Birth: Ann

I had the morning sickness very bad. All my food came up. The first three months were terrible. Sometimes I thought I would not live another day. I also lost a lot of weight; I didn't have an appetite. Sometimes my husband bought me the best beef, cooked it and then squeezed the blood out of it. I would drink it, so that it would give me energy. I drank a lot of Ovaltine. It was a struggle to keep the house clean, and get the cooking done. My stomach got so large I couldn't walk upstairs, so I would crawl going upstairs, on my hands and knees.

I wanted to go to the hospital to have my baby, but who would take care of four small children? Well, then we decided that the fourth one was so easy coming, maybe this one would be the same. It turned out to be the wrong decision.

I had a very hard time when Ann was born. When her head came out, everything locked around her neck. I was so weak that I couldn't push anymore. The doctor kept talking to himself. He kept going, “No, no, baby, you can't do this to us; we have worked so hard to get this far.” I could see my sister-in-law Rose standing near a picture of Saint Ann and praying. Then I heard talking very low, as if she was talking to herself.

“Ann,” she said, “You passed away when you were 19. If this is a girl it is going to be named Ann after you. So, please intercede to God and tell him to let everything turn out fine.” Just then my husband came into the room, took my hand, and squeezed it, and told me that he loved me, for me to try my best to do as the doctor said. I did just that. Tony, squeezing my hand, gave me the strength again. My daughter Ann was born on November 27, 1934.

She was so big, the doctor went home to get his scale to weigh the baby; he couldn't believe it. He gave my mother-in-law the baby to clean up. He came right back and weighed the baby. She weighed 12 lbs. 12 oz., as big as a three month old baby! The doctor had it written up in the town's paper.

The birth took a lot out of me. I really belonged in the hospital this time. I think it did some damage to my insides. Rose and my mother-in-law did a lot to help with the five children and me.

The first day I got out of bed the furnace died. The stove in the kitchen also went out. The house was cold. My mother-in-law was the only one home with me. I tried telling her how to start the furnace. She tried and tried, but to no avail. The furnace wouldn't start and it really was getting cold, so I went down to the basement and finally got the furnace going. Our bones felt much better as the place warmed up, but I was exhausted.

Rose was wonderful to the new baby. She was happy that we had named her Ann. We chose Rose and my brother Tony to be sponsors for my baby's christening. Everyone would say, “Why get someone on in years?” Well, no one deserved the honor more than Rose. She did a lot for the baby. I don't know what I would have done without her.

Ann and Rose grew to love each other very much. Rose sewed well and crocheted and knitted. She had five children of her own. She always found time to sew a little dress for Ann, or make a sweater. Rose lived to be 80 years old. I still miss her. She was like a mother to me.

Ann was a good baby. She didn't cry much. Most of the time she was content. Our baby carriage had come apart after years of use, so we took two chairs and laid a large clothes basket on them, put pillows in it and a nice little white sheet. That was Ann's sleeping place on the first floor.

I got all the children together and talked to them about not touching the basket. All they could do is get close to the basket and talk to their little sister. Thank God they obeyed. The basket never fell.

John was now eight years old and there were four more younger than he was. We used to call him the man of the house. When my husband and I had to go to town for an hour or so, I would leave John to be the baby-sitter. I had a bottle warmer; if the baby cried John got the bottle and gave it to his little sister. We took Tony and Carmela with us. I called my neighbor, Mrs. Tunis, and told her that if she heard John yell, come to my house and see what he wanted. John was a good baby-sitter. He never had to call for help.

When Ann was three months old she had a head cold; she couldn't breathe very well. I had finished the baby nose drops so I used a drop of adult nose drops. When I did that Ann turned black and blue and couldn't breathe. I yelled for my husband. I was lucky he was still home. Tony took Ann by her feet and held her upsidedown. Tony said he was not going to give up until he did his best. He stuck his finger in the back of her throat; a hard, large lump of mucus jumped out. Then the baby started to cry. He handed her to me and I nursed her. He was a wonderfully strong man. I still say he saved the baby's life.