20 March 1954
"Hang in there Annie," Margaret wiped my face with a wet cloth. "Daniel said another hour and we might have gotten somewhere."
"Daniel said that an hour ago!" I replied with a moan, complaining and shifting as I had a contraction.
"Annie, it's going to be okay," Margaret soothed. Nearly 14 hours ago my waters had broken and it was now 4am March 20, my due date. It looked like BJ's dates were 100% accurate.
However things were progressing slowly, very slowly, I was a long way off doing anything and the twins still seemed to be very comfortable where they were. Although long labours were often dangerous for babies, we could still clearly hear both heartbeats, good and strong and saw that everything was fine.
"Margaret, how long are these things supposed to take?" I complained again. I knew I was whining now, but didn't really care.
"Annie, it's your first baby, it's going to take a while." Margaret replied with a yawn. "I'm desperate for some sleep. I'll wake Hawkeye okay?" We'd grown too used to reasonable sleeping hours to sit up all night anymore.
"Breathe, come on, just breathe that's right, there's my girl." I threw my head back onto the pillow as the contraction subsided. Hawkeye held my hand tightly and kissed my forehead.
"Hawkeye how long have I been in labour?"
"18 hours," Margaret had woken Hawkeye and he'd sat with me for four hours already.
"Shit."
"Well, look you're a little more dilated," He began.
"But if you tell me 'just another hour' I am going to scream! Daniel has been telling me that since midnight! That was eight hours ago! Get these kids out of me!" I started to cry then, tired and frustrated.
"Easy girl, it's not been the easiest 18 hours I know, but it can't be too much longer, Dad says if you get another inch, you can start pushing and the contractions have been sitting at 5 minutes for three hours now, they've got to move sometime. Can you sit up?" I pushed myself off the pillows a little and Hawkeye squeezed in behind me, massaging my lower back.
"That was the Potters demanding an update." Daniel came in at about 10.30, I'd gotten the extra inch dilation he wanted plus some, and the contractions were almost constant. "Margaret is telling them the news. Well Annie, you ready to become a mother?"
"God yes!" I gasped relieved.
"Alright, let's have a look. Margaret!" Daniel checked me out, and soon he was telling me to push with the contractions.
It was still another hour before Daniel had a head. They'd propped me up on the pillows, hoping gravity would help, and it did a little.
"I have a head!" Daniel announced. I breathed a sigh of relief. Things were starting to get rough, and I was in a lot of pain. "It's a head, look at that would you?" He'd delivered most of the people in the Cove who were under 35, but the miracle of watching his own flesh and blood arrive in the world had him floored.
"One more to get the shoulders and after that it's smooth sailing." Margaret smiled.
"Ready, one, two three! That's right okay, and now, here we go, last bit and you're a mummy. Push Annie! Keep pushing that's right, one more! Good on you!" Daniel loosely swaddled the baby in a towel and handed it to me.
"Hi little guy, I'm your mummy." Sky-blue eyes stared up at me with interest as I ran my hand down the baby's face. Five perfect, tiny fingers closed around my thumb and I took a second look, and realised my mistake.
"Oh my goodness, you're so beautiful honey, I'm going to be chasing the boys off with a stick I can see that! I was so sure I was having a boy, and look at this, she's a girl!" Tears started to fall freely from my eyes and Hawkeye slid onto the bed next to me, putting an arm around me and admiring his daughter.
"Congratulations Annie." Hawkeye kissed the side of my head. "But if you'd like to hand her over, I think BJ would like to make her appearance." We were still assuming that I was having identical twins, and that I was wrong about the gender.
"Alright sweetie, just wait with daddy while mummy gets your sister into the world a-ok," Hawkeye held his daughter carefully, and watched, awed as I gave birth the second time around.
"Here's the head! It's different, look at all this hair!" Daniel exclaimed. "One more big one Annie, this is it! There's my girl! Good grief, it's not a girl!"
"What? Oh my goodness, it's a boy!" I shrieked thoroughly beside myself as Daniel handed me my son. Hawkeye gave me back my daughter and I sat there, holding my newborn children.
"Going to cut the cords?" Daniel handed Hawkeye the scissors. He cut the boy's cord, and then handed them over to me. I cut my daughter's umbilical cord and I just watched my kids amazed as their blue eyes, one lot sky- blue, the others more grey stared up at the world around them.
"Okay, we'll get the placenta out of you, here we go, give me a hand Margaret." Twenty minutes later I was cleaned up enough to feel almost human. We weighed the babies on the 10lb kitchen scales. Miss Pierce weighed in at 5lbs 15oz, and her brother a healthy 6lbs even.
The hard work of arriving safe and sound exhausted my children and they were soon asleep in their bassinettes, having been bathed, weighed and diapered. We rang Molly, the operator for Crabapple Cove, and before noon the whole town knew that the newest Pierces - Felicity Margaret and Benjamin Jack - had finally arrived. Daniel was ringing everyone as I was too exhausted to get out of bed to the phone in the kitchen, and Hawkeye was enjoying a cigar on the porch with Margaret cuddled against him.
"Everyone sends their heartiest congratulations, your mother sends her love, and she says that she and Patrick will come up today. She won't bring the kids just yet though, she knows you need to rest." Daniel kissed my forehead as I lay in his bed, absolutely worn out.
The rest of the day passed in a blur, visitors bringing flowers and gifts, Mum and Patrick admiring their grandchildren, giving them their first feeds and by 7pm that night I was sound asleep.
It had been a huge day for everyone involved, but if I had half the chance I would have done it all over again.
"Hang in there Annie," Margaret wiped my face with a wet cloth. "Daniel said another hour and we might have gotten somewhere."
"Daniel said that an hour ago!" I replied with a moan, complaining and shifting as I had a contraction.
"Annie, it's going to be okay," Margaret soothed. Nearly 14 hours ago my waters had broken and it was now 4am March 20, my due date. It looked like BJ's dates were 100% accurate.
However things were progressing slowly, very slowly, I was a long way off doing anything and the twins still seemed to be very comfortable where they were. Although long labours were often dangerous for babies, we could still clearly hear both heartbeats, good and strong and saw that everything was fine.
"Margaret, how long are these things supposed to take?" I complained again. I knew I was whining now, but didn't really care.
"Annie, it's your first baby, it's going to take a while." Margaret replied with a yawn. "I'm desperate for some sleep. I'll wake Hawkeye okay?" We'd grown too used to reasonable sleeping hours to sit up all night anymore.
"Breathe, come on, just breathe that's right, there's my girl." I threw my head back onto the pillow as the contraction subsided. Hawkeye held my hand tightly and kissed my forehead.
"Hawkeye how long have I been in labour?"
"18 hours," Margaret had woken Hawkeye and he'd sat with me for four hours already.
"Shit."
"Well, look you're a little more dilated," He began.
"But if you tell me 'just another hour' I am going to scream! Daniel has been telling me that since midnight! That was eight hours ago! Get these kids out of me!" I started to cry then, tired and frustrated.
"Easy girl, it's not been the easiest 18 hours I know, but it can't be too much longer, Dad says if you get another inch, you can start pushing and the contractions have been sitting at 5 minutes for three hours now, they've got to move sometime. Can you sit up?" I pushed myself off the pillows a little and Hawkeye squeezed in behind me, massaging my lower back.
"That was the Potters demanding an update." Daniel came in at about 10.30, I'd gotten the extra inch dilation he wanted plus some, and the contractions were almost constant. "Margaret is telling them the news. Well Annie, you ready to become a mother?"
"God yes!" I gasped relieved.
"Alright, let's have a look. Margaret!" Daniel checked me out, and soon he was telling me to push with the contractions.
It was still another hour before Daniel had a head. They'd propped me up on the pillows, hoping gravity would help, and it did a little.
"I have a head!" Daniel announced. I breathed a sigh of relief. Things were starting to get rough, and I was in a lot of pain. "It's a head, look at that would you?" He'd delivered most of the people in the Cove who were under 35, but the miracle of watching his own flesh and blood arrive in the world had him floored.
"One more to get the shoulders and after that it's smooth sailing." Margaret smiled.
"Ready, one, two three! That's right okay, and now, here we go, last bit and you're a mummy. Push Annie! Keep pushing that's right, one more! Good on you!" Daniel loosely swaddled the baby in a towel and handed it to me.
"Hi little guy, I'm your mummy." Sky-blue eyes stared up at me with interest as I ran my hand down the baby's face. Five perfect, tiny fingers closed around my thumb and I took a second look, and realised my mistake.
"Oh my goodness, you're so beautiful honey, I'm going to be chasing the boys off with a stick I can see that! I was so sure I was having a boy, and look at this, she's a girl!" Tears started to fall freely from my eyes and Hawkeye slid onto the bed next to me, putting an arm around me and admiring his daughter.
"Congratulations Annie." Hawkeye kissed the side of my head. "But if you'd like to hand her over, I think BJ would like to make her appearance." We were still assuming that I was having identical twins, and that I was wrong about the gender.
"Alright sweetie, just wait with daddy while mummy gets your sister into the world a-ok," Hawkeye held his daughter carefully, and watched, awed as I gave birth the second time around.
"Here's the head! It's different, look at all this hair!" Daniel exclaimed. "One more big one Annie, this is it! There's my girl! Good grief, it's not a girl!"
"What? Oh my goodness, it's a boy!" I shrieked thoroughly beside myself as Daniel handed me my son. Hawkeye gave me back my daughter and I sat there, holding my newborn children.
"Going to cut the cords?" Daniel handed Hawkeye the scissors. He cut the boy's cord, and then handed them over to me. I cut my daughter's umbilical cord and I just watched my kids amazed as their blue eyes, one lot sky- blue, the others more grey stared up at the world around them.
"Okay, we'll get the placenta out of you, here we go, give me a hand Margaret." Twenty minutes later I was cleaned up enough to feel almost human. We weighed the babies on the 10lb kitchen scales. Miss Pierce weighed in at 5lbs 15oz, and her brother a healthy 6lbs even.
The hard work of arriving safe and sound exhausted my children and they were soon asleep in their bassinettes, having been bathed, weighed and diapered. We rang Molly, the operator for Crabapple Cove, and before noon the whole town knew that the newest Pierces - Felicity Margaret and Benjamin Jack - had finally arrived. Daniel was ringing everyone as I was too exhausted to get out of bed to the phone in the kitchen, and Hawkeye was enjoying a cigar on the porch with Margaret cuddled against him.
"Everyone sends their heartiest congratulations, your mother sends her love, and she says that she and Patrick will come up today. She won't bring the kids just yet though, she knows you need to rest." Daniel kissed my forehead as I lay in his bed, absolutely worn out.
The rest of the day passed in a blur, visitors bringing flowers and gifts, Mum and Patrick admiring their grandchildren, giving them their first feeds and by 7pm that night I was sound asleep.
It had been a huge day for everyone involved, but if I had half the chance I would have done it all over again.