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 Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:46 pm
Ulani nodded and leaned against the wall, folding her arms across her chest in a relaxed manner.
"At best," she mused, "I'd say we have ... at least an hour before anything major happens, maybe longer ... unless your water breaks, in which case it will all start happening very quickly."
She chuckled softly at Lore. "You may not want to be sitting too close if that happens, it makes an awful mess of things."
Alyse entered the room with a basin of steaming water and some towels draped over her arm. "What do you want me to do with this?" she asked Ulani softly.
Ulani pointed at the floor next to the bed. "Just set it there, towels on the edge of the bed. Find some blankets, clean ones - receiving blankets. At least four or six."
Alyse nodded and did as she was told before running off again.
Ulani turned back to Elnara. "As for you ... you just do whatever makes you the most comfortable. Pillows behind your back if you can, it will make the delivery easier."
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:49 pm
Elnara blinked. "An hour?" she repeated. "At best? I mean, I knew that it takes a long time, but ... so long before it even starts?"
One thing that this pregnancy had not taught her was patience ... in fact, it had made her far less patient than she usually was.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:55 pm
"Well you did catch it quite early," Lore replied, "Which is good... everyone can prepare, but..."
He wasn't surprised it took a long while, after all the mother did need time to prepare depending on the situtation.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:58 pm
Ulani laughed softly.
"Well, everyone's different," she grinned. "It could be less ... but it could also be a lot more. So sit tight. Make yourself comfortable. I'd suggest a nap, but I really don't think it will be possible."
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:01 pm
Elnara was about to reply when another contraction hit her - hard - and she cried out, putting one hand on her belly. Once it had subsided, she gasped for air.
"No," she murmured ruefully, shifting so that she turned sideways on the bed, "no nap ..."
She adjusted her pillow and added Lore's to it before sitting against them so that she was half sitting, half lying down in the middle of the bed. It was comfortable enough ...
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:11 pm
"Would you like anything while you wait?" Lore asked as he moved so Elnara could kind of sit up and also so he wouldn't be caught if the water broke.
He was still beside her though, holding her hand. He wanted to know if he could do anything knowing she would probably get bored after a while.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:20 pm
Elnara looked up at Lore anxiously.
"Just for you to be with me," she whispered, her brow furrowing slightly. "I just don't want to be alone ..."
She knew he had promised, and she couldn't explain her fear ... she didn't know where it was coming from, unless it was just her fear of the unknown ...
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:26 pm
The next hour passed fairly uneventfully ... as did the next ... and the next. The only noteworthy thing that happened was that Elnara's contractions became closer together, and stronger, until she had already begun to sweat, large drops rolling off her forehead.
Alyse returned with the promised blankets, and after a few more trips with armloads of towels and more water, which she and Ulani kept hot with their use of the Wishsong.
Finally, Ulani smiled grimly.
"Okay," she murmured, "it's starting ... Lore, I want you right next to Elnara, even sitting behind her if you want, and holding both of her hands ... Alyse, stay close and do exactly as I tell you."
Alyse nodded and stood to one side, ready to do whatever her grandmother asked, whether it was helping or fetching.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:33 pm
Lore decided it was best to sit behind her so he could hold both of her hands comfortably.
"I'm just going to shift you a bit," he told Elnara gently as he moved into place.
He didn't know what to expect but he hope to be as close to her as possible.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:41 pm
Elnara nodded and did her best to help Lore get behind her, though she was already tired - and considering that, according to Ulani, it was just starting, she was beginning to doubt that she would have enough strength for the entire ordeal.
She cried out again, her breath stopping for a moment as another contraction hit, but within a few seconds it too was over.
"Lore," she whimpered, reaching for his hands.
And then it happened: without any warning whatsoever, she felt something similar to a bubble popping, and suddenly the place where she was lying was little more than a wet and sticky puddle.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:44 pm
Ulani sighed with relief as Elnara's water broke, and she took one of the blankets that Alyse had brought and put it over Elnara's lower body, both to keep her warm and for some semblance of privacy.
"Here we go," she smiled grimly. "It's all downhill from here ... just relax, take deep breaths ..."
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:51 pm
With Lore comfortably behind her letting her lean against him for support he took her hands into his own.
"It's alright, I'm right here," he murmured softly into her ear.
He noticed the wetness right away, it sounded like it was starting.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:56 pm
Elnara wanted to reply to Lore, but her breaths were so uneven now, so laboured, that she couldn't speak. The sweat was pouring off her forehead now, and her hair was drenched, matted against her scalp.
She could feel movements, and as another contraction hit, her instinct was to push, to help the baby out.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:58 pm
"Hold on," Ulani called out warningly, half disappearing under the blanket. "Just wait ... breathe ... the baby's not quite ..."
A moment later, she nodded. "There! Okay, now the baby's in position ... when you feel a contraction coming, work with it and push!"
Now was the point where she pitied both Elnara and Lore ... Elnara for the birthing process, and Lore for his hands.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 8:04 pm
Lore bit his lower lip to keep from grunting as his hands were squeezed though at least now he understood. Elnara still had enough nails to make herself bleed if she wasn't careful in truth.
He could feel her wet hair against his collar.
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