First baby of the decade
January 2, 2010
Debra Black
STAFF REPORTER
For Christiane Hachey and Alexis Violante, the excitement of being new parents was almost unbearable. Then the doctor announced the official time of birth: one second after midnight. And so Eva Violante, 7 pounds 2 ounces, became Toronto's New Year's baby.
Hachey and Violante didn't think they were even in the running. Hachey, 31, a senior administrator at a bank, had been in labour for two days at St. Michael's Hospital.
On Thursday morning, her doctor said the baby would likely be born around 10 p.m. on New Year's Eve. But 10 p.m. came and went; Hachey was still in labour.
Then, after 48 hours and a couple of pushes, little Eva arrived.
Twelve hours later, the proud new parents were still basking in the glow of their baby's birth.
Violante, a 34-year-old software developer, looked on proudly, caressing first his wife's cheek, then his daughter's.
"It's really surreal," Violante said. "It hasn't sunk in yet. She's so good. She hasn't even cried."
The parents, who live in Etobicoke, knew the baby was a girl and had two names picked out – Olivia and Eva.
They chose Eva because it was the name of the doctor who delivered her, they had driven down a street in their neighbourhood with the same name, and because they thought she was going to be born on New Year's Eve.
Toronto Star