A 5-pound, 11-ounce boy with no name was probably the most popular person at a Bowling Green hospital on Saturday.
Nancy Miller of Bowling Green gave birth to the first baby of 2011 at 5:24 a.m. Saturday at The Medical Center at Bowling Green.
Miller has not chosen a name for her son, but when she went into labor around 8:30 p.m. Friday, she knew he would be special.
“We kind of knew (he would be the first baby born) because we were in a race with two other people. So we knew we had ours before they had theirs,” Miller said. “It was pretty funny because there was a couple of people who scheduled C-sections for last night, and they missed it by a couple of minutes.”
Three women, including Miller, were in labor around the same time Saturday. By 3 p.m. Saturday, two of the babies had been born, said Doris Thomas, vice president of marketing and development for Commonwealth Health Corp., the parent company of The Medical Center.
As Miller recovered, her room buzzed with attention. Several media representatives dropped by to ask questions and take photographs, and she started getting gifts.
“I guess I kind of expected it with him being the first baby born,” she said, “but I’m just exhausted.”
Each year, The Medical Center gives the family of the first baby a gift basket stuffed with baby essentials.
“That’s our way of saying the new year is special, and we want to celebrate with you,” Thomas said.
Miller moved to Bowling Green from Tennessee about six years ago. Her parents, Carissa White and Hal Miller, both live in Morgantown. The boy’s father, Adam England, and his father, Kenny England, live in Glasgow.
The baby is joined by an older sister, 2-year-old Madison Kinser. Madison celebrated her own birthday Dec. 18, but could not visit her little brother Saturday because she was sick, Miller said.
Miller was waiting to find out whether her son was the first baby born in Kentucky, and she spent the rest of the afternoon contemplating baby names and visiting with relatives.
She expects to take her son home by Monday.
“He’s as cute as he can be,” she said. “We’re excited for him to meet his big sister.”
