We continued to live our lives pretty much from payday to payday. Our bills were always paid and we always had good food to eat.
Sometimes we would go fishing after Lee got home from work. It was something we both enjoyed and the price was right. Actually, we never ate the fish, it was just the fun of catching them. Usually we would offer them to someone fishing nearby.
Fortunately, my pregnancy went very well and I felt very good. My abdomen was really getting huge and it was pretty obvious that the baby would be good sized. In those days we did not have any of the kitchen gadgets that we take for granted today. Our washer was what they called a wringer washer, we had purchased it for $25.00 at an auction. Washing clothes usually happened every Monday and literally took me all day to accomplish. I had to fill huge wash tubs for the rinse, and I lifted them and emptied them by myself. Most of the woman I knew did their washing like this and never envisioned how much easier this process would become.
Our baby arrived right on time in August of 1960, he weighed 8lbs.3 oz and was 21 1/ in. long.(now our son is 6ft 4 in.) He had my red hair and his father's big head. Labor was quite a surprise, and I must admit that at one point I thought I would not survive the pain. At some point the nurse gave me a shot of Demerol, and that was it until delivery time. In those days they took patients to the "delivery room" put in a spinal and then delivered the baby by forceps.
In retrospect, the nurse spent very little time with us. There were no monitors, none of the encumberments that fill the labor room these days. Things were much more simplistic in those days.
During the labor I had squeezed Lee's hand so hard that it was bruised, but he didn't care because he was allowed to stay with me during labor. He was not permitted to be present in the delivery room. Today, all of that is changed, and being an OB nurse I can tell you it is not uncommon to have the entire family in and out of the labor room all day.
At that time New Mother's had a 5 day stay in hospital. Our part of the hospital bill was $150.00 to the physician and $150.00 to the hospital. Imagine, the cost for the nursery was $4.00 per day! Lee and I had saved enough money to pay the entire hospital bill and doctor as well. We were so proud of ourselves. When Lee came to see me after the baby was born he brought me a small plant. It was arranged in a blue ceramic booty. I cried, and said to him "how are we going to live?" "what are we going to do?" I felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders, and I was scared. Lee took my hand and said "we'll be Ok, don't worry." He was right, we were OK and he always continued to provide for us.
I had decided to breast feed our baby. The only point of reference I had was that I had watched Lee's aunt breast feed her baby. The baby was so contented and it looked a lot less complicated than formula and bottles. Both of our families disapproved and thought it was archaic. They said, "you don't have to do that anymore." They did not dissuade me in the least, my decision was made. Breast feeding was a breeze, I loved it and thought it was so easy. Ignorance is bliss. Nowadays, I have patients who are so hyper and anxious about being " the perfect mother" they sometimes are unable to nurse their baby.
Lee always helped me from the start. In the middle of the night, the baby would cry, Lee would get up and bring him to me, I would feed him, change him and put him back in his bed. On the 3rd night our baby slept through the night. Both of us were bewildered and frightened to look in his crib. He was fine and we were relieved and incredulous, and I might add envied by our friends.
Earlier, I mentioned that Lee always helped me. This was really foreign to me. My father had never helped my mother at all, and they had 5 children.
Lee and I have always worked together. It has never been "your" job or "my" job. Whoever saw things to be done did them. It has always been an unspoken thing that started very early in our marriage.
Goodnight for now. Be good to one another. Carol
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