Before each litter whelps, I start nesting.  We whelp our litters in a dedicated building that we call the Whelping Suite.  It started life a sauna and we shoved a whelping box in it.  The building now has a dog door to an outside kennel run, seasonal running cold water and automatic dog waterer, a whelping box built in, a cushy heating pad with a rheostat to control temperature, an energy star window to keep out the drafts, and three heat sources.  Mom and Dad came up over the weekend and Dad and I (well, Dad with me watching and trying to assist) expanded the electrical service.  We used to run extension cords under the door (dangerous) and the outlets weren't grounded (yikes) and at night, you had to walk to the building in the dark and through it to plug in a lamp so you could see. 

Now, we have a motion activated light on the outside of the building so as you approach, the lights come on automatically.  There is a switch inside the door, safe electrical outlets where I need them and everything is grounded.  I have an outlet for an air conditioner that might or might not get installed prior to the pups coming.  Being too hot is generally not the problem for pups.  But we shall see.

Every time we whelp out a litter, we think of ways to do it better next time.  The easier you can make it for yourself to feed, water, sanitize and socialize the pups, the better the job you do.  Now if I can just find a scrap or two of vinyl flooring...