s' a w | * WL j_
diary ofjfaree Ye anr I
with the Dionne Quintuplets
hu Nurse YVONNE LEROUX
PIC
Part V
AFTER the excitement of filming
“The Country Doctor” was over,
life in the quintuplets’ nurserv
quickly resumed its normal rou
tine.
With the movies out of the way, my
diary reads:
“Dec. 16. The babes were inoculated
(for diphtheria) today. They didn’t
mind it very much. The doctor hated to
do it, I think.
“Dec. 18. Yvonne and Annette cut
their fingers, but not seriously; put ad
hesive on them. Annette sucked hers
off —and Yvonne is very proud of hers
“Dec. 19. Yvonne and Emilie had a
fight today. Annette and Emilie had a
fight. Marie got into a fight and had
her diaper pulled off.
“Dec. 21. They pulled the curtains
and rods down today. Annette and
Yvonne tried to tell me about the snow
sliding down off the roof.
“Dec. 23. They had time
watching the Christmas tree go up
They are all so lovable and charming I
could fill a book about them. . . . I’ve
removed the curtains and rods.”
I can’t describe the babes’ second
Christmas. My brother died, and 1
went on leave of absence on Dec. 25.
My diary resumes:
“Dec. 29. Babes recognized me and
were glad to see me. Marie is very
cross today. I guess she was spoiled.
“Jan. 2. Babes slept very well out
doors today. They have been rather
restless. Have slight colds in the nose.
“Jan. 3. Yvonne blows her nose with
great force. She reaches for the tissue
and blows and blows —and then laughs
at the stir she makes. They are get
ting to be scrappers—pull each other’s
hair and bite, and tease each other by
offering toys and pulling them away.
We have to separate them quite often,
but they soon make up and play to
gether again.
TAN. 4. The babes have been climb-
J ing on radiators and falling or
pushing each other off. We have finally
managed to make them stop by taking
them off each time and telling them
that they’re not to do this. They still
fight. Marie delights in stealing toys,
etc.
“Jam. 5. Went out of .nursery for
about five minutes; came back and
nearly fainted—Yvonne was covered
with blood. It was in her eyes, her hair,
all over her clothes, all over the others
who were standing around patting her
on the back and getting some blood on
their hands. She must have fallen on
•
The old railway station at Callander, Ont.—just a coach equipped with a
semaphore and ticket office. It has now been replaced by a real station. . . .
At top, a rush of visitors entering the grounds of the quins’ nursery.
something and cut her forehead open
about half an inch. There was no cry
ing, though—just a pleasant time. I
put iodine and a bandage on but it soon
came off—everybody picked at it.
“Jan. 11. Marie can stand alone. She
is afraid of walking and slides down as
soon as someone tries to encourage
her.
“Jan. 12. Doctors up from Toronto
to X-ray the bone structure of the babes
to determine just how well they are
getting along. The plates show very
good and strong bone formation.
“Jan. 13. Emilie tried to climb out of
the bathtub and fell out. Marie refuses
to eat coddled eggs—we have to scram
ble hers. Yvonne is trying to eat alone
and gets it all over.
“Jan. 15. Marie ducks her head un
der water in the bath—and also gets her
mouth even with the water and gurgles.
She is taking a few steps.
“Jan. 17. Marie is walking much bet
ter.
“Jan. 21. The babes are doing their
best to talk. They point for toys and
things and jabber away in earnest.”
A NEW landmark in the girls’ growth
was recorded in the entry for Feb.
18 —“Morning sleep stopped; babes al
lowed to play all morning”; and Yvonne
provided the entry of Feb. 22, as fol
lows:
“Yvonne has started climbing—up on
chairs, out of the play pen, and also
out of bed. She goes around picking
things up for her sisters, who stand
in the play pen watching her in envy
and excitement, and cheer her on to
greater feats.”
Further entries from the quins’ sec
ond winter:
“Feb. 25. Marie, who can hardly
stand straight, climbs on radiators and
chairs. It’s hard work, but she’s cheer
ful about it—especially if she succeeds.
“March 1. It is a sight to see the
babes out in the snow. They are so
warmly dressed they look like humpty
dumpties. Their rubbers are forever
coming off and then they all start to
yell and point to their feet.”
Another sick spell occurred in March,
but it soon passed, and by March 10 1
was writing of their attempts to-clean
the windows in imitation of the maid
“March 11. Yvonne, who can get out
of bed quite easily, runs around getting
toys for her less fortunate sisters in
bed. They throw them down just to see
her pick them up. . . . The babes love
to wash their hands in the basin and
we always have a hard time getting
them to stop.
“March 12. The babes brush their
own teeth. It is rather a haphazard
brushing at times, but they get the hang
of it. . . . Emilie and Yvonne won’t
stay in bed. They both get out as fast
as we put them back. When spied they
run and hide under somebody’s bed.
and giggle.
“March 20. Marie is walking very
well. Guess the crawl stage is over. She
loves biting her sisters, and must be
broken of that habit.
“March 27. This is the fifth night
Emilie has been put back in bed. First
night—sl times; second night, 46—and
so on.
“April 1. Emilie put back in bed
about 15 times tonight.
Photos and sketches world copyright, 1937. by NKA Service, Ino.
“They are getting to be scrappers,” Nurse Leroux wrote.
“We often have to separate them.”
PIC
44 A PRIL 2. Emilie started out of bed
1 again tonight so I pinned the legs
of her pajamas together, so she couldn’t
get over the edge of the bed. She fell
asleep shortly afterward.
“April 3. Out in the snow for an hour
today. They love walking around and
occasionally sink through the crust;
then everybody sympathizes with
‘Ohhhhs’ and ‘Ahhhhs.’
“April 6. Emilie insists on waking at
5:30 every morning. She can’t get out
of bed so she lies there and talks to
herself. It is so nice—to lie there in
the dark and listen to her. It is like
listening to the birds in early dawn.
“April 16. Yvonne, Annette and Ce
cile can say ‘Docteur.’ They know his
car when it comes and flock over to the
window, screeching, when it appears.
. . . They love to see their mother
and father coming over. "
“May 6. Marie is playing much bet
ter. She doesn’t need so much enter
tainment and direction of playing. She
is also being more sociable with the
others, who are very sociable—that is
they help each other out, give each
other toys, smile at each other, etc.
“May 23. The babes kneel down of
their own accord when a prayer lullaby
is sung. It is really more of a squat,
but they do very well, and try to cross
their hands. They throw kisses at the
picture of Jesus.”
The quintuplets passed their second
birthday without incident. Marie cele
brated the occasion by saying “doc
teur” for the first time. We began the
third summer of the girls’ life without
incident. A few typical diary entries:
“June 30. Cecile, Yvonne and An
nette can wink. They bat their eye
lashes and giggle.
“July 6. Marie combs her sisters’
hair— vith more force than effect.
Emilie washes the floor—guess she has
noticed the maids.
“July 17. The babes talk a lot among
themselves. Annette has been talking
the most. She might be the first to
really talk.
“July 21. Marie fell today, and when
her sisters went to pick her up she
started to laugh. Every time they left
her she would start pretending to cry,
and they would run back to her. She
found this so funny that she finally
laughed so much she couldn’t cry.”
We had more movies that summer.
Early in the fall I went on leave again.
On my return the babes did seem so tall
and sure of themselves. After that short
absence I could see how independent
they had grown . , . they were slowly
emerging from babyhood and becoming
children.
THE END