The first baby to be born in the United Kingdom on New Year’s Day is the daughter of Caymanian parents.
Gracie Welcome was born at Birmingham’s City Hospital before Big Ben had even finished its midnight chimes.
Dad Romeo Welcome and mother Lethea Rankine welcomed their little girl, weighing 7lbs 7oz, into the world at about 10 seconds past midnight.
Gracie is the latest addition to a family who share their birthdays with big occasions. Her great-grandmother Adina Seymour and grandmother Georganne Rankine were both born on Christmas Day, and her grandad, Leighton Rankine, was born on New Year’s Eve. From the father’s side, grandmother Romellia Welcome was born on Valentine’s Day.
The couple moved to the U.K. from the Cayman Islands nearly two years ago and are currently studying at Birmingham’s South and City College. Ms Rankine wants to run her own event-planning business, while Mr. Welcome is studying media, music and communications.
Speaking by phone from the U.K., Mr. Welcome said mother and baby are doing well. “She is extremely alert,” he said of his new daughter.
The moments leading up to the birth were not without drama, he admitted.
“0n the way to the hospital, I was scared because Lethea had Braxton Hicks contractions (an intermittent, painless contraction that may occur every 10 to 20 minutes after the first trimester of pregnancy) but when the real labor came, she started making some noises I never heard before. All I could say was ‘Shush, baby, it will be all right,’” said Mr. Welcome.
“To be honest, it was mixed emotions. I was excited at first but at the last minute the baby turned around and was breached. Then it was stated they would have to preform an emergency C-section. This was when it got emotional for me,” he said.
He added, “At that time I was in the hospital biting my nails and holding Lethea’s hand. They dressed me in a suit and allowed me to come in to witness the C-section.”
Ten seconds after midnight, little Gracie appeared and gave “three small cries,” he said. Mr. Welcome said the couple knew they were having a girl and had decided to name her Gracie after his grandmother Grace from North Side.
According to Mr. Welcome, the family will come to Cayman for a visit during summer and Christmas holidays and plan to christen the baby at the Church of God Universal in the summer. He said they plan to move back to Cayman once they complete their studies.
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