NORWICH — Bailey Eve Archuleta yawned during her Hollywood-esque moment Monday, but it was an exhilarating one for parents Mark and Amanda Archuleta.
Weighing 7 pounds, 14 ounces, Bailey was born at 9:08 a.m. New Year’s Day, making her the first baby born at William W. Backus Hospital in 2018.
"I really can’t believe she was the first baby here," Amanda said. "She came a little later — I figured there would be another one before her."
Bailey is the second child for the Archuletas, who live in Groton and have a 16-month-old boy, Jameson.
"We’re pretty excited," said Mark, who is an instructor at the submarine school and was a sonar technician on the USS Nebraska. "Jameson doesn’t really get it, yet. He’s coming in a little later to meet her. He’ll love her."
Bailey’s birth capped a whirlwind last few months for the couple in their mid-20s. They moved to Groton from Washington state in October and had barely settled in before Bailey’s early arrival — she was originally due Jan. 16.
"I’m feeling good," Amanda said. "We’re happy she’s a girl. During the first ultrasound they told us she was a boy. But at the second one, they said, ‘nope, that’s a girl.’ We’re just excited."
The family received a little something extra for having the first baby of the year at Backus — a large gift basket that included gift cards, clothes, hats, toys, pacifiers and homemade blankets.
"The entire hospital celebrates the first babies and donates to the baskets," nurse Renee Witkovic, of Colchester, said. Witkovic’s mother made the blankets. "We have a basket for a girl and a boy."
A little more than four hours after Bailey's arrival, Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam boasted Northeastern Connecticut's first baby born in 2018.
Joseph Michael Rathel was born at 1:18 p.m. Monday to parents Andrew Rathel and Haley VanLoan, of Moosup. He weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces.
"He’s a week late," a joyful Rathel, 29, said. "He was due on Christmas Day."
The couple, who have another son who will turn 2 years old in February, will receive a special first-baby-of-2018 basket from the Woman’s Board of Day Kimball Hospital on Tuesday that will be filled with stuffed animals and clothing, among other necessities.
"It’s exciting," VanLoan, 23, said. "It’s a great way to start off the new year."