photo by me

Yesterday was my birthday. My mom did not talk to me. She didn’t bother to pick up the phone to call me to wish me a happy birthday.

She did write a blog entry (which I just found). So, here’s to my beginnings.

My daughter Dawn Maurie turned forty years old today, hard to believe, so I thought in honor of her day I would tell some of the story that led up to and how she was born.

Dawn’s daddy and I were going to be married on Feburary 12, 1966, on his 30 day leave before he went to his next duty station, but as guys sometimes do, he got cold feet. My sister in San Diego had lost her baby sitter so within a few days I was there living with her and her three little boys.

Charles and I stayed in touch, he called and we wrote letters. After a month or so I noticed I was gaining weight, and told my sister I thought I might be pregnant. I always wanted to be a mommy, I wanted six children as far back as I could remember.

I was thrilled, and could hardly wait, I wrote my Charlie a letter the night I found out, but did not tell him we had to get married, just the opposite, I told him that this was my baby and I was going to have it and keep it no matter what he decided to do, and I ment it, I think I still have the letter.

Probably a week or so later I got a call from a really drunk sailor crying and telling me he was going to be a daddy, and he would make arrangments for me to fly to Florida to be married. We were married, Charlie went out to sea and I went to Idaho to have our baby.

Six months later at about midnight or one a.m. I woke up Mom and told her I thought I was in labor, we sure hoped so because I was 2 weeks over due. I had decided to go to Sacred Heart Hospital, the catholic hospital in our town. My pains didn’t seem real bad but the nuns said I was in labor, and sent me to a room.

They gave me something for the pain so most of what I remember is pretty foggy. I remember Mom sitting beside the bed and rubbing my back when the pain radiated, she was so sweet. Mostly I just didn’t want to be touched, especially when the nuns and nurses would check to see how much I had dialated. Finally that morning the doctor showed up and told me it was getting close, wow, finally it seemed to take so long.

I had a paracervical block, which at the time was pretty new to birthing and still considered experimental, it was amazing because as soon as it takes effect the pain goes away. So at 1:36 in the afternoonon December 10, 1966 Dawn was born.They didn’t let ya watch then, and wisked my baby off so fast I hardly got to see her and didn’t see her until many hours later.

When I finally got to be with my little girl I really didn’t know what to do, she was so tiny, precious, and pretty, had all her fingers, all her toes blue eyes like her dad and a hint of red hair. Dawn nor I new how to nurse, we had a pretty hard start at it. The hospital was so regimented, I couldn’t get up and walk around like you can now, and the worst of it was we had to stay for five days because they didn’t know what kind of reactions we might get from the block.

We had decided to name her Dawn Marie, but she was to special for Marie so I added the u for Maurie. Dawn Maurie Armfield and her mom went home to Grandpa and Grandma Robinson’s until daddy came home in February.

Mom had my room ready with the bassenett next to my bed and my Dad was crazy about her as soon as he would get home from work he would start wiggling the bassenet and trying to wake her up so he could hold her.

Grandpa and Grandma Armfield with Connie, Steve and Tammy came between Christmas and New Years to see our new girl.

Well, those are Dawn’s beginnings, she couldn’t have been loved nor wanted more than her mommy loved and wanted her. Happy Birthday Punkin, I love you.
Sunday December 10, 2006 – 08:51pm (MST)