8.  Homecoming

August 1, 1956

Finally, the date of Maddie's discharge had arrived. In her excitement, she was up, bathed, and breakfasted by nine, with her clothing laid out in readiness. Matt arrived at nine-thirty, so that they could leave immediately after Dr. Harris discharged her. Maddie walked to the end of the hallway and back to her room with him three times to make the time pass.

Finally, Dr. Harris pronounced her fit to go home. Quickly, she dressed, applied a bit of makeup, and arranged her hair in a simple French twist. An aide brought a wheelchair to the room and she submitted to the traditional ride.

Home at last! Maddie never thought she would be so happy to see the Art Deco towers of the Majestic apartment building. All the way up to the twelfth floor she twisted her hands anxiously in anticipation of seeing her baby for the first time. Once inside, Matt helped her into a comfortable armchair and took her suitcase back to the bedroom. Suddenly, she felt a wave of fatigue. Her sleep had been restless; she had been up early; the ride from the hospital seemed endless; and the heat outside had felt like a solid wall. A tray on the adjacent end table held two glasses of iced tea and a plate of small sandwiches. Maddie took a sip of tea, but decided not to eat anything just now. There were butterflies in her stomach at the thought of handling a tiny infant for the first time. The only baby she had spent any time with was her nephew Ben, and Natalie had been so protective of him that she had barely let Maddie hold him.

Matt reappeared from the bedroom wing, a middle-aged woman carrying a bundle of blankets in his wake. Maddie's heart beat faster. This must be the nurse with her daughter. She strained to see the baby's face.

"Darling, here's our Honey-girl. Isn't she beautiful?" Matt's voice was tender as he stroked the petal-soft cheek. The nurse leaned over so Maddie could get a better look. The baby was sleeping. Her rosebud lips were slightly parted, and for a second, Maddie thought they curled in a smile. Her eyes were closed, and the fine, light brown eyelashes and eyebrows were unbelievably delicate. A tiny fist poked out from the blanket. Maddie marveled at the perfect miniature fingernails.

"This is Mrs. Carter, the baby nurse, dearest. Mrs. Carter, this is my wife, Madeleine."

"Please, let me hold her," she said, looking into Matt's eyes.

"Would you like to feed her?" asked the nurse. "I have a bottle ready."

"Oh, yes!" Maddie breathed. She reached for the bundle and Mrs. Carter placed the baby in her arms.

Softly, she stroked the baby's cheek and her downy head with her right hand while cradling her in the other arm. Her heart was too full for speech and she felt tears gathering in her eyes. As if sensing that her mother was holding her, Honey opened her eyes and began to root toward Maddie's finger.

"Here is her bottle, Mrs. Wheeler. I've already tested the temperature and it's just right."

Hesitantly, Maddie placed the rubber nipple on the baby's lower lip and watched as she opened her mouth to accept it. In a moment Honey was sucking strongly and Maddie watched in fascination as streams of tiny bubbles showed that formula was being swallowed.

"Keep the bottle tilted so the nipple stays full of milk, Mrs. Wheeler. Otherwise the baby will swallow too much air."

Quickly, Maddie adjusted the tilt of the bottle. This feeding was more complicated than she had thought. Soon, Mrs. Carter announced that it was time for a burp. Maddie dislodged the bottle from Honey's mouth with some difficulty, and the baby immediately began to fuss and root for the nipple again. Setting the bottle on the adjoining table, Maddie clumsily lifted Honey to her shoulder, where Mrs. Carter efficiently placed a clean diaper to catch any spit-up. Maddie patted the baby's back gently, being careful to support her head at the same time. Nothing happened. She continued patting for a couple of minutes – still no burp. Maddie looked uneasily at her husband. Babies had to burp, didn't they? Matt had sat down in the chair next to her. He looked as if he wanted to take the baby, but he didn't, instead smiling reassuringly at her.

"Would you like me to try, ma'am?" Mrs. Carter finally offered.

Gratefully, Maddie surrendered Honey to the nurse's expert arms. Almost immediately, Mrs. Carter was able to elicit a loud burp. She handed Honey back to her mother for more formula. Maddie continued to feed her daughter, being careful to tilt the bottle properly. She was becoming tired and perspiring with the effort to remember everything she had been taught in her infant care classes. Her next attempt at burping was more successful, but Honey managed to spit up a mouthful of formula at the same time – right down her mother's dress. Maddie was startled by the sudden wetness and it took her a moment to dab the wet spot with the diaper on her shoulder, while keeping a secure hold on the baby. She looked up and saw Mrs. Carter's mouth pursed with suppressed amusement.

Finally, the feeding was done. Maddie wiped a trickle of formula from Honey's slack mouth. The baby was relaxed in her satiated state.

"Time for a diaper change!" announced Mrs. Carter. "Would you like to change her, Mrs. Wheeler?"

"Yes, I would. If you can take her while I get up –" Maddie was afraid to try to stand while still holding the baby. What if I dropped her?

Matt spoke up then. "Darling, I'm going to the office now for a few hours. I'll see you later this afternoon." He bent over her to give her a kiss and helped her to stand as Mrs. Carter took Honey.

Maddie followed Mrs. Carter back to the bedroom wing, but hesitated in confusion when the nurse passed the small room next to the master bedroom, which she herself had decorated in sunny yellow, pink, blue, and green pastels for the baby's nursery. Instead, Mrs. Carter continued on to an unused spare bedroom.

"Mrs. Wheeler, the room prepared for the nursery was too small for the baby's furniture and a bed and dresser for me. Mrs. Hart suggested that I could move the nursery into this room," she explained as she saw Maddie hesitate.

Maddie was too shocked to respond. To think that my mother -- and Matthew! would allow the nursery to be moved without saying a word to me about it! Of course, it was true that the other room was too small for the baby and a nurse. Maddie had not planned to have a live-in nurse, after all.

Mrs. Carter placed Honey on top of the waist-high changing table, and plucked a clean diaper from the shelf underneath. Maddie stepped up to change her daughter. First, she removed the rubber pants. Then she unfastened and removed the diaper pins, one at a time, placing them safely at the foot of the changing table. She lifted Honey from the wet diaper and handed it to Mrs. Carter. Then she wiped her daughter with a warm washcloth the nurse had brought in while Maddie was removing the diaper. Maddie accepted a clean, soft diaper from Mrs. Carter and placed it under Honey's bottom. Whew! There are a lot of steps involved in this process – how could I have done it by myself? she wondered. Bringing the front and back corners of the diaper together over Honey's left thigh, Maddie began to try to push the diaper pin through the multiple thicknesses of the absorbent cloth. It wouldn't go through. After a couple of tries, she looked at Mrs. Carter, silently imploring her for a suggestion.

"Run the point through your hair; the natural oils will help it to slide through," suggested the older woman.

Maddie wrinkled her nose slightly. That just seemed kind of – icky! However, she tried it, and the pin slid through like butter. Unfortunately, Honey chose that moment to screw her face up into a grimace and strain fiercely, and a squirting sound indicated what Maddie's nose confirmed. She removed the pin, wiped Honey clean with a fresh washcloth and handed Mrs. Carter the soiled diaper. A new clean diaper was produced. Maddie's first pin went through smoothly. Elated with that success, she pushed too hard with the second one, and jabbed it into her own finger, which shielded Honey's tender skin from the sharp point.

Maddie gasped in pain at the unexpected prick, but finished fastening the diaper before withdrawing her injured fingertip. She stared at the drop of blood which appeared on her fingertip, feeling suddenly dizzy and a little queasy. Mrs. Carter pulled the nursery rocking chair up behind her, handed her a tissue to press against the wound, and indicated she would finish changing the baby as Maddie sank down onto the chair. As she lifted Honey in order to change her gown – damp around the neckline from dribbled formula – the diaper nearly fell off. Efficiently, she refastened the pins to secure it snugly before replacing the rubber pants.

After settling Honey into her crib, Mrs. Carter helped Maddie walk to the bathroom, where the nurse cleaned her finger and applied Mercurochrome and a Band-Aid. Maddie was exhausted from her efforts and decided to go to bed. She buzzed for the maid, Irene, and asked not to be disturbed.

Lying in bed, Maddie began to feel anxious about the injury to her finger. Although the wound was tiny, it throbbed. Could a person get blood poisoning from being stuck with a diaper pin? If I hadn't been so ill, I'm sure I wouldn't be so worried now. She decided to call her sister from the bedside telephone.

"Natalie, it's Maddie. … Yes, I just got home today. … Of course, I'm tired, but I feel all right. The reason I called you? Oh, I stuck myself with a diaper pin today. I just wondered if I could get blood poisoning from it – I feel stupid asking, but I'm scared!"

Natalie questioned her about the episode, and told her to watch for redness, swelling, pus, or red streaks. She reassured Maddie that she had stuck herself before, and that washing and applying disinfectant should prevent any problems. Although Natalie was not a nurse, she was an experienced mother, and Maddie decided to trust her. Suddenly, she felt very sleepy and ended her call.

When Matt arrived home, he found his wife still sleeping. He asked Irene to serve their dinner in the bedroom so she wouldn't have to get up, but after supper, he wanted to see Honey again. Mrs. Carter brought her out, but when she offered to let Maddie hold and feed her, Matt spoke up. "I haven't been able to hold my Honey-girl all day today. Let me feed her this time."

Maddie looked at him gratefully. She wanted to feed her daughter again, but after this morning's experience, she felt extremely nervous and clumsy. Maybe when I get stronger, I'll be able to do better, she thought. For now, she watched with envy as Matt held, fed, and burped the baby with no trouble at all.

 

back next

Valid HTML 4.01 Transitional