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June 2, 1958
We had just about settled down for a good, long wait when No-Name decided to show. At 5:00 A.M. Sat., I started having periodic backaches, easily relieved by trips to the John. We thought it was just gas from a Memorial Day feast of salami for lunch & chili for dinner. Later we grew suspicious, & about 12:30, I began to feel like climbing the walls. Jim managed to rub my back, dress me presentably, & assemble the hospital gear, all at once. When we got there, not much was doing so he was able to be with me most of the time. No-Name pooped around a while & then all of a sudden stuck the head in the hole & sent out a water signal & at 9:45 they took me to delivery. She was facing up instead of down & the doctor got her about half turned before she called halt. So I pushed, he pulled & the nurse cheered, & like a champagne cork, she was born at 10:01 P.M. I don't think she had a chance to get her bottom slapped before she started to howl. He held her up & said "inside plumbing" He's already told me that she has a lot of dark brown hair like Jim's & mine. She kept up the howling after they got her wiped & wrapped & took her out to show Jim. He said that she kept on howling all the way down the hall to the nursery. When they brought her in this morning at 5:30, she woke everyone up before she
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2 settled down to try & turn inside-out. The pediatrician says She's perfect. By the way, we're naming her Eileen Therese, if the recording people ever get around to coming in & asking me. I already called FR. Ferney & told him to prepare for a Baptism. We never got the christening dress made, but Jim's mother anticipated that & is getting us a beauty she had spotted.
Your flowers arrived this morning. They are really lovely, pink roses & white carnations, with little blue flowers around a lamb, jumping over the side of the bowl. Is Daddy duck-hunting these weekends?
One of my old professors, one I knew quite well came roaring in last night. His wife has her 3rd boy about 5 hrs. after we had ours. His other two are 7 & 9 yrs. so he said he's naming this one Charlie, "Good Time Charlie" that is. He says boys are barbaric & congratulated us on having nice civilized girl. Furthermore, he say he's going to get himself fixed. I think he had been in the cooking sherry most of the day. His wife is a nice level-headed type, quite capable of coping with his rare moods. We always got along well. I'm going down to see her after a while.
Jim was supposed to wire Kevin last night & I called Joe & Betty yesterday evening. The [announ?]
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cements are all filled out, but not addressed. I'll probably mail them tomorrow. All I've got is note paper & announcements, so I've been a while scrounging stationery, but I just found a helpful grey lady.
I'm in great shape except for my sore tail, but they gave me a rubber doughnut to sit on & we're inseparable. Everybody else is dropping around from having little 5 lb. babies, but I'm ready to go home as soon as the doctor will let me. Before I left the delivery room, I told the doctor we'd like a boy next time, so with the order in so early, how can we lose? We'd like to alternate them, but as long as they're strong & healthy, we can't complain.
My stomache is almost flat already,
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& when I flex the muscles it is flat. The doctor said I pushed excellently. This type of muscle tone is developed to perfection on a motorcycle.
This soft life really isn't too good for me. I lie around & get cranked up & down & then my tail gets stiff from not wagging it. As soon as I get home, I'll get plenty of exercise packing diapers back & forth to the washer. Jim is all set take a few days off work when I get home & we're really looking forward to that.
The birth certificate girl just came in so now Eileen Therese is official. I don't know what we'll call her for short. I told the nursery nurse to call her The, but she prefers to call her stubborn, ornery, etc. etc. She will probably earn her own nickname along those same lines.
Love, Marcia
