A Baby Story

Viola Mason Nye was born Thursday, July 13, at 8:07am. She was "supposed" to be a boy--ultrasounds can be wrong! She weighs 8 lbs. 7 oz. and is 22 inches long and has a full head of dark brown hair! Below is the story of her birth. I hope you enjoy it! Pics can be found on Nick's blog. I'll put some on here when I remember how :)

On Wednesday, July 12, the day I predicted Viola would be born, I woke up at 5am with mild cramping and questioned whether or not I was having contractions. I began to time them, and after having four at regular intervals, I woke Nick up. Pretty soon they were occuring every five minutes. I called my midwife, and she advised me to take a shower, and if the contractions became more intense, to come into the hospital. Well, the contractions weakened, and after 10am I was only having about one an hour. I became incredibly discouraged, as I knew my family was already on their way down to Louisville. I was afraid they'd make the long trip and I wouldn't go into active labor. Obviously, the biggest discouragement was that I knew I'd have to be patient and wait for the baby to come when she was ready.

My mom, dad, and sister came down in the early afternoon and helped keep me distracted. We went on a long walk in the park, went grocery shopping, and watched Miss Congeniality 2. We went to bed, and Nick and I prayed for the baby to come soon. I was having difficulty sleeping, and personally prayed that I would have intense contractions 5 mins. apart, my water would break, or that I could get a good night's sleep. Well around 11:00, the contractions started again. Wanting to be sure, I started timing them myself, and as they grew intense, I woke up Nick. We slept with a spreadsheet between us Nick had made the morning before to track my contractions. We tried to sleep between them, and Nick haphazardly scrawled the information on the sheet. By 3:00 am I took a shower and walked around to see if their intensity changed, and as they grew closer together, we contacted the midwife and threw our things in the van to head to the hospital. In the dark and rainy night, my dad helped me to the van and we drove to the hospital.

We checked in, and I was examined. The nurses were delighted to tell me that I was already 8-9 cm dilated and I would have the baby in just a few hours. What a relief! I got my gown on and walked into the labor and delivery room. In between contractions, I got to eat popsicles and ice chips, and tried to remain relaxed during my contractions. Nick was an amazing coach and my greatest source of verbal encouragement during this time. We tried to remember all we had learned in our natural childbirth class so that I could have an epidural-free birth, and that really paid off.

When my midwife arrived, she checked me and pretty soon she asked me to push. The baby was still fairly far up the birth canal, and I hadn't dilated anymore. Therefore, she asked me to labor on my side for about an hour, which was quite possibly the most difficult part of the birth. I had an overwhelming urge to push and was pretty uncomfortable to say the least. After the birth, my arms and back muscles ached because during this time I was gripping the side of the hospital bed for dear life! However, laying on my side helped move her down the canal, and her arrival was very near!

My midwife came back in and pretty soon I was pushing again. By this time, my family had arrived at the hospital, and along with the nurses and Nick, they offered tons of encouragement and support. It helped immensely to know how close the baby was to coming. In addition, they informed me that the baby had a full head of dark hair! This made me want to push like a crazy woman so I could see her, who I thought was a him :) The final pushes were not easy, but at that point I think I could've done almost anything to see my little one! And at last, she was here! Nick shouted, "Honey, he's here!" Then the nurse promptly opened up our baby's legs and said "It's a she!" Wow. We were totally surprised, although I must say that in that at the moment, I was just glad the baby was out of me, and that SHE was okay.

Over the past couple weeks we've really enjoyed getting to know all of Viola's quirks. She loves her hands, and always has to have them close to her mouth so she can suck on her fists. So far, she can make noises that sound like a goat, and chimpanzee, and a wildcat. She smiles a lot in her sleep and has a signature "grumpy old man" face when she's thinking really hard, or just making a mess in her pants! She also LOVES having her hair washed but hates having her clothes changed. I know I'm biased, but I think she has a ton of personality and will continue to surprise us in the years to come!