THE FAMILY GROWS

June 30, 1948 our first child was born. I had no idea what it would be like. The first indication of birth was water breaking all over the kitchen floor. Scary! Eddie’s sister, Marie, was with me while Eddie and Dick went to Men’s Chorus practice. I don’t remember who went to tell them to come home – there was no phone. Dr. Volin came to our house and after assessing the situation said we had better get to the hospital ASAP! Dale Allen was born at 12:20 a.m. and weighed seven pounds and five ounces. We were in the hospital for six days I think. What a joy that little boy was; he was happy and chubby.

Farming was going along well these years with cows to milk, pigs to feed and chickens to raise. We were thinking about having another baby – and soon, baby number two was on the way.

Weather was a big problem the winter of 1951. A lot of snow fell the first week in March. Eddie and a neighbor scooped our driveway open by hand so we could get out if necessary. Sure enough, we were driving to the hospital between “car high” snow banks. Kenneth Lee was born on March 5^th at 3:15 a.m. He weighed seven pounds and seven ounces. Ken was a happy-go-lucky kid afraid of nothing. Both our boys were born 10 days early. Coming out early didn’t seem to bother them at all.

Life went on happily and we decided to try for a girl. We put in our order and Faye Doreen was born on September 15, 1955. She weighed eight pounds and three ounces. She was a screamer at first and I suppose somewhat spoiled. She had that bottle until she was almost two!

It was 1959 and we had two boys and a girl. Where to put everyone? They were getting bigger. We had the attic space finished with sheet rock, new windows and a closet put in and then there was still room for storage. The boys were thrilled to have a larger room.

Lots was going on it seemed. Oops! I’m pregnant again! We were looking forward to another baby, hoping for another girl, of course. I thought it was a neat way to get out of teaching Sunday School. I had been doing this after Faye was old enough to go to Sunday School.

I could have felt better. I thought, “Just keep going, it will get better.” Somehow I had a premonition that something was not quite right. My doctor said I was fine – just pregnant.

Our baby was due in February, but Nola Dawn was born on January 6, 1960. She weighed six pounds and twelve ounces. She was termed a “blue baby” perhaps with a heart condition. She remained in the hospital for five weeks. We went to see her every day until we could take her home. What a day! It almost seemed like we had adopted her since she couldn’t come home when I did.

During these years of raising the kids, we enjoyed baby-sitting services from both sets of parents.

Baby Nola presented some problems that our pediatrician was concerned about. He suggested Mayo Clinic to have her heart condition checked out. The first trip was in March, 1960. I think two more that year. We had appointments to go to about every year and a half until she was twelve and that was the last visit. Nola was finally diagnosed with Noonan’s Syndrome – not heart related.

Faye had gone with us and touring the clinic she became interested in health care, later going to the Vocational School in Mitchell, SD. Faye became a Licensed Practical Nurse, the equivalent to a nurse’s aide.