"My Birth Day"

me in the same christening gown

"I was 20 when Nicole Celeste was born in 1976. Being in the army, I

was stationed at Ft. Leonard Wood Mo. Now, Missouri has some of the

worst winters I've ever seen. And 1976 was no exception! Nicole was

due to be born the middle of March, and my grandma, (Ma-ma) had come

to spend some time with me. I'm glad she was there. She gave me a few

tips on babies, like anise tea when the baby had a tummy ache. Anyway,

Nicole apparently did not want to come into this world. I guess she

was too comfy. (Or stubborn.)



 About 10 days after my EDD, I started

having back pains. Ma-ma said it was probably labor pains. When the

pain spread into my belly, we headed to the hospital. The weather

wasn't too bad, but there was snow on the ground. And it was COLD!

They admitted me, and kept an eye on things for the rest of the day.

By evening, the pains had lessened quite a bit, tho still there. The

dr. told me it was 'false' labor, to go home, and make an appt. for

the next week. I told the nurse I would be back in the morning. She

just smiled at me. (More like a sneer.)

The next morning the pains were so bad, I went back to the hospital.

By now there was a blizzard on! After I had been in labor a few hours, the nurse 

came and told me to quiet down. There were others who were trying to sleep! 

They finally gave me an epidural, which I later regretted. After 36 total hrs.,

 Nicole finally made her debut,{on the 27th} with the help of forceps-yep, always been hard-headed! Lol. She was a chubby 8#s 3oz, and 100% cute! I couldn't wait to hold

her! I was able to nurse as soon as I got back to my room, which I got

to in a round about way. The nurse told me I had to WALK to my room,

but to get there, I had to go around the nurses desk! I was so glad to

get the rest they insisted on. After 2 days they let me go home. All I

wanted to do was sit and hold her and look at her. She was so

beautiful! My little poodle was sooo jealous at first, but immediately

protective of Nicole at the same time! The total cost of my experience

was around $8-the cost of my food."

mom in her christening gown