My cousin, Mollie Kitch, died in the spring before our baby girl was born, July 1. My parents had three children and each of us have a child born in July. My sister's son George William born July 30, my brother's son Carl Francis born July 5, 1917, and my daughter, Earlene Neural, born July 1, 1919.
As my mother was away a good deal helping care for cousin Mollie, I was kept busy with housework, chickens, garden and cooking. Also did a lot of crocheting on little garments for our baby. Early that spring Mamma had bought goose eggs and set them under mother hens. The young goslings were kept in a pen which could be moved from place to place in our rather large yard so they could feed on grass. I remember one afternoon when a heavy shower came up and the silly geese held up their heads, rain ran down their flat bills and into their nostrils - were about to drown themselves before we could get them under cover. Glad a neighbor, Mr. Redford, happened along to help mama get them protected, as I wasn't much help just a few days before my baby was born.
Our babies were born at home. We had a nurse, Auntie Pearl Yohe, who stayed with me two weeks. I was kept in bed so long that when Auntie Pearl finally got me up on my feet, thought all my insides would drop out. I think it's much better that mothers are encouraged to get up and walk about soon after their baby is born.
That hot dry summer seemed especially hard on our baby. She soon broke out with a heat rash and so wore as few clothes as possible. Then, so many tiny boils. Think doctor lanced about ten one day in his office. Earl held her and I was sent downstairs to a grocery store. But I could hear the poor baby scream. Then the doctor gave us some salve that would cause the boils to open and I could wash away the corruption with boric acid water. But the salve was too strong and caused a big blister. Next we went to a doctor in Atlanta. He gave a much milder salve and finally poor little baby was over the boils. One side of her head had no hair and was such a dark color I wondered if her hair would ever grow back, but soon it did and she had beautiful reddish gold hair.
Earl had several big boils, carbuncles they were called. Believe me we thought of Job, with more understanding and compassion than before.
Neural also had colic and for an hour every evening she screamed with pain. I had colic six months and she had it for six weeks.
Aunt Mag wanted to go to Missouri to see her sister, Aunt Lizzie Coppel, so mama had to go away with her and again I was alone with the work. Neural was about six months old when I had a severe case of tonsillitis so doctor said I should stop nursing the baby. I got a breast pump but it did no good. My fever was so high I dried up completely.