“There’ll be no caterwauling,” I muttered, forgetting I was speaking out loud.
“Sorry, Lincoln, I didn’t catch that. Caterwauling, did you say?” Verity asked.
“Ummm, yes… ahhh, I was thinking that might be a way to relieve pain.” My face was hot, and I wished I was anywhere but here. I rarely made the mistake of actually speaking to my beast out loud.
There were sniggers from some of the shifters, and their mates either glared or elbowed them.
“Whatever works for the laboring omega is fine,” Verity said.
We moved on to partner support techniques.
“Partners, your role is to provide physical and emotional support.”
We practiced the hee-hee-hoo breathing technique. At first I was reluctant to repeat it, feeling embarrassed, but Bronson sent me a “come on” look, and I joined in. And he was right. Not only was I supposed to be supporting him, but I was this baby’s father too, and I had to play my part. By the end, I decided I was the best at hee-hee-hooing in the class except maybe my mate was better.
I learned how to support Bronson in a squatting position, but I was worried if he gave birth like that, the baby would get hurt.
When the class ended, my head was spinning with new information. Like centimeters dilated. When Verity showed us, the centimeters didn’t look very wide, and I wondered if she’d gotten it wrong. How would Bronson push the baby out?
I wasn’t familiar with centimeters and decided I had to carry a tape measure with me to familiarize myself. I’d be measuring everything and noting from zero to ten.
Bronson and I chatted to the other couples for a bit after the class. Or he did, and I stood there stunned into silence. And when we made our way back to the car, he was studying his notes.
“What did you think of the class?” I started the car, wanting to get his impression first.
“I learned a lot, but I also realized there is so much I don’t know.” He flipped through his notes. “Like when we go to the hospital versus staying at home during the early stages of labor.”
I turned off the engine and twisted to face him. “We’ll work it out together, and if not, we own a tent. We can set it up in the hospital grounds and check in with them regularly.”
That got a laugh out of him.
“But what if we don’t figure it out? What then?” My mate’s voice had more than a hint of panic.
“That’s why we’re taking the classes.” I tapped his notebook. “When you’re in labor and we don’t know what to do, I’ll scroll through the notes looking for the answer.”
He laughed again. “I can see you doing that. Or getting advice from your beast.”
Though my beast had never given birth, he had a lot of opinions.
As we drove home, Bronson asked how my parents did it when it was just them at home with no equipment and no medical staff.
“That’s just the way shifters have always done it. Or most of them.”
He asked if I was disappointed that he wanted to have our baby in a hospital.
“I want what you want.”
He sighed. “Maybe if I caterwaul, all the shifters in the vicinity will copy me. It’ll be like a choir.”
If the baby is a shifter, will Bronson be more likely to caterwaul?My panther was curious.
I had no idea, just as I was clueless about most other aspects of labor, other than what we learned tonight.
“How does one caterwaul exactly?” Oh, Bronson had been reading my thoughts.
I suggested going into the woods tomorrow and shifting and my beast could demonstrate.
“Good idea. I have a feeling I’m going to need a variety of techniques to get me through labor.”
