This is Bos Solis interviewing Amatullah Abdul-Jabbar on August 14th at
8:20. OK. So if you could maybe take me back to the time of your pregnancy
and conception, if there was anything memorable in terms of the
environment, you know, was it like hot summer or was there any events just
to kind of place us in time? No, well, it wasn't planned. And I knew. When
I got pregnant. Because I had a premonition of it, so I told my girlfriend
who I was staying with at the time I was married, and she, she was nice
enough to let me stay with her until we got our apartment, got ready, my
husband and I, and she said, you pregnant? I'm like, Oh yeah, I'm pregnant.
And she's like, Really? And I'm like, yeah. And she goes. She goes, so
you know you're pregnant. I'm like, yeah, I know I'm having a little boy.
I said, he's gonna have a mole just like mine on my chin, only on the
opposite side. I had a premonition of it. Sure enough. His father had
morning sickness. I didn't. I was losing weight. He was getting sick. So
his friend at work, because he was a DJ at WGCL radio at the time. So his
friend said, well, maybe you need to go take your wife to see if she's
pregnant cause man, you're sick. He couldn't stand the smell of food or
anything. So for the 1st 6 months he had morning sickness. Went to the
doctor, sure enough, I was pregnant. Last 6 months, I had morning, evening
, afternoon, snack time, break time, sickness. I was just sick.
All day long, 24 hours a day. So I was losing weight. I wasn't gaining
weight, I was losing weight. So the, my obstetrician got Kind of worried
he's like, well, if you don't start gaining weight, then you're gonna have
to, we'll have to put you in a hospital. But at the same time, I was also
a female power lifter, so I continued to work out. So I had to stop
working out and I had to stop competing. Because that was helping, that
was making me lose weight too. So I had to stop doing that. But I did
calisthenics, you know, squats around the house, clean, cook the majority
of things. And of course,
It was kind of weird because.
I couldn't keep anything down. Nothing of the natural peppermint, the
crackers, none of that was working. So yes, I had to puff on. A marijuana
To make my appetite come up and also to keep the food down. So I did that
once a day, but I got tired of that, so I didn't do that anyway.
And he, my son was supposed to come November, no, he's supposed to come
December 24th. But he came November 3rd.
So when I went into the hospital, one of, I started having contractions,
but I thought they were Braxton Hicks contractions, so I didn't pay it any
attention. So I went over a friend's house and sat with her and did
laundry and laughed and talked and then I went out to another friend's
house and we played and talked and sat around and then my water broke.
But I didn't have any contractions. My water broke, but then it was just
like nothing. I mean, the pain just went away. So they were like, well
your water just broke. Well you better go in the hospital. So I called my
doctor first and he was like, well, yeah, cause you don't want to have a
dry breath, you better come in. So I came in, he was like, so are you
having any pain? I'm like, well, no. He goes, Well, you are in labor. And
I'm like, I am. I'm like, cause it really don't feel like it. He goes,
You're not having any cramping. I'm like, well, no, it's just like a
little uncomfortable like, you know, I can't get a kink out of my back. He
goes, No, you're in labor. So I'm like, OK, so we sat there and I sat
there and I lay there and I laid there and about in the 30 hours, I'm like
, well, is it my turn? cause I can hear all the other. Ladies, you know,
screaming, crying out, going ballistic, and I could hear the doctor going
, OK, it's time, push, you know, and I'm like, OK, so is it my turn? And
my doctor was like, well, this is not about a term, you know, we have to
wait on the baby to come. And I'm like, he goes, this is not a term. We
don't just start at one end of the building and then work our way down. He
goes, this, you know, we have to wait until the baby decide to come. He
goes, Well, you don't have to get up on your right knee and leg because
the baby's in distress, fetal distress and it's hard. So I'm sitting like
, oh my goodness, this is getting ridiculous. So then.
My son's father, he came up and he goes, well, I'm gonna go get some money
and go buy some, you know, this, that and the other.
There he is. He's the culprit. That's my little one right there. He's the
one.
OK, so. I'm like, well, no, it'll take some time. So after a while, my
labor, it got real bad. I was in intensive labor. I was, I dilated like 8
centimeters. They're like, oh yeah, you're doing good. Then it stopped. No
, the baby just decided, no, I'm tired. He just decided, no, I'm tired. I
don't, I don't wanna do this. I changed my mind. So then I had to have my
labor induced, they induced it with Pitocin. It's like, no, we can't do,
you know, you get this baby has got to come. So we're in the 35 hours now.
And the doctor was like, well, if you go past 35 hours, you'll be the
record. You'll have the longest labor. So at 36.5 hours of labor, he
finally decided to come.
So I his his father called back and goes, you ready to have the baby? I
said, yeah, I'm getting ready to have this baby now. And the doc and the
nurse was like, I don't know how you know that. And he goes, Oh, she must
be right because the baby's crowning. And then the doctor was like, OK,
now it's your turn. Now it's your turn. We, we can, we can take you in the
delivery. It's your turn now. You can have the baby. So as the, as I was
going into the delivery. His father come running down the hall and they
said, here, you better put this on, you better put it on. You gotta hurry
up because the baby is coming, the heads coming out. And the doctor was
like, Well, don't push. I said, I'm not pushing. He goes, the baby's doing
it. He goes, OK. And he said, Well, wait a minute. So yeah, he finally
came out. And when he did, he didn't cry. He just got this mean look on
his face and he just went.
Like whatever that.
And the doctor goes, so you wanna know what you're having? I said, I know
I'm having a boy. I said, he's got a mole just like mine on the opposite
side of his chin. And the doctor looked and went, wow. And then of course
he had the hereditary that goes in our family. He had the extra fingers
like I did. So I had one on each hand and so did he.
You were the best storyteller. You were like a comedian. Hey, that's just
the way it happened. I have to be quiet when you're talking so that she
doesn't edit out. It was like killing me, not laughing. So tell me about
the premonition though.
I don't know why. It just wasn't a dream or just a feeling. No, it was
more like um.
OK, every so often I have an out of body experience, OK, where I actually
leak my soul leaves my body. And it was like that, but I only I was awake
. I was in the kitchen washing dishes and I just had an auto part
experience and I was sitting there looking at my baby and I'm like, oh wow
, little baby boy. I'm like, oh, that's my little baby boy. And
That's really cool. So your husband wasn't allowed in the room with you
when you were? Yeah, yeah, he came in, he cut the cord and
Got all huffy. You know, with his chest poked out, but. Whatever,
like he did all the work.
That's great. I love that. That was wonderful. I'm trying to think if
there's anything you left out. I mean, yours is like seamless. You should
just tell stories for a living.
OK, let's see. Well, OK, tell me more about um your feelings about being
pregnant, you know, cause you said it wasn't planned, but then were you
just like really excited or? Well, no, um, let me put it this way, I
understand why. Women go through that emotional roller coaster when
they're pregnant? Because the first thing you think of is there's
something growing inside of me and moving, OK. So you don't want to have
that bad feeling. So that's the reason why I believe that, you know, they
go through ups and downs emotions. And it was nice cause um while I was
pregnant. His father and I would read health magazines to him, the
newspaper.
How babies develop, and that was kind of funny too because November the
2nd. We were reading his father said, so if you want to come out and see
us right now, you can't, we'll be, we can't wait, we and then November 3rd
, I went into labor.
You have a really cool, it's like you're in touch with the universe or
something.
I feel so out of touch with the universe.
So that's great. So then um
he was he underweight or anything because he was he was, he was premature
, but he was 5 pounds, 7 ounces. So you can take him right home? Well, no
, because he was a little jaundiced and then the digestive system had
developed, so he had to stay in until his and because of that, I had to go
vegan, so I had to make his baby food. I could not buy gerbers or anything
like that. I had to put him on special um Similac.
And When he was able to bring him home, I couldn't have carpet in the
house. And the walls had to be washed every day with bleach and water and
sterile, yes.
And so for the 1st 6 months of his life, he had to go to the hospital.
Twice a week to have his blood checked to make sure he was getting healthy
, to make sure everything was going OK. So I had to wrap him up like a
mummy whenever I took him outside.
Excuse me, that. It's easy my pleasure. I have one more note, OK. Um, So
that's fascinating. So was it just like his lungs or was he having
allergies? No, he was what they call neutropenic.
Which is a condition when you your body like gets some kind of bacterial
cold and so your antibodies fight off the the strain bacteria. Well, when
you're neutropenic, the red blood cells start to attack the other healthy
red blood cells. And so then the doctors were his father, they did blood
work on his father. They did blood work on me and they found out he got it
from me because I am what they call cyclic neutropenic.
Which means every cycle of this will happen if I get sick.
That's interesting. Did you didn't know anything about that before. That's
really interesting. So he gained weight and then just acclimated and got
better, or? Yeah. Well, after a while, you know, his digestive system and
neutropenia,
and his red blood cells started to pick up and get healthy, but then
because of his digestive system was underdeveloped, he couldn't eat animal
or anything from animal. So I had to learn how to be a vegan.
So up until he got in.
Let's say 10th, 11th grade, yeah, he didn't eat meat, anything from meat.
So has that changed then now he's he eats everything. Now he's just. Isn't
it amazing how they can just grow into these healthy Yeah, now he eats
everything. So, um, OK, so then that must have been, I mean, like a
full-time job. Were you staying at home and just taking care of this. I
was blessed enough to be a stay at home mom. I enjoyed it. And then
because of that, I also homeschooled him. So I homeschooled him until he
was going into like the 2nd grade. Then I put him in school, but then of
course I started working evenings, but then I stayed home during the day
because I was also a school mom cause I wanna make sure I checked on my
son, so. Can you tell me more about the weight lifting?
Oh, well, before. I got pregnant and I met his father. His father was an
avid exercise enthusiast, so we would work out. So then we joined Bally's
gym because we had all the equipment at home first. So then we decided
we'd join Bally's gym. So I met a lady there who had weighed like over
300+ pounds. And she had lost so much weight, you would never knew. You'd
have never known she was that overweight. So she said, Well, we're, I'm
competing amateur and I need a partner, you know, she said, well, she said
, because you do good with your weights, with your legs, said, I'll do the
upper because you could partner like that. She did the upper, I did the
lower. So we partnered together and we, we won about like 4 championships.
You know, that the last time I competed, I squatted, I believe it was 4:15.
So, wow. So that's incredible. And then after you had your son, you didn't
do that anymore, or, well, I didn't compete anymore because I couldn't
compete anymore. You'd have to go pro, and I didn't want to go pro. cause
I don't like the, I didn't like the pressure of the steroids and all of
that, the coaches because they really do. They, you know, because it's a
lot of money involved. So no, I didn't want to do that so I just stopped
competing amateur league cause amateur is all about health. You know, they
want they have they watch your diet, they wanna know what you eat, then,
you know, they check your body mass index, you know, they, it's, it has to
be all healthy when it's amateur. Then when Yeah, and you would think it'd
be the other way around. And then when it's pro, it's just like. Because
there's so much money that comes with it. Oh no. So I'm like, no, I didn't.
But I continue to work out. So I worked out with my son when he was
little. I'd do squats with him, you know, benches. He'd be a weight. He
used to enjoy that. And then when he got older, then he would exercise
with us. We'd get up at 4 o'clock in the morning because we had a exercise
, we had a weight room in the house, so we'd get up at 4 in the morning
and we'd exercise for an hour, then we'd go jog.
That's wonderful. Then we would have push-up competitions.
At least they, you know, um, that there's such a thing as like mom arms
because you're picking up your kids so much that you get these like really
incredible arms. Oh yeah, but you gotta work on it after they get too
heavy, then you have to start lifting weights again to keep it up. No,
that's fascinating. Gosh, OK, let me look at my notes and see if there's
anything else I forgot. Um, When you reflect back on the experience, did
you feel, you know, what are your feelings? Were you, um, did you feel
prepared? Were you surprised by your experiences or?
Well, I was surprised I was pregnant considering I had 3 doctors that told
me I would never get pregnant and I couldn't have any children. I want to
go back and s. But
There's a lot of emotional heartbreak, you know, no, I was happy.
So you want to sue him because then you didn't use protection when you got
pregnant? Oh yeah, I, they told me no, you cannot have any children. You
will not be able to get pregnant. I'm like, cool, yay, score one for me
and.
Then I got married and got pregnant and I was like,
Oh, I'd assume. I ought to sue them. Do you know why they said that? Well
, yeah, because I have, I was diagnosed with endometriosis and fibroids.
Real bad. As a matter of fact, they said I should have had a hysterectomy.
But I had one doctor was like, well, no, if you have at least one child.
And they go, but you never know what the Lord has in store, but they go,
but for right now, yeah, it looks like you'll never have any and I was
happy with that. I'm like, shoot, yeah, hey, I don't have to worry about
no kids. Yay, and you grew up in a big family, so you, you probably had
your fellow kids.
Oh yes. Oh yes. My, my other sisters don't know, honey, they know I I I
made me sad enough, watched the diapers because that's one thing my mother
did not believe in Pampers.
So it was cloth diapers. In which I had cloth used cloth diapers. No, no
pans were allowed to be on her grandbabies.
Whether she is around them or not, no Pampers were allowed to be on her
grandbaby, and her grandbabies were not allowed to have diaper rash one.
So it sounds like your son grew up in a really healthy environment. You
took a lot of care, right, because when I would take him for his checkups
, I'd be there with the diaper with the pins and the cloth diapers, and
people would stand around and go.
You know, I'd have ladies in there, elderly people that have their
grandmas, well, baby, how old are you? And I'm like, well, I'm 28.
And you believe in cloth diapers? I'm like, oh yes, my mother and my
grandmother would kill me if I put some Pampers on my baby. I just raised
with cloth diapers too.
I, I didn't have the patience for that though. We did try it. We, we
totally tried it. It didn't last long. Oh, it it did it. And I, but then I
, and I like I because I believed in it, and then my what my grandmother,
my mother, my great grandmother said was true because my son never had a
diaper rash. See, because the Pampers and all of that, the chemical makeup
and making those and when the baby, you know, excretes, it mixes and it
can be irritant. And I see a lot of women go, oh well, it's not that wet,
and I'm like, well, how wet does wet have to be before it's wet? I mean,
if, if the pamper is wet, then it's time to change the baby, with me it's
not that wet, but.
I could never figure that out, so.
Oh my goodness. This is a good way to end the day, I'll tell you. Um, OK,
is there anything else that we're forgetting, Ashley? I was just like the
So OK, so
we're um separating these birth stories into themes and so we're asking
women to kind of think of a word or a phrasing of words that they think
encapsulates their experience or you know, kind of, um, you know,
describes that.
Well, I tell you what, when they say, oh, after you had a baby, you don't
, you know, you remember the baby but you forget all about the pain. No,
to this day, I remember the pain, OK. Did, glad I only had one. Lord bless
me, gave me one. That's all I wanted. But I think, but see, what was some
of this experience, uh.
I would say um. Unexpected.
Shop
And funny. Yeah, you seem to have a good sense of humor about the whole
thing. Yeah, that Cause my family was like, what?
She's pregnant, cause they're like, not her. Honey, cause I didn't, oh
honey, trust me, I didn't want it. I didn't. Not, I did not want a one. It
sounds like he was also a lot of work for someone that didn't want. Oh, he
was about the funniest thing is when Cause my mother always told us, you
know, go to sleep when the baby sleeps, and you know, don't sleep while
the baby's wake. And I've had, I watched all my sisters do it. They'd go
to sleep, their baby awake, maybe would get up, tear up the house, tear
over stuff, knock stuff down like my one nephew painted his mommy's face
with grease while she slept. She must have been tired. Yeah. The other one
, put big sav all over her mother's face, so I'm like, oh, So I'm like, oh
well, I'm not gonna do that. I am not gonna see well. He was turning one.
So I made him a little Mickey Mouse cake.
Had a little cute party for him, put him down in the crib. I'm cleaning up
, fixing everything up. He's asleep. I'm like I'm gonna lay down across
the sofa cause he's dead asleep. Well. I woke up to him, pat me on his
face, on my face, hands covered in dirt cause I had a couple of plants. He
was moaning. I had a glass table like this covered in chocolate cake.
Chocolate cake all over the shag rug, mixed with dirt. He was crying, so
I panicked. Now instead of people like, oh I have been yelling at my baby
, I didn't yell at my baby because the first indicated in my mind is
you're not supposed to go to sleep and let the baby beat you up. Just had
to cover them in like um bells and then everything move about. So I
immediately called.
His pediatrician told me what to do. You know, to get him to set his
stomach to settle, and he'll crap and he'll be OK and I wasn't sure if he
ate the dirt. I wasn't sure if he just ate all the cake. And then played
in the rest or played in the dirt and the cake and decide I'll eat a
couple of, just combine them. I was just worried. The doctor told me, no,
this is what you do and he, cause his, his doctor was really good. He gave
me his home phone, pager, hospital phone, private phone cause he knew I
was serious about my child. So he told me what to do and I watched. Of
course he had a bowel movement, went to sleep. He was all good. I hollered.
Once I got him settled and I knew he was OK, oh, I laughed. I hollered. I
had tears coming out of my eyes because I just saw the house, cake and
dirt everywhere. And the only thing I could do was laugh and people was
like, you laughed at that? I'm like, yeah, cause it's my fault. Cause the
first thing that came, I mean, it was just like the Lord said it real
clear, you're not supposed to go to sleep and let the baby beat you up.
So there I was cleaning up all that mess. Oh my goodness, it was a sight.
I can only, I can actually perfectly imagine that because you're so good
at describing that. Wow.
Yeah, you're a born storyteller. That's wonderful.
I think it's perfect. I think we're good. We'll end it there.