| Biographical Non-Fiction posted September 1, 2020 | Chapters: |
...58 59 -60- 61... 
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The first month with our new baby.
A chapter in the book Remembering Yesterday
The New Family Addition
by BethShelby
| Background This chapter deals with the first month Connie is born and how she is treated by the older children. |
After you and the kids went home leaving me at the hospital, a couple of aides came and checked on me. Because I’d had an epidural, there was still very little feeling in my body from the waist down. I was unaware that I was wet, but one of the aides informed me that I was.
“You gonna have to stand up, so we can get in there and change yo’ bed. You got yo’ pad wet and everything,” she said accusingly.
Still tired and groggy from hours of labor, I somehow managed to get my feet off the bed and attempted to do as she asked. My legs didn’t hold me, and I hit the floor. This caused a commotion and a summons for help.
“How come you didn’t tell us, you couldn’t stand up?” the aide asked. “We didn’t know you had no epidural.”
They acted as if the whole thing was my fault. An incident report had to be filled out by one of the nursing staff, who had rushed in to get me up and back into bed. I wasn’t hurt, but I felt like crying. It seemed to me there was a lack of communication going on. Surely this wasn’t the way new mothers should be handled.
You were able to take me and our baby home after spending one night in the hospital. I didn’t feel as well as I had after the birth of my other children. I was irritable and had a low-grade case of postpartum depression. My mom took a bus to Metairie and stayed to help out for a week. When she saw Connie and held her, she started laughing at her fat funny face. She said, "This baby doesn’t look like anyone I’ve ever seen." I took exception and accused her of making fun of our baby. I was more offended than i would have been, had I not been suffering hormonal depression.
The doctor had given me something to dry up my milk without bothering to ask if I wanted to breastfeed. We had no choice but to give her formula. She seemed to instinctively know what breasts were made for, because whenever I held her against me, she acted as if she was trying to nurse. She didn’t care much for the bottle, and refused to drink over two ounces at a time. This meant she was hungry again after two hours. I was getting very little sleep. Knowing you needed to get up early for work, I plugged up an electric bottle warmer next to our bed and tried not to bother you. Still, since her crib was beside our bed, I know you heard her every time she cried to be fed.
After Mom went back home, it was a couple of weeks before Connie started looking less like a sumo wrestler, and became a beautiful, healthy looking baby. I tried to give Christi the extra attention she craved, but it was apparent that she resented the time I spent with the new baby. Disposable diapers were available, but I still had cloth diapers left from my other babies so I continued to use them. This meant I was still using the plastic-headed diaper pins. It would be years before Christi confessed that she sometimes deliberately stuck Connie with the pin while pretending to change her diaper.
Carol was very helpful and seemed to enjoy holding the baby and giving her the bottle. Don regarded her as a new toy.
One day, I’d gone into another room, leaving the baby strapped into the infant carrier. Don managed to tie a rope to one end and put the carrier on the floor. I rushed back in when I heard her loud cry. He had been slinging the carrier in a circle, and somehow the baby had slipped from the carrier and onto the floor. Her chin was bleeding and Don was sheepishly trying to slip away. I know he felt bad, because he had actually injured her. Nevertheless, he got scolded and warned that babies were not meant to be treated like toys. He was ten and should have known better.
Carol was twelve and wanted to babysit, so we could go out for the evening. She seemed so responsible and helpful, we figured she could handle the job. We went to a restaurant for dinner and then to a movie. It was nearly eleven when we got back home. We peered through the glass in the back door and saw Carol sitting on a rocker in our den area. Connie was on her lap, but our baby’s head had slipped through her knees and was hanging down between her legs. Carol was fast asleep. We began beating on the door trying to awaken her, but she was sleeping so soundly that she didn’t budge. The twins were already in bed asleep.
It was a scary situation, because we couldn’t tell if Connie was just sleeping or if something else was wrong with her neck hanging at a crazy angle. Also, there was the possibility that Carol might wake up suddenly, and drop her on her head. When it became apparent that we weren’t going to be able to rouse her to let us in the locked door, we’d realized we’d have to find another way in.
All of the windows were locked except two very high ones in the living room. We had no choice but to go in that way. You had to hoist me up, so I could crawl through the window and unlock the door for you. When we rescued our baby from her upside down position, she was still sleeping peacefully and seemed fine. We shook Carol awake, and she was embarrassed because she had fallen asleep on the job.
*****
Somehow Jordan Printing Company, a Mom and Pop printing operation, heard about me and learned that I’d be looking for work since the other printing company had filled my position right after I left. Bobby Jordon’s wife, Klevey, called me and asked if I could come and work for them as a paste-up artist and do negative stripping work. They needed someone right away.
Connie was just a little over a month old, and I’d not planned to go back to work so soon. I was feeling better and they needed someone right away. I got in touch with my co-worker from where I’d worked before to see if his mother still wanted to keep a baby in her home. She did, so I took Connie over and let her get acquainted with Miss Dolly, as she wanted to be called. She fell in love with my baby. It was soon apparent that this would be the perfect solution.
I took the job because the atmosphere was very relaxed. There was a receptionist, a bookkeeper, and one regular pressman. Bobby and Klevey ran presses and took care of the customers. They practically lived at the place. They were there from seven in the morning until the wee hours at night. There was always a loaf of bread and an open jar of peanut butter on table in the break room. They ate while they worked, and both of them were very laid-back and fun to be around.
*******
At Chevron, you had been offered a supervisor position. You weren’t sure you wanted it, but it meant quite a bit more money. Now, you had about eight guys working under you. You had the same job that the man who had given you so many problems had. He was still a supervisor of another division but you were on equal status with him. I knew you’d do a good job because you had gone through leadership training in the Army. You were a Sergeant with a group of men under you in Korea. All the men liked and respected you. I felt you deserved a supervisor role. I was very proud of your promotion.
“You gonna have to stand up, so we can get in there and change yo’ bed. You got yo’ pad wet and everything,” she said accusingly.
Still tired and groggy from hours of labor, I somehow managed to get my feet off the bed and attempted to do as she asked. My legs didn’t hold me, and I hit the floor. This caused a commotion and a summons for help.
“How come you didn’t tell us, you couldn’t stand up?” the aide asked. “We didn’t know you had no epidural.”
They acted as if the whole thing was my fault. An incident report had to be filled out by one of the nursing staff, who had rushed in to get me up and back into bed. I wasn’t hurt, but I felt like crying. It seemed to me there was a lack of communication going on. Surely this wasn’t the way new mothers should be handled.
You were able to take me and our baby home after spending one night in the hospital. I didn’t feel as well as I had after the birth of my other children. I was irritable and had a low-grade case of postpartum depression. My mom took a bus to Metairie and stayed to help out for a week. When she saw Connie and held her, she started laughing at her fat funny face. She said, "This baby doesn’t look like anyone I’ve ever seen." I took exception and accused her of making fun of our baby. I was more offended than i would have been, had I not been suffering hormonal depression.
The doctor had given me something to dry up my milk without bothering to ask if I wanted to breastfeed. We had no choice but to give her formula. She seemed to instinctively know what breasts were made for, because whenever I held her against me, she acted as if she was trying to nurse. She didn’t care much for the bottle, and refused to drink over two ounces at a time. This meant she was hungry again after two hours. I was getting very little sleep. Knowing you needed to get up early for work, I plugged up an electric bottle warmer next to our bed and tried not to bother you. Still, since her crib was beside our bed, I know you heard her every time she cried to be fed.
After Mom went back home, it was a couple of weeks before Connie started looking less like a sumo wrestler, and became a beautiful, healthy looking baby. I tried to give Christi the extra attention she craved, but it was apparent that she resented the time I spent with the new baby. Disposable diapers were available, but I still had cloth diapers left from my other babies so I continued to use them. This meant I was still using the plastic-headed diaper pins. It would be years before Christi confessed that she sometimes deliberately stuck Connie with the pin while pretending to change her diaper.
Carol was very helpful and seemed to enjoy holding the baby and giving her the bottle. Don regarded her as a new toy.
One day, I’d gone into another room, leaving the baby strapped into the infant carrier. Don managed to tie a rope to one end and put the carrier on the floor. I rushed back in when I heard her loud cry. He had been slinging the carrier in a circle, and somehow the baby had slipped from the carrier and onto the floor. Her chin was bleeding and Don was sheepishly trying to slip away. I know he felt bad, because he had actually injured her. Nevertheless, he got scolded and warned that babies were not meant to be treated like toys. He was ten and should have known better.
Carol was twelve and wanted to babysit, so we could go out for the evening. She seemed so responsible and helpful, we figured she could handle the job. We went to a restaurant for dinner and then to a movie. It was nearly eleven when we got back home. We peered through the glass in the back door and saw Carol sitting on a rocker in our den area. Connie was on her lap, but our baby’s head had slipped through her knees and was hanging down between her legs. Carol was fast asleep. We began beating on the door trying to awaken her, but she was sleeping so soundly that she didn’t budge. The twins were already in bed asleep.
It was a scary situation, because we couldn’t tell if Connie was just sleeping or if something else was wrong with her neck hanging at a crazy angle. Also, there was the possibility that Carol might wake up suddenly, and drop her on her head. When it became apparent that we weren’t going to be able to rouse her to let us in the locked door, we’d realized we’d have to find another way in.
All of the windows were locked except two very high ones in the living room. We had no choice but to go in that way. You had to hoist me up, so I could crawl through the window and unlock the door for you. When we rescued our baby from her upside down position, she was still sleeping peacefully and seemed fine. We shook Carol awake, and she was embarrassed because she had fallen asleep on the job.
*****
Somehow Jordan Printing Company, a Mom and Pop printing operation, heard about me and learned that I’d be looking for work since the other printing company had filled my position right after I left. Bobby Jordon’s wife, Klevey, called me and asked if I could come and work for them as a paste-up artist and do negative stripping work. They needed someone right away.
Connie was just a little over a month old, and I’d not planned to go back to work so soon. I was feeling better and they needed someone right away. I got in touch with my co-worker from where I’d worked before to see if his mother still wanted to keep a baby in her home. She did, so I took Connie over and let her get acquainted with Miss Dolly, as she wanted to be called. She fell in love with my baby. It was soon apparent that this would be the perfect solution.
I took the job because the atmosphere was very relaxed. There was a receptionist, a bookkeeper, and one regular pressman. Bobby and Klevey ran presses and took care of the customers. They practically lived at the place. They were there from seven in the morning until the wee hours at night. There was always a loaf of bread and an open jar of peanut butter on table in the break room. They ate while they worked, and both of them were very laid-back and fun to be around.
*******
At Chevron, you had been offered a supervisor position. You weren’t sure you wanted it, but it meant quite a bit more money. Now, you had about eight guys working under you. You had the same job that the man who had given you so many problems had. He was still a supervisor of another division but you were on equal status with him. I knew you’d do a good job because you had gone through leadership training in the Army. You were a Sergeant with a group of men under you in Korea. All the men liked and respected you. I felt you deserved a supervisor role. I was very proud of your promotion.
 Recognized |
I'm continuing to recall memories of life with my deceased husband as if I am talking aloud to him. I'm doing this because I want my children to know us as we knew each other and not just as their parents.
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