PHOENIX — A handful of babies were born just a couple of hours into the New Year at Banner Gateway in Gilbert. Justin and Jamie Wesolowski welcomed their baby girl, Avery Laine, just 14 seconds after midnight.
"We call her our little firecracker because she came out with a bang," says Jamie Wesolowski, Avery's mother.
With the New Year, comes new life.
"Her name is Avery Laine. She is 6 pounds, 5 ounces," says Wesolowski.
The first baby of 2021 at Banner Gateway.
"Hold off one more minute and you can have a New Year’s baby. I was tempted to just get her out but I made it that far, so I wanted to get through the final minute," says Wesolowski.
Jamie Wesolowski was in labor for more than seven hours. It is a NYE countdown she will never forget.
"It was so emotional; it was so overwhelming. I had been so excited to meet her just this whole time so, to finally have her laying on my chest was super sweet," says Wesolowski.
It also came as a surprise since Avery wasn't expected for another week. Nurses at Banner Gateway say this is a time they all look forward to. They even gifted the family a basket full of necessities, out of their own pockets, to celebrate the occasion.
“It’s always kind of a new hope that is born with each baby. I think this year, knowing that we had that hope in that baby born just right at midnight of 2021, it made just a really wonderful start to the year,” says staff nurse Laurel Horken.
The family is expecting to head home on Saturday afternoon. Avery will finally be meeting her big brother, 11-year-old Jagger. This family of three has now turned into four.
"I think there is, there’s so much joy and happiness no matter what the circumstances are. You just have to look for those little things, find those silver linings to focus on the positives," says Justin & Jamie Wesolowski.
