Stories from Bob's Life

Mary got pregnant in 1981 during our first year in Eckernfoerde,when I was stationed with the Kampfschwimmerkompanie on exchange with the German Navy.  We were living apart from US facilities, so our friends recommended a local midwife Frau Fredericks to help with the all the check ups and preps.  Turns out Frau Fredericks was a well known “institution”  in Eckernfoerde and had helped with multiple generations of births there, including some of my friends and their own kids.  At her recommendation, Mary and I went thru Lamaze training in Eckernfoerde with a group of German couples

When Mary’s water broke we took her to the Eckernfoerde hospital.  As she started going into labor, I was encouraging her and telling her to breathe etc, as I had been  taught to do in Lamaze.  As it got more intense, she was in great pain and asked for a spinal, but they wouldn’t do it because she was too far along, and the labor was going slowly.

At one point I remember her having a contraction and pushing and I saw the crown of the head of the baby pushing through her vagina, and no doctor or nurse was in the room.  I started yelling for someone to come – I didn’t know what I was supposed to do if the baby came out.  The contraction ceased and soon the doctors and nurses were there, Brad was born and we have a picture of Frau Fredericks with Mary and baby Brad.   I remember when Mary was in the final stages of her labor and  Frau Fredericks was there helping and I heard her say – “Ah gut –  sie hat gekakt” (she shit).

After Brad was born and we went thru whatever the hodpital required that we do -I really don’t recall.   I was in a fog – kind of numb – it was all so overwhelming. Mary stayed in the hospital for a total of 10  days – as Brad had developed a mild case of jaundice so they wanted to keep him under some lights or something.  Mary enjoyed being treated like a Queen and catered to for over a week – unthinkable today.

The night after Brad was born,  I do remember that rather than go and sit home alone, I had my weekly scheduled French class.   I had decided I wanted to refresh and improve my French while I was there – and I believe I was the only guy in a class full of German Haus Fraus.  When I told them I’d just become a Dad for the first time – I got lots of oohs and aahs and class was disrupted with all the attention I got – in German.