Marion woman has first baby
A Marion woman was recently surprised to find she had given birth to the first baby of the year at Newton Medical Center.
But not only did she give birth to the first baby, she also gave birth to the second baby.
Kim Patterson and her twin daughters, Abigail Kay, and Gabrielle Kathleen, returned to Marion Jan. 10 joining husband Shawn and three-year-old Colton.
The girls were born Jan. 2. Newton Medical Center's first baby, Abigail, made her appearance at 2:33 a.m. weighing five pounds. Her sister, Gabrielle, was born one minute later weighing 5.9 pounds.
Kim said she never thought about having Newton's first baby of 2003 because her due date wasn't until Jan. 28.
"They told me I was going to have the first baby," Kim recalled about her delivery room experience. "I said I didn't want to have the first baby because it was too early."
However, the twins had their own timetable.
"My water broke and we were down to two-minute contractions and did a C-section," the Marion woman said. "So, I went through the whole labor, then had to go through a C-section too."
Since the babies were early, the second born, Gabrielle's lungs weren't fully developed and she had to stay in the hospital under supervision.
"The first born, Abby, was doing just fine," she said.
Kim's husband, Shawn, took a few vacation days from his job at Hesston AgCo. to be with his newly expanded family for a time. Then Kim's mother, Pauline from Olathe, came down to help for a short bit.
Despite the fact she had the first baby of the year in Newton, the title didn't come with any special perks.
"They gave me a basket full of stuff — blankets, mittens, shampoo, baby powder — which was nice," she said, noting the nurses put together the gift basket for the first, and second, baby.
In year's past, businesses used to donate gifts for the first baby of the year. However, that practice stopped in Newton about five years ago.
