The best 7 pound, 13ounce On May 11, 1958, Mother’s Day, I gave birth to our third son, Stephen Leon Shoost- er. The best 7 pound, 13 ounce Mother’s Day present I ever got. Frankie and Michael came to the hospi- tal with their Daddy to visit me outside my ground floor window. They also were able to visit me in the waiting room and I couldn’t wait to hold them in my arms. They snuck by the nurse and ran to the nursery window to see SPRING BABY In the fall of 1957 I was pregnant again. The baby was due in May of 1958 and I told Frankie and Michael the baby would be here in the spring. One day I was looking out the window and pointed out to Frankie that the trees were becoming green and that certainly Spring was lovely. Frankie immedi- ately connected Spring and Baby and said I should go immediately to the hospital and bring the baby right home. We had told him the baby would come in the Spring and now that it was here he couldn’t see what was delaying delivery. Smart boy. Frankie said he would be Nana Dora’s boy while I was at the hospital. He didn’t want to sleep at home until his mother came home. STEPHEN LEON SHOOSTER ARRIVES
their new brother. The nurse scolded them for it afterwards. When I brought Stephen home from the hospital Michael saw that his legs were peel- ing and told me to put Bactine on them. At the hospital Michael had told me he wanted a Lisa sister, not a Stephen. And Frankie said he want- ed to call his new brother Mary Ann. Frankie asked me if I could get another new baby in my tummy next week. He also announced that I could wear my petticoats again because I was skinny. They both told me they were very satis- fied with their new brother and would like to keep him. I had instructions from the doctor to stay at home and upstairs for a week. So my meals were brought up to me. Frankie brought me a cantaloupe one day and Michael brought my grapefruit the next. Michael cuddled and snug- gled up to me in bed and wanted to take a nap with me. Both the older boys were very affec- tionate; you could tell they missed their moth- er. The boys brought all their neighborhood friends in to see their new brother. They were very proud of him and wanted to show him off. Stephen was a terrible eater when he was little. He must have gotten that from me. He loved his bottle and he was past three years old and still didn’t want to give it up.
Mother’s Day
STEPHEN’S EARLY HACKING Without telling Stephen I used to put an egg yolk in his bottle to get some protein in him. I told the woman helping me not to forget to put the “E-G-G” in his bottle. My bright little boy chimed in with “Don’t forget the egg.” You couldn’t fool Stephen.
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