August 23, 2006
Walter was a great Dad; had much more patience, than I, so I tried to back him up when he was handling a crisis. I considered it my job! He would simply talk to them quietly, and seemed to get his point across every time, while I could jump up and down, and make a lot of noise, and all the time I knew that they were simply waiting for me to get it off my chest, so they could be on their way!
Well, my dear, you asked about our life before Kevin joined us, plus a question or two. I did get a chuckle when you asked why there was such a gap between the twins and Kevin! I guess you could chalk it up to nerve on my part. That first year with two babies who had colic day and night stayed fresh in my mind for a long while. Finally, God decided that we should give it another "Whirl"! My doctor, who I had with the twins had retired, so I needed to choose another one, and I really picked the best; a woman doctor who was willing to go to great lengths to see that we could enlarge our family. Her name was Ellen Carter, and I shall bless her all my life. All the time I stayed in bed trying to hang on to that little one, she would stop by the house, on numerous occasions to test my blood, and on three occasions dispatched Walter on a hurried trip into Los Angeles to the Red Cross Blood bank to pick up the "B" positive blood that I needed, and she couldn't find in the Pomona hospitals. On my very first visit to her office, she checked me, and asked if I wanted this baby, and when I replied "Yes" she said, "well, it's not in a good position on the uterus, so there is just a 50/50 chance of a good outcome, but we'll give it a try. Every time I had to go to the hospital for a transfusion she met me there to administer it. My original contract with her was for $ 100, and I had that paid within the first three months, so after Kevin was born, and the doctor took care of him while he was in the incubator for three months, even weighing him from time to time. She insisted on zooming up the temperature in the nursery, warming a blanket on the scale, etc. The night nurse used to snatch him out of the incubator sometime without all that preparation, so she could show Walter when he made his nightly milk delivery. Anyway, when I finally asked the doctor why we hadn't received a bill for all the extra attention she replied that we were fully paid up. Her payment was seeing Kevin grow and thrive. She was later promoted to the top doctor (I forget the word for it) at the hospital, and I like to think it was because she stuck to her thought of helping us when the other doctors criticized it.
Another question you asked was about Walter's vocation. After my Dad retired from the grocery business we, plus Jack, my brother, and one other fellow bought the inventory, so were in the grocery business for many years. Three months after we took over we were robbed at gun point one night, and lost $ 4500, and we had no robbery insurance. My brother later left when he was drafted into the Korean war, and started in the inventory business after his time in the air force; and became a multi-millionaire. Such is LIFE!
Monday, March 1, 2010
March 2, 2006
Speaking of Dave and Dick, and your request of some antidotes of their entrance into the world, I will try to recall some highlights. As you might remember, they were born shortly after World War 2. I had flown home, after my doctor advised it, since he felt I might be prone to having babies early after the experience of losing out first baby. We knew that Walter would be coming out of the air force soon, but since we didn't have any idea when that would be we felt that I should get home as soon as possible at four months along. He did drive home, after being mustered out, a few months later, and since housing was scarce we had to live with my parents while waiting for our house to be built. Jack, my brother, had also been released from the Service, so he, and Lalie, were also living there with Candace, their almost one year old baby. Walter had no idea what line of work he wanted to pursue, so my Dad persuaded him to build houses on some property he owned, and at the same time work on the houses that we needed. Dad gave Walter and I a lot since he had originally given Jack a car, and sold him the lot next to ours for a very low price. We had to have a contractor in order to get the materials for the houses; only veterans were allowed to buy lumber, since it was so scarce. When our houses were within a few weeks of being ready to move into Walter discovered that our contractor was also building a house at another location, and using our veteran's priority to do it, plus adding the costs to our bills. That meant Walter had to stop all activity on our houses while someone had to count every nail, lumber, etc. in each house, so we could determine how much the contractor had stolen from us. That was going to take months, which meant our dream of getting into our owns house before the baby arrived was impossible. We still didn't realize there was two babies! Anyway, on my seven months visit to the doctor he couldn't figure out why I was growing so fast. He could only pick up one heart beat. So, he asked me to have an x-ray taken at the lab downtown. This was long before today's methods were discovered. So, down to the lab I went, and I should have known something was up when the technician came out of the dark room with a big grin on his face, but of course, he couldn't say anything to me. A few days later the phone rang, and the nurse at the doctor's office said, "just get down here and see a picture of your twins!!" I blurted out, "TWINS!", and I overheard Mother say, "What did she say?", and Lalie replied, "I don't know, I guess someone has had twins." Well, of course, Lalie and I jumped into the car and sped off to see that picture. While we were there the nurse said the doctor was sure I would have them any day, as they were in position to be born, and since 75% of twins are born early, anyway, that was what we could expect. After seeing the x-ray we drove off to hunt Walter, and found him on the roof of one of the houses he was working on. I yelled up to him in these exact words, "Guess what, Honey, I'm going to have twins." He came home that night with several smashed fingers, since my news earlier in the day had caused him to hit his fingers instead of the aimed at nails.
So, we come to March 6, about two months later! On my last visit to the doctor I threatened to have them on the doctor's day off, which was a Wednesday, and as it turned out that is what happened. Earlier that afternoon Mother needed to go downtown for something, and since I was her driver, off we went. I was feeling a bit uncomfortable, so told her I'd wait in the car. we returned home about 4 p.m., and by this time I just felt like being flaked out on the sofa was a good idea, and I kept announcing that I was not having labor pains. When Walter drove into the driveway, from work, Mother informed him that I was not feeling well, so he came to talk to me, and again I proclaimed I knew it wasn't labor pains, but Lalie said she wasn't up to delivering twins on the sofa, so talked Walter into calling the doctor's office. He told the nurse that I didn't think I was having labor pains, but she said it was close to my due date (which was March 10), I'd better go to the hospital. The doctor was already there with another woman in labor. So, I proceeded to get up, from the sofa, and found I couldn't move. Poor Walter, had to carry me to the car and fortunately the hospital was only a few blocks away, because Dave arrived twenty minutes later, with Richard following, except soon as David was born Richard turned a flip, and the whole room exploded because he was going to be a breach baby. I couldn't figure out why everyone was so excited until later when the doctor explained it wasn't a good idea for a baby to make a quick turn as the cord might get around the neck, so Dr. went after the baby. Dave was born at 6:07 p.m. and Dick arrived at 6:11 p.m. Dave weighed 6 lbs. 2 1/2 oz. and Dick weighed 5 lbs. 14 1/2 oz. Meanwhile, back in the waiting room, Lalie told Walter to go inquire at the nurses station how things were progressing, and the nurse said "the twins just went by, and your wife will be down in a few minutes" So, their thoughts about getting settled for an all night wait was eliminated. I stayed in the hospital for ten days, which was boring, but it turned out to be the last rest I had for a long while since both the babies had colic, so our nightly ritual turned out to be both of us rocking the babies trying to keep them from disturbing the rest of the household. Lalie stayed in the garage with the washing machine and the mountains of diapers that the three babies provided, Mother was holed up in the kitchen trying to keep us all fed, and my days were in the bedroom taking care of babies, sterilizing bottles, etc. On my birthday, which was pretty soon after getting out of the hospital, Lalie came to my bedroom door to say "Happy Birthday" and I promptly fell down on the bed between the babies where I had been holding their bottles, and proceeded to become hysterical. Lalie disappeared, and returned with Mother. They both scooped up a baby, ordered me to get back in bed, and to this day, I don't know what they did with the babies all day, as I slept until 4 p.m., and I've always said it was the best birthday present I ever received. Somehow, that wonderful day of rest was something I needed desperately, because I never needed it again.
About the time the babies were getting over their colic, at nine months, we were able to move into our house, and life became much simpler. It was a miracle that we all got along so well after being cooped up for those many months before and after the babies were born, maybe the fact that we were so busy, and usually so tired we didn't have any energy to argue or disagree. Later, when Jack, Lalie, and Candi lived next door to us, we had a gate between the back yards, so the three little toddlers could play together, or splash in the pool that Walter constructed in the back yard. That little 800 square foot house was truly a happy life to look back on. Lalie and I took turns hiding Easter eggs, and one time when I was busy doing just that I happened to glance up at their kitchen window and noticed Candi watching me hide the eggs. Needless to say she won the prize for finding the most eggs that Easter!
Speaking of Dave and Dick, and your request of some antidotes of their entrance into the world, I will try to recall some highlights. As you might remember, they were born shortly after World War 2. I had flown home, after my doctor advised it, since he felt I might be prone to having babies early after the experience of losing out first baby. We knew that Walter would be coming out of the air force soon, but since we didn't have any idea when that would be we felt that I should get home as soon as possible at four months along. He did drive home, after being mustered out, a few months later, and since housing was scarce we had to live with my parents while waiting for our house to be built. Jack, my brother, had also been released from the Service, so he, and Lalie, were also living there with Candace, their almost one year old baby. Walter had no idea what line of work he wanted to pursue, so my Dad persuaded him to build houses on some property he owned, and at the same time work on the houses that we needed. Dad gave Walter and I a lot since he had originally given Jack a car, and sold him the lot next to ours for a very low price. We had to have a contractor in order to get the materials for the houses; only veterans were allowed to buy lumber, since it was so scarce. When our houses were within a few weeks of being ready to move into Walter discovered that our contractor was also building a house at another location, and using our veteran's priority to do it, plus adding the costs to our bills. That meant Walter had to stop all activity on our houses while someone had to count every nail, lumber, etc. in each house, so we could determine how much the contractor had stolen from us. That was going to take months, which meant our dream of getting into our owns house before the baby arrived was impossible. We still didn't realize there was two babies! Anyway, on my seven months visit to the doctor he couldn't figure out why I was growing so fast. He could only pick up one heart beat. So, he asked me to have an x-ray taken at the lab downtown. This was long before today's methods were discovered. So, down to the lab I went, and I should have known something was up when the technician came out of the dark room with a big grin on his face, but of course, he couldn't say anything to me. A few days later the phone rang, and the nurse at the doctor's office said, "just get down here and see a picture of your twins!!" I blurted out, "TWINS!", and I overheard Mother say, "What did she say?", and Lalie replied, "I don't know, I guess someone has had twins." Well, of course, Lalie and I jumped into the car and sped off to see that picture. While we were there the nurse said the doctor was sure I would have them any day, as they were in position to be born, and since 75% of twins are born early, anyway, that was what we could expect. After seeing the x-ray we drove off to hunt Walter, and found him on the roof of one of the houses he was working on. I yelled up to him in these exact words, "Guess what, Honey, I'm going to have twins." He came home that night with several smashed fingers, since my news earlier in the day had caused him to hit his fingers instead of the aimed at nails.
So, we come to March 6, about two months later! On my last visit to the doctor I threatened to have them on the doctor's day off, which was a Wednesday, and as it turned out that is what happened. Earlier that afternoon Mother needed to go downtown for something, and since I was her driver, off we went. I was feeling a bit uncomfortable, so told her I'd wait in the car. we returned home about 4 p.m., and by this time I just felt like being flaked out on the sofa was a good idea, and I kept announcing that I was not having labor pains. When Walter drove into the driveway, from work, Mother informed him that I was not feeling well, so he came to talk to me, and again I proclaimed I knew it wasn't labor pains, but Lalie said she wasn't up to delivering twins on the sofa, so talked Walter into calling the doctor's office. He told the nurse that I didn't think I was having labor pains, but she said it was close to my due date (which was March 10), I'd better go to the hospital. The doctor was already there with another woman in labor. So, I proceeded to get up, from the sofa, and found I couldn't move. Poor Walter, had to carry me to the car and fortunately the hospital was only a few blocks away, because Dave arrived twenty minutes later, with Richard following, except soon as David was born Richard turned a flip, and the whole room exploded because he was going to be a breach baby. I couldn't figure out why everyone was so excited until later when the doctor explained it wasn't a good idea for a baby to make a quick turn as the cord might get around the neck, so Dr. went after the baby. Dave was born at 6:07 p.m. and Dick arrived at 6:11 p.m. Dave weighed 6 lbs. 2 1/2 oz. and Dick weighed 5 lbs. 14 1/2 oz. Meanwhile, back in the waiting room, Lalie told Walter to go inquire at the nurses station how things were progressing, and the nurse said "the twins just went by, and your wife will be down in a few minutes" So, their thoughts about getting settled for an all night wait was eliminated. I stayed in the hospital for ten days, which was boring, but it turned out to be the last rest I had for a long while since both the babies had colic, so our nightly ritual turned out to be both of us rocking the babies trying to keep them from disturbing the rest of the household. Lalie stayed in the garage with the washing machine and the mountains of diapers that the three babies provided, Mother was holed up in the kitchen trying to keep us all fed, and my days were in the bedroom taking care of babies, sterilizing bottles, etc. On my birthday, which was pretty soon after getting out of the hospital, Lalie came to my bedroom door to say "Happy Birthday" and I promptly fell down on the bed between the babies where I had been holding their bottles, and proceeded to become hysterical. Lalie disappeared, and returned with Mother. They both scooped up a baby, ordered me to get back in bed, and to this day, I don't know what they did with the babies all day, as I slept until 4 p.m., and I've always said it was the best birthday present I ever received. Somehow, that wonderful day of rest was something I needed desperately, because I never needed it again.
About the time the babies were getting over their colic, at nine months, we were able to move into our house, and life became much simpler. It was a miracle that we all got along so well after being cooped up for those many months before and after the babies were born, maybe the fact that we were so busy, and usually so tired we didn't have any energy to argue or disagree. Later, when Jack, Lalie, and Candi lived next door to us, we had a gate between the back yards, so the three little toddlers could play together, or splash in the pool that Walter constructed in the back yard. That little 800 square foot house was truly a happy life to look back on. Lalie and I took turns hiding Easter eggs, and one time when I was busy doing just that I happened to glance up at their kitchen window and noticed Candi watching me hide the eggs. Needless to say she won the prize for finding the most eggs that Easter!
August 9, 2005
The twins were 7 years old when Kevin was born. Since he was in the incubator in the hospital, and children weren't allowed to be near the babies the nurses let us bring the boys in when no other visitors were there, so they could see their new little brother. I remember it was on Easter Sunday, so the boys took a stuffed rabbit to give to the baby. However, since the rabbit wasn't sterilized it had to be hung outside along the edge of the viewing window. That seemed to satisfy the boys as long as the rabbit had the little brother's name on it. So, there it hung until Kevin was BIG enough to come home, which was the following Mother's Day.
Regarding your question about our first baby, and losing her four hours after her birth. When I got to the hospital late at night with labor pains the only one on duty, in maternity, was a student nurse. During the war there was a shortage of doctors, and nurses, so the ones available weren't called in unless there was a critical need, and then only at the last minute. So, the student nurse gave me a shot to put me to sleep, and since I was just 7 1/2 months along, that was supposed to stop the labor pains. Sometime during the night I woke up and rang for the nurse to tell her the pains had started again, so she gave me another shot. The baby was born the next morning while I was still asleep, and, of course the baby was asleep as well. I have since learned that you should never give those drugs to a patient who is in danger of delivering premature. They tried to tell us that the baby had a heart murmur, but Kevin's doctor told me that her heart had to be o.k. or she would not have lived those four hours. At one time they had Walter all prepped for a blood transfusion, and that was in hope they could thin the drugs in her system, but she was too weak to be transfused. It was terribly difficult to lose her, but I took comfort in knowing that God gave us twins two years later, and they would never have been born, as I would have had to come home if we had had a baby to drag around from Texas to North Carolina to Missouri after she was born. The only places we could find to rent were single rooms in private homes after we left Texas. The only way that I could continue to be with Walter was if we didn't have a child to consider, since the conditions of living were very primitive.
The twins were 7 years old when Kevin was born. Since he was in the incubator in the hospital, and children weren't allowed to be near the babies the nurses let us bring the boys in when no other visitors were there, so they could see their new little brother. I remember it was on Easter Sunday, so the boys took a stuffed rabbit to give to the baby. However, since the rabbit wasn't sterilized it had to be hung outside along the edge of the viewing window. That seemed to satisfy the boys as long as the rabbit had the little brother's name on it. So, there it hung until Kevin was BIG enough to come home, which was the following Mother's Day.
Regarding your question about our first baby, and losing her four hours after her birth. When I got to the hospital late at night with labor pains the only one on duty, in maternity, was a student nurse. During the war there was a shortage of doctors, and nurses, so the ones available weren't called in unless there was a critical need, and then only at the last minute. So, the student nurse gave me a shot to put me to sleep, and since I was just 7 1/2 months along, that was supposed to stop the labor pains. Sometime during the night I woke up and rang for the nurse to tell her the pains had started again, so she gave me another shot. The baby was born the next morning while I was still asleep, and, of course the baby was asleep as well. I have since learned that you should never give those drugs to a patient who is in danger of delivering premature. They tried to tell us that the baby had a heart murmur, but Kevin's doctor told me that her heart had to be o.k. or she would not have lived those four hours. At one time they had Walter all prepped for a blood transfusion, and that was in hope they could thin the drugs in her system, but she was too weak to be transfused. It was terribly difficult to lose her, but I took comfort in knowing that God gave us twins two years later, and they would never have been born, as I would have had to come home if we had had a baby to drag around from Texas to North Carolina to Missouri after she was born. The only places we could find to rent were single rooms in private homes after we left Texas. The only way that I could continue to be with Walter was if we didn't have a child to consider, since the conditions of living were very primitive.
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