Elizabeth groaned in her sleep as a wave of pain engulfed her.
What was that? She moaned, now fully awake, pulling herself upward looking out the window. Sighing she realised with a pang that Spring was almost done and they would soon be coping with the sticky wet heat of Summer in the new colony.
There it is again, clutching her belly as the pain radiated through her lower body, she tried to move off the bed.
Oh, Lors above, could it be me time? It could be I suppose, but how do I know? When the pain subsided, Elizabeth made her way outside.
Thomas was nowhere to be seen, but that was not uncommon. He tended to leave early these days and had taken to leaving her asleep. She had protested, but he insisted that he could get breakfast at the barracks. As she had also taken to being sick again at the smell of cooking food she had accepted his offer gratefully.
Later that morning Elizabeth was surprised to find that she had not had anymore twinges for some time. I guess I have nothing to worry about for now. It probably was just something that I ate yesterday. Her day continued like any other day, but she found herself tiring quickly with each passing hour.
Supper is ready, now all I need before I seek me bed, is for him to come home, so I can feed him and clear away for the night.
“Elizabeth, I am as hungry as a mongrel cur and I could eat a horse,” Thomas growled as he entered the door.
Quickly moving to the bed to help him take off his boots, she stopped in alarm as a sudden gush of water hit the floor.
Oh my, this is how it started with Mam, she thought as she grabbed the cloth off the table to mop up the puddle.
He looks like a stunned fish, I guess he has never seen a babe being born before. Well I hope he can help me or get someone who can.
“Thomas, I don’t think I have time or the strength to help with your boots,” she groaned as an overwhelming wave of pain surged through her belly. Grabbing the back of the chair she doubled over gasping for breath.
In one stride, Thomas was at her side and lifted her over to their bed. “What should I do?”
“Well, here's the rub, I haven’t done this before, so I don’t really knoooooow,” she screamed as another pain surged through her body.
“I’ll go into town and get help, shall I?”
“No, don’t leave me, I can’t do this on me own, it hurts, oh Lors’ it hurts,” she gasped again, clutching his arm in panic.
"I have helped me Mam when it was her time, so I hope I can remember what needs doing."
He looks like a stunned fish, I guess he has never seen a babe being born before. Well I hope he can help me or get someone who can.
“Thomas, I don’t think I have time or the strength to help with your boots,” she groaned as an overwhelming wave of pain surged through her belly. Grabbing the back of the chair she doubled over gasping for breath.
In one stride, Thomas was at her side and lifted her over to their bed. “What should I do?”
“Well, here's the rub, I haven’t done this before, so I don’t really knoooooow,” she screamed as another pain surged through her body.
“I’ll go into town and get help, shall I?”
“No, don’t leave me, I can’t do this on me own, it hurts, oh Lors’ it hurts,” she gasped again, clutching his arm in panic.
"I have helped me Mam when it was her time, so I hope I can remember what needs doing."
“I think it’s coming, oh God I hope so, because I think me insides are ripping apart.”
Shortly after in the inky darkness of the 19th November 1792, Isabella Rowley made her way into the world.[1]
Shortly after in the inky darkness of the 19th November 1792, Isabella Rowley made her way into the world.[1]
Thankfully for both of them, Isabella made it into the colony without too much fuss. They would have coped as best they could.
What the new parents were feeling at the time is pure conjecture. No doubt Thomas was at a loss of what to do or say. If he was indeed at the birth of his first born, it would have been an eye opening experience for him.
Elizabeth I feel would have taken each experience in her stride. As she was to prove through the years to come, was her way.
______
1 Ancestry.com. Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Compiled from publicly available sources. Retrieved April 15 2015.
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