Mother's Day 1968, I was 20 years old, hugely pregnant, 2 1/2 weeks past my due date, miserable and ignorant!
It seemed like I waited on the arrival of my baby forever. I started maternity leave from my job at 8 1/2 months. At the time, I worked in a sewing factory and by 8 1/2 months could no longer reach the sewing machine because of my rather large belly.
I stayed home for the next month and the one thing I did most was eat...and eat...and eat! No one told me I shouldn't eat whole bags of potato chips, six snicker bars, a quart of ice-cream and anything else I could find in one day!
A lack of information on nutrition and other pregnacy matters fit the bill at that time. No internet either, so googling wasn't an option.
The best I could do was ask questions. Most of the time, I got various opinions or vague answers with no known accuracy.
My most pressing question "how can I tell when the time has come?" All I got from anyone, "you'll know!"
Being 2 1/2 weeks overdue, I became worried. My maternal grandmother, of Cherokee Indian descent, would surely know. She informed me I would deliver when the moon changed again. She was right!!
At four a.m on May 12, I awakened with a mild throbbing back ache. Tossing and turning awhile, I decided to walk around. No relief obtained!
I shook my husband until he woke up and informed him of my backache. He groaned, rolled over and went back to sleep. Just like a man!!
I had no idea if labor was beginning or not. That started with a lot of pain in the abdomen, right?
Didn't I hear somewhere that you're supposed to take a bath, if you suspect you're about to go into labor??? Well, I thought I'd do that and be done with it!
Getting stuck in the bathtub like a beached whale is not a lot of fun, especially with lower back pain.
After screaming at my hubby to get me out of the tub, I wondered what to do next.
I did what all girls probably do...I called my mom! "Mom, I said, my lower back
is killing me, what should I do?" "Go to the hospital immediately and I'll meet you there!"
After getting to the hospital around six a.m, they started "prepping" me. I think I got poked, prodded, shaved, greased, and manipulated in places I never knew I had.
Nothing happened except about every aunt, grandmother, and friend of my mother showed up to put in their two cents worth. Where were they before when I needed questions answered?
All day long, these friends and relatives walked me up and down hallways with my hospital gown flapping in the breeze. It's not easy to lumber around with 50 extra pounds on your body and a low backache getting worse as the day progresses. They said it would help things along!
After about 15 hours of labor, I'm finally wheeled into the delivery room and immediately strapped down on a table. This is when the screaming began!
There was not much pain, but I'm extremely claustrophobic, so when my arms and legs were strapped, I lost it! That's also when they slapped a mask of ether over my mouth and nose. No epidurals in those days!
Next thing I know, I'm waking up, staring down between my legs and asking the doctor what the heck he was doing.
"Sewing you up," he replied. Sewing?? Sewing?? Sewing what? No one told me about that either! I immediately started crying and told him "you don't love me anymore!" I heard him chuckle and tell me "now the ether is talking."
Eventually, I had a small baby boy placed in my arms....with a cone-shaped head. I cried again thinking I had a deformed child! I vowed to love him anyway, no matter what! Again, no one told me they used forceps in those days, and the cone shape would go away!
The greatest Mother's Day gift of all was given to me that day. Should anyone ever ask me about my biggest accomplishment in life, I would have to say giving birth to a fine son. Nothing can top that!
Some years his birthday falls on Mother's Day, but this year it falls the day before Mother's Day. His wife has a big 50th party planned. It's hard to believe 50 years have gone by since that Mother's Day gift arrived! I will forever be thankful for him! Happy Birthday to my son!
By the way, for some strange reason, I still wake up with a low backache every year on May 12th. Strange, but true!
Have a happy Mother's Day and thanks for reading this article!
Remember,
Keep on the Sunnyside!