This is my other effort to follow the rules for my Creative Writing group assignment. Let me know if you think it is better than the first one.

I was my daughter's birth partner when Natasha was born. Jeff stayed in the labour room until things got a bit worrisome - and then walked the corridors of the hospital for the next few hours. He tries very hard to be a good father, but it doesn't come naturally to him.

Natasha

This is nice. I’m warm and well fed and really feeling fine. It is a bit cramped in here, but I am sure I can relax anyway. Oh, what was that? I just felt something pinch me. I don’t think I like that very much. Ouch. There it went again. I wish I knew what was going on. This is not a nice place to be. Even the sounds that I hear seem different today. The thumping is much faster and louder.

Andrea

How much longer do I have to live like this? I can hardly move. I can’t sleep, I can’t stop eating, and then I get heart burn. My feet are so swollen I can't get into any shoes anymore. I used to think this was a good idea, but now, I sometimes wish that I  had given it more thought. There it goes, indigestion again. But wait, maybe that was something else.

Jeff

She’s been so bloody minded today. I wouldn’t mind except I have been doing my best, and I can hardly do more.  Nothing is right. I work hard all day long and expect a bit of peace and quiet when I get home at night, but it’s “Get me this,” or “Get off me”. Nothing I can say or do pleases her anymore. I sometimes wish that I hadn’t agreed to this whole thing. There she goes again. Now what is she going to want?

Natasha

Oh, these feelings of squashing are so unpleasant, and I can’t make them stop. I feel like I am being suffocated.  I would do anything to make these feelings go away. I get a little rest and think it is all over, and then it starts again.  My water bath just splashes around all over me. I am getting nervous.

Andrea

I’m sure this is the real thing. It is different from all the other times. And it isn’t too bad. I can cope with this. I am beginning to get excited now. Before long this will all be over and then our lives can settle back into place. There’s another one, a bit stronger, but if I breathe carefully, I can control the discomfort. This Tens machine really does seem to work.

Jeff

She says it’s all starting. God, what do I do now? I wish I had paid more attention in the classes. She seems okay with it, but what will I do if something more happens? I have to get this into somebody else’s control as quickly as possible. I can’t do this on my own.

Natasha

If I thought things were bad before, I didn’t know what I was talking about. Inside my little home, I no longer have any control. My head feels like it bashing against the outer wall, over and over again. If only this could be over and I could go back to where I used to be.

Andrea

I’m not so sure I can cope with this. I thought I could, but now I think it is just too much. I need help. I can’t do this anymore. Please somebody help me.

Jeff

I’m getting help now. I must just get there as quickly as we can, and then I can just relax and let nature take its course. She looks frantic now, and I just don’t know what to do to make things better. But help is at hand, if I just go a little bit quicker, it will soon be somebody else’s responsibility.

Natasha

Things are a bit easier now. I seem to have burst through the wall, and I got a shock of cold air when it happened. Now sometimes when the squeezing happens I can see a strange thing at the end of the tunnel. Sort of bright. I seem to have no choice but to go in its direction. Things have been so bad, they can only get better.
Something hard and pointy is sticking into my sides.

Andrea

Dear God, I cannot take any more of this. Please give me an injection, give me pills, knock me out. Do something so this awful thing gets better. There, that’s better. Not perfect, but even a little relief helps a bit. Push, you say. No, don’t push, you say. How I wish you could make up your mind. I am so sick of this breathing and panting nonsense.

Jeff

Thank God we got here in time, and somebody else took over from me. I did my bit, and got her here, now I can just go and sit tight until somebody gives me the good news that it is all over. What I wouldn’t do for a drink right now.

Natasha

I can feel an enormous force pushing at my backside. And then it stops and then it starts again. But something definitely is making me go to that other place where it is cold and uncomfortable. Please don’t make me go out there. 

Andrea

You said you could see the head? Oh, that is good. One more big push? I guess I can just about manage that. There. Oops. There it is. Is it okay? It’s a girl? Is she breathing? Oh, yes, now she is crying. I feel like crying too. Oh baby, if only you knew how much trouble you caused me.

Jeff

I think I can hear crying. I suppose that means it is born. I expect they will come soon and tell me what it is. I sure hope it doesn’t cry all the time. I couldn’t put up with that for long. I hope Andrea’s got her figure back.

Natasha

I’m in this new room now and I don’t like it. It is cold and so bright and I feel so loose and floppy, as if I can’t control what is happening to me. And all my usual comforts are gone. My regular sounds have been replaced by babble. Somebody has picked me up by my feet and cut my supply of goodies. Oh, how am I going to survive? I feel so bad all I can do is cry. Now they are wrapping me in something to make me warmer and somebody is wrapping me up to make me feel a bit more secure. Maybe I can make it.

Andrea

Isn’t she beautiful. She has such long fingers and look at those toes. You are such a sweetheart. Stop crying now. Do you want something to drink? There, you suck on that for awhile and then you’ll feel better.

Jeff

She is so tiny. I couldn’t possibly hold her. I would squash her. I might drop her. She is quiet now. Do you think that will last for awhile? I don’t know how I could cope with much more of that noise she was making a minute ago. Well, we did it didn’t we. We are now a family. We each did our little part.