Chapter 1

Cradle 29 was a big baby. In a day when the National Mean weight for newborn boys was 124.o83 ounces and mean weight for girls was 120.00, this weeks occupant of Cradle 29 was 128.991 ounces out the spout. There is a Bell curve involved. Thirty-five hundred grams is exactly the middle of the bell ... for boys. At 3656.8 grams Cradle 29 fell on the right side of the boy curve. With the girl peak at 3402, Cradle 29 was a lot farther down the right side of the girl bell. There are smaller and bigger babies ... but she had a ‘larger than life’ head ... at least 56 grams of the extra was brain weight. Her DNA was slightly different, too.

But in 1950? “DNA? What’s that?”

“Molecular biology? Huh?”

The doctors took no notice. She wasn’t the biggest girl child born in 1950. She was pretty big but not a giant. She was of average length ... for a boy. The doctors weren’t interested. She generally fell in the brackets ... between 18 and 22 inches. Twenty three inches wasn’t anything abnormal ... she was pushing the envelope but not much.

The only person who noticed was Agatha Morr, the Nursery Candy Striper. The Nursery Candy Striper had the best job in the hospital ... she was a professional baby rocker.

“29 is crying, Aggie. Rock her.”

Cradle 29 had a noticeable heavier head ... at least for the high school girl. Nobody else noticed ... or cared.

The bigger head was soon reshaped. Squeezing out the canal is hard but forceps were going out of style and Daddy was Charles W Austin, Attorney at Law ... and he insisted on observing the birth.

Mr. Austin was adamant about forceps.

“No, Doctor. She doesn’t need that ... and NO drugs. The whistle is ok ... and a sub dermal is ok ... but Mrs. Austin gave up cigarettes, coffee and cut back on her weight when she decided to have another child. The contract the administration signed expressly prohibits forceps.

“Ah ... Doctor ... I am here at her insistence. Don’t even consider calling Security ... you won’t like jail.”

Mr. Austin was a piece of work in his own right. Mr. Austin was the smartest kid in any of his schools. He was sick and missed the entire Eighth grade ... but his records show him to have perfect grades for the year ... self-study. Summa cum laude “with highest distinction,” throughout college and University, Charles passed the Bar on his first try. Now nearing 50, he looked 25 and caused more than one high school girl to experience palpitations ... and wet panties.

Coal black hair and blue eyes ... Mr. Austin stood 6 foot three in his sox and weighed 200 pounds dry. Two hundred pounds of pure muscle. Noted for intimidating juries, our surgical observer cowed the new MD.