Published on The Borneo Post-Monday 2, 2012
Welcoming the first baby on the first day of the new year are a few things which anyone can only hope for and dream of, and Allen Joe was no different.
But Joe, 27, and his wife, Margareth Suele, 28, from Penampang could turn The Incredible Hulk even greener with envy when they were accorded with the gift of both after they were informed by the doctor that they might welcome their first baby ‘a bit earlier than the actual due date’.
Their new member of the family was among 21 babies born at the Women and Children’s Hospital Likas, Papar and Kota Belud hospitals on New Year day.
Suele said her due date was supposedly February 19 and to deliver the baby a month and a half earlier was something unexpected.
“We never expected our baby boy to be a new year baby. It is such a right time to celebrate New Year with a new addition to the family. He is our first child and we are very happy when his birth coincides with the first day of 2012.
“Thank God, he was delivered through normal delivery at 2.05am. I first thought that I would have to undergo a caeserian. Even though the baby was born prematurely, he is healthy like any other baby. His weight was a mere 1.85 kilogrammes. His name is Ather Mcflynn,” she said when met at the Women and Children’s Hospital in Likas yesterday.
Joe, who works as a medical assistant at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, said it felt really great to welcome the new year with an additional new member to the family and he expressed hope that with such a good start to the new year, it will be a great year for his family.
Sharing the same happiness were Meynitha Aburah, 27, and Iron Franciska, 26, from Tuaran.
Aburah said she was glad when told that her due date was on January 1 and she could not contain her excitement with her healthy second bundle of joy who came to this world at 3.36am and weighed at 3.55 kilograms.
She admitted that she had never planned to deliver a baby on the first day of 2012 unless she had to undergo a caeserian procedure.
“To give birth to a baby on the first day of January is easy to remember as it is a New Year day,” she said gleefully.
Meanwhile, the due date for the fifth child of Boon Tan Ai Li, 31, was January 3 but her baby was destined to come out two days earlier.
She had not expected to have a New Year baby but however admitted to having prepared for any eventuality.
“It is based on my past experience after having delivered four children. I must prepare for the necessary because the birth could be earlier or later than the actual due date.
“I gave birth at 9.10am and her weight is 2.70 kilogrammes. I am still thinking of the best name for my second daughter in our family. Three of my children are boys,” said Tan of Kepayan Ridge.
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| Allen Joe n Margareth Suele from Penampang cuddling their first baby |
