Childbirth nurse births first 'New Year Baby"

Obstetrics nurse works at Mercy Health Veard Family Birthing Center

MMCCONNELL@MORNINGJOURNAL.COM

Local obstetric nurse Kyle Dandrea gave birth to Lorain County’s first baby of the new year. Maddox Atticus Gall was born at 1:09 p.m. on New Year’s Day, making him one of 2023’s first babies across the United States.

Dandrea works at the Mercy Health Veard Family Birthing Center, and returned to the center once again on New Year’s Day. This time, she was on the opposite end of the treatment she normally gives to expecting mothers.

“I kind of talked to some nurses when I thought I was going to be coming in to be seen,” Dandrea said. “Kind of kept joking around, because everybody knew I was so close to my due date, and said ‘Kyle’s going to be the one’... Kind of funny that that’s how it ended up happening.”

Dandrea explained that Maddox’s 2-year-old brother, Miles, was about a month premature. Maddox was almost right on time at exactly 38 weeks, but Dandrea joked that he was still early enough to have his own special day during the holiday season.“This one made it a couple more weeks,” she said. “Everybody provided great care, and it was a special experience to add on with it along with it being, you know, a special day of the year.”

Dandrea said that she had been waiting for Maddox to make his arrival during the hectic time that is the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Even still, she didn’t realize that he might be the New Year’s baby until after it happened.

“We kept expecting any time around Christmas that this little guy might make an appearance,” Dandrea said. “Everything happened so quick... Afterwards, realizing, oh, you’re the first baby of the year.”

The crew on the child birth floor at Mercy Health helps to put together a gift basket for the mother of the first newborn of each new year. Once again, the tables were turned for Dandrea as she was the one receiving the baby basket this year.

“Everybody on our floor does kind of make up a big basket of gifts each year for the New Year’s baby, as well as the local fire department drops off some belongings,” Dandrea said. “I got a big, huge laundry basket of clothes and diapers, and baby necessities... It was cool. All my coworkers brought it in singing happy birthday to the baby.”

Dandrea expressed gratitude to her team at Mercy Health as she goes on maternity leave to take care of Maddox and Miles. She also predicted that being the New Year’s baby will eventually become a point of pride for the younger of her two children.

“He’s always going to have that on his brother,” Dandrea said.