Introducing Violet Mae Pulliam

What an entrance!! We got half a foot of snow on Wednesday, which shut everything down and left us concerned about getting to the hospital. The day before, the doctor said I had measured to 4cm and should really be ready to have her any day. I was experiencing some contractions and extra pressure during the snowy day. At around 1am, I felt like maybe I was experiencing some consistency with the contractions. Brandon starting timing them with me, and for awhile, they were happening every 5-6 minutes, but were only lasting about 15-20 seconds. Then they would subside, so we would try to go back to sleep. Then I would feel a really hard one that would last 30-40 seconds, but would not have another for 14-15 minutes. And so the pattern continued... Needless to say, I never felt we had significant grounds for calling care for the boys and getting ourselves out on the very cold, ice-covered roads. By about 6-6:30 am, we decided to make a call to our friends, Barrett and Lindsey, who also live in our neighborhood, to come be with our boys. I was feeling a lot of pressure in my pelvic area, and when contractions did come, they came hard. So they arrived by about 7am. We kissed Jonah and Cannon good-bye and headed out into winter madness.

The Lord helped us get to the hospital, and we arrived safely at Labor and Delivery around 7:30. I had several contractions in the car on the way to the hospital, as well as a strong one in the hallway of the hospital. I got checked in and answered the standard health history questions with my nurse Buffy (whose husband brought her to work that morning on their 4-wheeler). It was closer to 8 before my cervix was checked, and I wasn't really experiencing any contractions. However, I was at 9cm and told I could begin pushing whenever I felt the urge. Buffy set up everything that would be needed for me and baby and called my doctor, who said he wouldn't be able to make it in. The on-call doctor came by to introduce himself, and I was thrilled. He was the OB I had wanted from the beginning of the pregnancy, but I couldn't get an appointment with him. He was absolutely fantastic--completely supportive, kind, and personal. He exceeded all my wishes and expectations. He told me he would not break my water but just wanted me to push when I felt the urge. He also told me that he did not plan to perform an episiotomy unless absolutely necessary. So, he began massaging immediately and took great care to treat me gently and carefully. After some really good series of pushes and a small episiotomy (because of some scar tissue), Violet arrived!!

We were absolutely shocked by her head full of dark hair! She was absolutely perfect. She was placed onto my chest where she immediately began suckling. The nurse latched her onto me, and I was able to hold and nurse her for a couple of hours before they even cleaned her off well or weighed her or clamped her cord. It was absolutely perfect! She weighed in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce and was 21" long. We are just so thrilled to have an incredibly sweet, healthy, beautiful baby girl as a part of our family.