Saipan welcomes New Year baby

Saipan’s very first baby for 2005—a girl—was born to Korean Christian parents on Jan. 1, setting a milestone for couple Heo Gihan and Kwon Dae Yon, the baby being their first child and this being their first time to Saipan.

Although Heo, 36, was expecting his wife’s delivery any time soon, he did not expect that it would be here on Saipan. It was New Year’s Eve and they were with friends getting ready to welcome 2005 at their hotel when Kwon, 31, began having contractions. Heo decided to bring his wife to the Commonwealth Health Center, thinking his wife would give birth before 12am.

It was a 12-hour labor, though, according to Heo. The baby finally decided to join the world at exactly at 8:26am of Jan. 1. The baby weighed 4 lbs and 13.4 ounces, with a head circumference of 37.5 cms and a height of 48 cms.

The couple agreed to name the baby girl Yumin, which means ‘God is always helpful’ in Korean. Her English name is Jenny.

Carmen’s Baby News, in cooperation with D&Q Saipan, declared Yumin the lucky winner in the Carmen’s Baby News’ “First Baby of the Year 2005 Promotion.” As parents of the very first baby born this 2005, Heo and Kwon received a gift pack from Carmen’s and a three-month supply of diapers and baby wipes.

D&Q is the distributor of Procter & Gamble products on Saipan. This is its second year of collaborating with Carmen’s Baby News in recognizing the first baby born for the year. Carmen’s Baby News started this promotion last year and a baby born to Filipino parents from Tinian received the same award.

Carmen’s Baby News general manager Rital dela Cruz also coordinated with the CHC for the awarding that was held at the store at 1:30pm yesterday. “This is our way of showing our customers our appreciation, giving back to our community,” dela Cruz said, “They [customers] support us too by buying from our stores, so why not give it back to them in a way like this?”

Heo is a university counselor at Yonsei University, while Kwon is a freelance artist who also teaches art to young students in Seoul, South Korea. The couple has been on the island since Dec. 15, 2004 and had planned to stay for only a month. Heo and Kwon have been married for two years already.

Heo said he feels more blessed with his daughter coming at such an auspicious time—Heo’s birthday also falls on Jan. 1.

“God has sent my daughter to me because it’s the same day as my birthday,” Heo excitedly said. He believed that God has planned this with utter grace and generosity to him and his wife. (Marconi Calindas)