Lulu Bell and the Pyjama Party Read Online Free Page B

pyjamas.
    â€˜Perfect timing, Lulu,’ said Dad. Lulu could hear the smile in his voice. ‘Can you please scrub up, then fetch me a pile of sterile towels?’
    Lulu washed her hands carefully, using the anti-bacterial soap at the sink. She fetched a pile of sterile towels from a cupboard and placed them on the benchtop. A moment later, Molly popped her head around the door.
    â€˜Sorry,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t sleep either so I followed Lulu.’
    â€˜Come in, Molly,’ invited Dad. ‘We’ll need all of you to help in a moment. I want to deliver the puppies as quickly as I can. Lulu will show you all what to do. She’s done it before.’
    Dad clamped a sterile cloth over Maisie’s tummy. Beside the operating table was a trolley. On top, medicalinstruments were laid out neatly.

    Dad explained to Molly and Lauren. ‘This operation is called a caesarean,’ he said. ‘I make a small cut in Maisie’s tummy so I can pull out the puppies. We need to do it quickly so that the puppies are not affected too much by the anaesthetic.’
    Dad turned to Lulu. ‘Are you ready to take delivery of the first pup?’
    Lulu picked up a clean towel and held it out flat. Dad pulled a slippery puppy from Maisie’s belly. He cleared away the sac and membranes, and cut the cord to detach it from its mother. Dad passed Lulu the first puppy. It was plump and black and lying perfectly still.
    â€˜This one’s a fattie,’ said Dad. ‘A beautiful, healthy pup.’
    â€˜Hello, baby,’ whispered Lulu.
    Lulu’s job was to rub the puppy with the towel to dry it and help it to breathe. She had to wipe the mucus from around its nose and mouth. It was important to work fast to get the puppy breathing as quickly as possible.
    Dad passed another wrinkly puppy to Lauren, and then one to her mum Kyra.
    Lulu rubbed her puppy. It lay unmoving and quiet in the towel. Lulu rubbed some more.
    â€˜Come on, little puppy,’ whispered Lulu. ‘Breathe. You have to breathe.’
    Lulu rubbed a little harder. There was a tiny squeak. The puppy sucked in air. Lulu rubbed again. The puppy cried loudly, its eyes firmly shut.
    â€˜It’s breathing,’ squealed Lulu. Soon the pup was wriggling and squirming, its paws scrabbling in the air.
    â€˜Good work, Lulu,’ said Dad. ‘Pop it in the warming box. I have another one ready to go.’
    Lulu laid the puppy in a special box under a heat lamp to keep it warm.
    Dad passed her another puppy to rub. This one was smaller and a pale gold colour. The others were alsoworking hard to revive their puppies.
    â€˜Mine’s not breathing,’ said Lauren. She sounded like she might cry.

    â€˜Just rub a little bit harder,’ suggested Lulu. Lulu showed Lauren what to do, and the puppy took a sharp breath.
    Soon the operating theatre was filled with the sound of squeaks and cries as the Labrador puppies began to breathe on their own.

    â€˜Eleven puppies,’ said Dad. ‘No wonder Maisie was looking so big.’
    Dad started work on sewing up the cut in Maisie’s tummy. Lulu worked on her third puppy. Soon that pup was breathing too.
    Lulu gazed down at the warming box. There were eleven fat puppies lying side by side. Seven were golden Labradors like their father and four were blacklike Maisie. They mewled and whined, searching for their mother.
    Lauren, Molly and Lulu grinned at each other with delight.
    â€˜Look at them,’ said Lulu. ‘Aren’t they gorgeous? I’m sooooo glad the puppies were born in the middle of our pyjama party.’

Chapter 9
Midnight Feast
    Maisie was still in a deep sleep.
    â€˜Poor Maisie,’ said Lauren, her forehead crinkled. ‘Will she be all right?’
    Dad pulled off his surgical gloves, cap and mask. He beamed at the girls.
    â€˜She’ll be fine, I promise you,’ said Dad. ‘It will just take a little while for