Jo-Anne

A little bit about Jo-Anne today, some of this people will know, some of this people may not know. I was born way back in November 1962 on the 16^th, I was a premature baby by around 6 weeks and was only 4lb 2oz in weight and 12 inches long. My grandmother was worried I wouldn't live and had me christened that night at the hospital. I spent 4 weeks in a humidicrib before being allowed to go home.

For those who don't know a humidicrib is also known as an incubator or isolette, it is a clear box type crib that provides a warm controlled,clean and enclosed environment where baby can be easily observed. It also helps protect the baby from infection. It may be totally enclosed to keep baby warm and protected it may have the humidity set to high so the baby does not lose water through their skin which is very thin.

Anyway back to me I went home just in time for Christmas, when I was a baby we lived with my grandparents (mum's parents) and my nanna would fuss over me and would jump out of bed at night if she heard me stir often before mum had time to get up herself. In fact at times by the time mum heard me nan had already put my bottle on to warm and was changing my nappy. I would also go to sleep at night while nanna fed me.

I have always had a close relationship with my nanna, as a teenager I would go and help her with her cleaning job three days a week, this I did from about the age of 13 till around the age of 23 and loved those days. I was also the one who when mum was in hospital would stay at nan & pop's place my sisters went to other relatives, at one time Jeannie went and stayed with mum's Aunty Nita for a while I of course do not remember this though.

Speaking of Aunty Nita I was named after her, my middle name is Nita, how I got the name Jo-Anne I am not sure I think mum had said to dad and nan that she liked the name Jo-Anne so when I was being christened nanna said mum liked the name Jo-Anne. She liked the name Jo and her grandmother was named Mary Anne so she took the name Anne and called me Jo-Anne.

I can tell you I like that my name is hyphenated when I was in year 6 at school there was 6 girls named Joanne but only one named Jo-Anne, me which I really liked.