So im sat here stressing, not unusual for me when i have a bitch due to whelp!!
So we scanned my bitch, it was a very hot day and she was panting a lot, we could see as my vet said 'lots', in one frame we could see 5 at a time. I didnt want to stress her out so just gave that a given as more than 1 puppy.
Now shes 8 weeks pregnant (tomorrow) and shes not as big as my others that have been scanned with 'lots' im  stressing that she could possibly have reabsorbed some of the puppies. Having had a bitch last year have a Pyo and absorbed her puppies bar one, needing an emergency section and spey, im not coping well with this litter, my nerves are in tatters and theres still a week to go!!

So have any of you had bitches that dont look that big go on to have more than expected?

Shes in for her Herpes jab tonight.. and yes i was one of the fortunate ones to get one!!

ok, so talking to her breeder- shes just reminded me that my girl was from the 'surprize' litter. Her mother was scanned empty and although a little chubby (which is normal for our breed after seasons), showed no signs of being pregnant until she yelped and went crashing through the lattice under the decking (she was in labour!) after coaxing her out and setting up the whelping pen had 4 gorgeous babies! So this has set my mind at ease a little!

You can have a bitch give birth to a big litter and she's normal size (whatever normal means.)

Yet next time around she is gi-normous and has 2 pups.  How much water is carried will always have an effect on the bitches size.

Yes I have (had a bitch look big at one point and not get bigger) and yes, I do believe she may have reabsorbed some of her puppies although my vet said she found nothing to suggest that, when doing the subsequent C.Section she needed.     That bitch was big at around 5 weeks, but really didn't get much bigger and she wasn't a prolific producer either - having just 2 in her first, and 1 in her second!!   Way less than she should have had and actually strange because of the two sisters I kept from that litter, she had always been the one I'd have expected to have had the bigger litters.    Her sister had 9 (although due to veterinary neglect - we sued) 5 didn't survive whelping.