed down and the wind blew! I stayed down with them - we got Bert's lot in the barn - not that it was a lot of use as the rain howled through. Sam rigged up a light connected to a battery so that I could see how much he wasn't drinking - 9.30pm 25ml, 11.30pm - 15ml. I was soaked by then and stomping around thinking how much easier it could be . . . but then I looked around me as I sat in the dirt next to Bert, surrounded by alpacas chewing the cud, some asleep with their necks stretched out. Do you know? Despite everything, that was really magic! Even Islay didn't move when I bumped into her. Not so good was the baby who was starting to shiver despite his coat. 1.30am and the rain had stopped and the wind had dropped and I felt decidedly bleary! 3.30am getting a little fatalistic by now. 5.30am got stuck half way over a hurdle in the dark having dropped the torch and somehow managing to get my coat twisted round a post. By now I am beginning to consider other career options - then Bert nudged me as if to say, "Get on with it and feed my baby!" 8am feed 50ml but it took a long time to get him going. He has no name yet though Carl wants to call him Vincent Black Shadow - daft as he certainly isn't black! Today continued with bleary eyed feeding and then suddenly it was mad panic again - Lina's baby started to appear! Now this was one strange baby (had to be really with Lina) it's a boy but we are tentatively pleased about that. Lina is ultra protective which is why baby is now purple all over one side - she was not keen on me spraying the navel! The odd thing about this baby was it took not a blind bit of notice of Mum for 5 hours! Lina chased it around and all it wanted to do was glare across the paddock at Dude and roam the fence line - it made no attempt to suckle or even sniff around Lina, nor around all the other interested alpacas! Lina however stuck to him like a limpet and the fuss when we gave him plasma was incredible. We think she has some milk but not much and so have given her some Oxytocin - another one to go. We're going to try her udder later - having first put on our body armour! He may need bottle feeding but we will weigh him first, check the udder and see how tonight goes. Getting the plasma into him and keeping Lina calm was enough to make us forget about weighing earlier! And getting the cria coat on - well! Got to stop now as feeding beckons! So this is Lina's baby - - -

And a huge thank you to Wellground and Reddingvale for their help.