Cheyenne Donaldson didn’t know what day it was as she shuffled up and down the street in Ormond Beach trying to induce labor on the evening of Dec. 31. After three days of contractions, Donaldson was in a haze and at the end of her rope, desperately trying anything to encourage her baby to arrive.
After pacing the street with the baby’s father, John Driggers, Donaldson’s contractions finally grew strong enough to head to the hospital. As they grabbed their bags, Driggers' stepfather joked about the timing.
“He said ‘I would tell you happy New Year’s, but you don’t look like you’re very happy right now,’” Donaldson recalled of the moment she realized they were headed to the hospital on New Year's Eve.
“I was doing the crab walk right to the car in the middle of a contraction," she said. "I was like, 'I don’t care even about New Year’s right now.'”
In the last moments of 2017, as the rest of the world counted down the minutes until midnight, Donaldson and Driggers counted down the seconds until their baby girl arrived. Kylee Rose Mae Driggers made her debut at 1:36 a.m. weighing 6 pounds, 2 ounces and 19 inches long, at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach.
Kylee's arrival marked the first baby born in Volusia County in 2018.
“The birth of the first baby in the new year is always a reason to celebrate," said Darlinda Copeland, chief operating officer at the hospital. "A new life and a new year bring hope for the future."
With two different due dates of Dec. 31 and Jan. 7, Donaldson said she didn’t know what year to expect, but she was surprised to find out her baby was the area's first of 2018.
“My neighbor, who is a very good friend I grew up with, was due on Christmas Day. She’s at Halifax (Hospital) right now in labor,” said Donaldson, adding that she and her friend were joking about being in competition to have the first baby.
With Kylee’s unique birthday, Donaldson said that she already has special plans for her — to see the ball drop in New York City's Times Square on New Year’s Eve.
"I always said when the kids get old enough we will go. Well, now she's got a birthday, so that’s going to be on her bucket list."
But first up will be figuring out how to parent a girl. As a stay-at-home mom with two boys, Donaldson said she was nervous when she found out she was having a girl.
“I’ve got a bunch of brothers and I’m the only girl,” said Donaldson, realizing that Kylee will grow up in the same dynamic.
On Monday, as Donaldson sat in her hospital bed cradling the petite baby girl decked out in a bright pink hat and a pastel onesie, she looked ready for anything.
“I’m not as scared as I thought I was going to be,” she said as the newborn in her arms stretched her arm and fell back asleep.
But she does have a new resolution for 2018.
“To be a better mom and learn how to do some girl stuff,” she said with a tired smile.