I remember what I was doing 27 years ago today. But it all started the day before. On Monday, October 25, Garth went deer hunting. I was home with three children ages 4, 3, and 2 and 10 months pregnant. Can you believe I actually LET him go away and leave me in that condition? I didn't know any better. The kids had been running all around that day, playing outside and having a good time. My "grandmother" Aunt Maree came for a visit. She found me sitting in my rocking chair with my feet up and the kids playing. I told her I was having a few contractions but that was ordinary for me. I always had contractions from 4months on. She demanded I go have a warm bath and she would watch the kids for me. There was no telling her no, she wouldn't accept that for an answer. So I spent some time alone in the back bathroom of the trailer while she played with kids, fed them cookies, etc...all the things great-grandmothers do. When I came back out she had me sit in the rocker while she fixed something for everyone to eat, then she left. I don't remember when Garth actually got home, but he didn't bring a deer. We got the kids to bed and I was still having contractions, harder and more frequent this time. So we called my dad and he came to be with the kids while we went to the hospital. I knew as soon as I got up and started walking around the pains would go away, which they did.
When we got to the hospital they had started up again, so they decided to keep us there. Dana Olsen (a relative) was the nurse on duty and she was sure we would have a baby that night. But we didn't. By morning time we were still just being lazy and not doing much. Then we had a change of plans. My doctor, Dr. Dayton, was in the next room helping with another birth, his own child. So his partner became my doctor for this delivery. I knew that once this baby decided to be born it would be fast (knew this from past experience) and I was right. It didn't take long for Nicky to be born. If I remember right, it was a little bit after 10:00 am. We had another beautiful little girl! She was perfect for our family.
Oh, she gave us scares for a while. She would be drinking from her bottle and stop breathing. She spent a week in the hospital when she was a few months old, so we could find out what was the problem. She was attached to a breathing monitor for a few months. (Aunt Maree came to our rescue many times when we needed to be in the hospital with her and with other kids somewhere else.) We kept a velcro strap with all the heart monitor things wrapped around her little chest so we could just "plug her into the monitor" when she slept. She slept on a reclining board, like a saddle with a horn that kept her from sliding down to the bottom. Barrett called her a "bionic baby" but I was in fear of him plugging one of the ends into the electrical socket when I wasn't looking. After all of that, she was a fine baby. And a great young girl, and young woman. We love you Nicky! Happy birthday!
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