How long until you can hold a puppy a lot?

Puppies are not like birds- mom will not shun it because you touched it. But she will be protective of her new pups. She will let you know when she's OK with it, and that depends on how well you know her and her personality. I had one dog so clueless I was catching them as they came out of her, while she wandered around the kitchen freaking out. Those puppies got handled by me more than her in the first couple hours. Another dog had her dogs in an area under the kitchen table, and fiercely defended that whole side of the room for days. Just make sure for the first couple weeks that you are washing your hands and upper arms well before handling them.