Vanessa got sick when she was eight months old, I had almost completely weaned her by then. It started as a cold, and I thought nothing of it as she was collected one morning by Momma Simmons. Momma loved having her during the day and it was great for me, I was able to get my work done without the baby to worry about.
I didn’t know that Momma, noticing that Vanessa had a cold, would try her local remedy. She dunked the baby in the sea, and after ensuring that Vanessa had plenty of saltwater up her nose attempted to clear it of snot by sucking it out. She then anointed Vanessa from head to toe with whale oil, massaging it well into her scalp. When I went to collect my baby she REEKED of whale oil and my heart sank. That particular scent is almost impossible to get rid of, and I didn’t want to put the baby in her crib until I had washed it off.
We didn’t have hot water heaters in those days and I didn’t want to stand under a cold shower trying to wash a sick baby, I knew it was going to be a long process. I poured pots of warm water into the laundry tub and washed the poor child’s hair repeatedly, then tackled the rest of her body. By then it was obvious she was running a fever, and she was fretful as I dried her off and put her to bed.
The next morning Vanessa was quite sick and I decided to take her to the Doctor. He diagnosed an ear infection and sent me to the Casuality Clinic (that’s not a typo, it’s what the clinic sign said!) for her to get an injection. The nurse had me lay the baby on my lap with her bare bottom exposed, and when I saw the needle she was about to plunge into that tender flesh I yanked Vanessa away! The needle was HUGE and the nurse mentioned it might be a bit dull from being used so often. I was NOT going let my daughter be jabbed with it. Gathering her up in my arms I marched over to Momma’s house, where I knew I could find disposable needles in her sea chest. I took one back to the clinic and Vanessa got her injection.
That was a bad week. Everyone knows how an ear infection can hurt and the poor child was in pain. She cried a lot, and the only thing that would calm her down was to suckle. She wouldn’t take any nourishment other than breast milk and I wasn’t about to deny her.
I can therefore tell you without a doubt; that Old Wives’ Tale that nursing mothers can’t get pregnant is a total myth, my second child is proof of THAT!