Little Harlow Grace Amelia only just made it into the highly anticipated first day of the year, born at 11.35pm.

Weighing in at a little over three kilos, Harlow was the third of three babies born in the 2019, with the first making his grand entrance into the world at 3.47 in the afternoon. 

Midwife Unit Manager Meagan Galvin said staff were excited to welcome the first bub, but it took longer than expected. 

“Normally we can expect the first birth of the year in the early morning, or at least before lunch so it was an unusual run this year.”

“It had us right on the edge of our seats, but as always it was worth the wait and it’s a pleasure to start the new year off so positively,” she said.

Mrs Galvin, who has worked at Wagga Base hospital for 10 years, said they’re hoping to have a big year of births ahead.

“We had a total of 1194 born in 2018, so this year we’re really hoping to crack the 1200 mark.”

“It’s looking promising; we’ve been having around 100 babies each month now and it’s on a steady rise so it’s going to be a busy year,” Mrs Galvin said.

Wagga Base hospital had 21 sets of twins pass through their corridors in 2018, and had the joy of helping 500 first time mums begin the journey of a lifetime. 

New parents have been leaving the hospital with baby bundles valued at $300 full of essentials for parenthood like change mats and first aid kits, following the NSW Government run initiative to help children get the best start in life.

Mrs Galvin says it is worth the funding.

“There’s some good products in the bundle. It’s going to be a huge help to new parents in particular,” she said. 

For Harlow and her mother Tegan Donovan, 2019 will be a year full of ups and downs with plenty exciting new memories to be made.  

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