Chapter 15 Life after marriage
*Memory 15*
Peggy's point of view
After we got married, all the lovemaking we did resulted in a second pregnancy.
I was very anxious the entire pregnancy because the only other experience I'd had was incredibly painful and traumatic. I was absolutely petrified. Dr Turner put me on bed rest.
I started having labour pains on the 27th of May 1970. I didn't deliver until 3pm on the 29th of May 1970. They tried everything to get me to deliver naturally, and Dr Turner put up a synthetic hormone drip to augment the labour, but it didn't work. The electronic fetal monitor indicated that the baby was getting tired from the contractions and I had no energy left. Dr Turner tried using forceps and a suction cup, but those didn't work. I was rushed down the corridor for an emergency caesarean section. I had been given an epidural anaesthetic to try to control the pain, they topped the epidural up so that I couldn't feel anything. Nurse Robinson was assisting with the birth, she brought Howard in and sat him next to me. The surgeon put up a green curtain. My right arm was on a board and there was a blood pressure monitor on it. Howard looked nervously up at Nurse Robinson.
"You're going to be fine, Peggy, this is the safest option."
She gave Howard a quiet pep talk and he took my hand. Within minutes our baby was born.
"Peggy? You have a son, he's beautiful."
"I feel weird, the room is spinning"
"Doctor she's haemorrhaging"
"Get the father and the child out of here right now, we need to do an emergency hysterectomy."
Someone put a mask over my face and I knew no more.
Howard's point of view
"You have a son. We're going to weigh him, and then you can meet him"
"What about Peggy?"
"She's had some… complications, I'm afraid this young man will be your only biological child."
Several hours later, Dr Turner came in
"Mr Stark, I have some good news, Mrs Stark is in recovery, and she's doing well. It's going to be a while before she's up and about again, but she's recovering, which is the most important thing.
"May I see her?"
"Of course"
I brought the baby with me.
"Hello Peg, how are you feeling?"
"Exhausted"
"No wonder. You just had major surgery"
"Where's the baby?"
"He's right here, Peg"
"What did you name him?"
"Anthony Edward Stark, like we agreed"
"We can call him Tony unless he's in trouble"
"Yes, I thought of that too"
"Did you tell Obie and Maria that we want them to be godparents?"
"Yes, they said they will be"
Peggy was in the hospital for 3 weeks. During this time, she tried nursing, but she couldn't do it. When she came home, she was on bed rest for 6 weeks. Edwin, Ana, and I helped with feeding and caring for Tony while Peggy recovered. When she was finally allowed out of bed, the nurses came to help her get used to being up and about. It was another month before she was allowed to drive.
Tony had difficulty with feeding… he spit up everything. Dr Turner realised that there was something going on with him.
"It's a phenomenon called lactose intolerance," he explained "Some babies cannot tolerate a protein called lactose that's found in milk, cheese, yoghurt, cream, rice pudding, ice cream, chocolate, buttermilk and butter. Many babies grow out of it, but some don't. There's a study in North Carolina next month, I can sign Anthony up for it if you like?"
"Yes please"
In the room…
As it turned out, Anthony was lactose intolerant. That didn't stop him from being extremely intelligent, extremely kind hearted and extremely daring!
He eventually grew out of being lactose intolerant.
Chapter 15 Life after marriage
*Memory 15*
Peggy's point of view
After we got married, Howard and I couldn't keep our hands off each other.
All the lovemaking we did resulted in a second pregnancy.
I was very anxious the entire pregnancy because the only other experience I'd had was incredibly painful and traumatic. I was absolutely petrified. Dr Turner put me on bed rest.
I started having labour pains on the 27th of May 1970. I didn't deliver until 3pm on the 29th of May 1970. They tried everything to get me to deliver naturally, and Dr Turner put up a synthetic hormone drip to augment the labour, but it didn't work. The electronic fetal monitor indicated that the baby was getting tired from the contractions and I had no energy left. Dr Turner tried using forceps and a suction cup, but those didn't work. I was rushed down the corridor for an emergency caesarean section. I had been given an epidural anaesthetic to try to control the pain, they topped the epidural up so that I couldn't feel anything. Nurse Robinson was assisting with the birth, she brought Howard in and sat him next to me. The surgeon put up a green curtain. My right arm was on a board and there was a blood pressure monitor on it. Howard looked nervously up at Nurse Robinson.
"You're going to be fine, Peggy, this is the safest option."
She gave Howard a quiet pep talk and he took my hand. Within minutes, our baby was born.
"Peggy? You have a son, he's beautiful."
"I feel weird, the room is spinning"
"Doctor she's haemorrhaging"
"Get the father and the child out of here right now, we need to do an emergency hysterectomy."
Someone put a mask over my face and I knew no more.
Howard's point of view
"You have a son. We're going to weigh him, and then you can meet him"
"What about Peggy?"
"She's had some… complications, I'm afraid this young man will be your only biological child."
Several hours later, Dr Turner came in
"Mr Stark, I have some good news, Mrs Stark is in recovery, and she's doing well. It's going to be a while before she's up and about again, but she's recovering, which is the most important thing."
"May I see her?"
"Of course"
I brought the baby with me.
"Hello Peg, how are you feeling?"
"Exhausted"
"No wonder. You just had major surgery".
"Where's the baby?"
"He's right here, Peg"
"What did you name him?"
"Anthony Edward Stark, like we agreed"
"We can call him Tony unless he's in trouble"
"Yes, I thought of that too"
"Did you tell Obie and Maria that we want them to be godparents?"
"Yes, they said they will be"
Peggy was in the hospital for 3 weeks. During this time, she tried nursing, but she couldn't do it. When she came home, she was on bed rest for 6 weeks. Edwin, Ana, and I helped with feeding and caring for Tony while Peggy recovered. When she was finally allowed out of bed, the nurses came to help her get used to being up and about. It was another month before she was allowed to drive.
Tony had difficulty with feeding… he spit up everything. Dr Turner realised that there was something going on with him.
"It's a phenomenon called lactose intolerance," he explained "Some babies cannot tolerate a protein called lactose that's found in milk, cheese, yoghurt, cream, rice pudding, ice cream, chocolate, buttermilk, and butter. Many babies grow out of it, but some don't. There's a study in North Carolina next month, I can sign Anthony up for it if you like?"
"Yes please"
In the room…
As it turned out, Anthony was lactose intolerant. That didn't stop him from being extremely intelligent, extremely kind-hearted, and extremely daring!
He eventually grew out of being lactose intolerant.