New Year’s baby arrives just in the nick of time

In a surprising turn of events, the CNMI nearly ended the first day of 2024 without naming a New Year’s baby, but Aerich Chen Roda Ayuyu made it just in time when he entered the world nearly three hours short of Jan. 2.

In the history of CNMI New Year’s babies, the Commonwealth Health Center has always delivered a newborn soon after the stroke of midnight of Jan.1. or had women in labor and ready to give birth by Jan 1.

However, nurses and midwives at CHCC were shocked this year when the hospital’s labor and delivery ward was silent as the clock struck 12am last Monday, with no prospective New Year’s baby expected. It now appears that this year’s special guest wanted to make a grand entrance. Weighing in at a little over 11 lbs, Ayuyu was born to parents Evelyn Roda and Agustin Ayuyu Jr. in the nick of time, arriving at 9:17pm on Monday.

“[Roda] was the only one who gave birth on New Year’s Day. Usually, we deliver a baby closer to when New Year’s Day hits instead of almost the following day. Around the holidays, the census in the hospital goes down a lot but it’s been light for a couple of days,” said CHC midwife Teresa Anderson.

Anderson, a veteran in helping mothers deliver children and well versed in delivering New Year’s babies, shared that Ayuyu was born with no complications.

“The mother’s labor started at 2pm on Jan. 1; labor was about seven hours. The birth of the baby wasn’t complicated. The mother’s water broke first and then she went into labor, so it was a little slower, but other than that, it was a pretty normal birth and she gave birth naturally. He was born at 5 lbs and 11 ounces,” she said.

On behalf of her team at CHC, Anderson congratulates the family on their new bundle of joy.

“Congratulations to the family. The mother and the family did an amazing job, I loved taking care of them while they were here,” she said.

In an interview with the baby’s mother, Roda, she said she went to CHC at around 12pm last Monday, unsure if she was going to give birth yet, but at around 2pm, her seven-hour long labor began.

Speaking of her experience throughout the process, she said she and her baby were taken care of at CHC and she is excited that her baby is the first baby of the year.

“I came in at around 12:30pm but went into labor at around 2pm so my labor was like seven hours. My birthing experience here at CHCC was good, the nurses really helped me with my delivery. This is my first time birthing a New Year’s Day baby and it’s so exciting,” she said.

Roda’s mother-in-law, Yuenei Chen Ayuyu, was also present and shared that, in the Chinese culture, the first baby born in a year is considered lucky, so she is so happy to have welcomed her grandson on New Year’s Day.

“I’m very happy that my grandson was the first baby of 2024. I believe it’s also [a symbol] of good luck. In China, we say that when a baby is born on the first day, of the first month, of a New Year, they’re lucky. My grandson was that and was also the only baby in the hospital today. I am so happy to welcome my grandson today and I’m so happy for my son and daughter in law,” she said.

After years of hiatus, Marianas Pacific Distributors resumed its tradition of greeting the New Year’s baby at the hospital with generous gifts.

“For the last couple of years, we just had the parents, along with the New Year’s baby, come in and accept their gifts here at MarPac. This was due to COVID. But now, we’ve finally gone back to our tradition of personally visiting the first newborn baby of the year,” said Thomas Babauta Basa, MarPac’s consumer sales manager.

This year, MarPac surprised the family with about $500 worth of gifts.

“This year, we awarded the New Year’s baby and his family with Huggies diapers and wipes, feminine products for the mother, Enfamil, and other small gifts we wanted to give the family,” he said.

“Marpac has always been known to give back to our community. We’ve been here 50 years and because we love our consumers and community, we love to give back as much as we can as well,” Basa added.

Basa also congratulated the family.

“On behalf of MarPac, congratulations to the Roda-Ayuyu family on welcoming their new baby and the CNMI’s first, if not only, baby born on New Year’s Day,” he said.