Dixie Regional welcomes Adalynn, Baby New Year 2018, into the world

Baby New Year 2018, Adalynn Louise Head, arrived at 6:08 a.m., Monday, at Dixie Regional Medical Center's 400 East campus, St. George, Utah, Jan. 1, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — One family ushered in the new year Monday with a remarkable delivery, Baby New Year 2018, who weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and arrived sporting a patch of hair that was later adorned with a bright red bow.

L to R: George Head, Shannel Head and Baby New Year 2018, Adalynn Head born at 6:08 a.m., Monday, at Dixie Regional Medical Center’s 400 East campus Monday, St. George, Utah, Jan. 1, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Adalynn Louise Head, the first newborn of the year to be welcomed into the world at Dixie Regional Medical Center’s 400 East campus, arrived at 6:08 a.m., Jan. 1, to parents George and Shannel Head of McGill, Nevada.

Adalynn weighed in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and measured 20 inches tall. Both infant and mother are doing well.

Shannel Head went into labor early Sunday evening and, after several hours, she and her husband made their way to the hospital, arriving at 3 a.m. Monday. Adalynn was born three hours later.

“She was due three days ago and we didn’t expect to have the New Year’s baby but we are glad to get her here safely,” Shannel Head said.

The proud father, George Head, agreed, and when asked how he felt about the baby, he said, “She’s great.”

Adalynn joins two sisters and one brother, who are all under the age of four and staying with family members during the birth and the hospital stay.

Asked how the other children feel about the new arrival, Shannel Head said: “My oldest is super excited, but the younger two don’t really understand what’s going on, I don’t think.”

Baby New Year 2018, Adalynn Louise Head, at 6:08 a.m., Monday, at Dixie Regional Medical Center’s 400 East campus, St. George, Utah, Jan. 1, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

“The first baby of the new year is wonderful and is symbolic of new life and a new beginning here at Dixie Regional Medical Center,” Communications Director Terri Draper said.

“And this baby is so beautiful.”

Dixie Regional presents the family of each Baby New Year a gift basket that is assembled by the Women and Children’s Services department and includes many items that will help the new parents after they return home, including baby blankets, toys and other infant-care supplies.

The parents of the new arrival were also given a $100 gift certificate to purchase items at the hospital’s gift shop, Draper said.

The family was also presented with a package containing an item that was handmade by the mother of Baby New Year 2001, something she has done every year since 2002, Draper added.

“It’s always exciting to welcome the first baby of the year,” Tiffany Hanson, Dixie Regional’s Women and Newborn Services director, said. “Adalynn represents the love and joy each new baby can bring to the world.”

In 2017 there were nearly 2,500 babies born at the Dixie Regional Medical Center’s 400 East campus and 31,000 babies were born in Intermountain Healthcare’s network of 22 hospitals in 2015.

The Baby New Year origins began in 600 B.C. with the Greeks, though the early Egyptians can also be given credit for using a baby as a symbol of a new year. The baby represents rebirth.

In the United States, the first baby went from being heralded in newspapers to magazine covers when the Saturday Evening Post featured its own rendition of the New Year’s baby on its first issue of the year from 1906 through 1943, according to an archived 2008 issue of The New Frontier.

 

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1 Comment

  • Not_So_Much January 2, 2018 at 3:48 pm

    Congratulations and all the best for the entire family!

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