One baby born on New Year’s was early, another was late

Chandanie Marshall didn’t see it coming but she was pleasantly surprised that her son was the first baby born in 2020 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH).

Marshall was the first of four women who gave birth on at the QEH on New Year’s Day.

The 31-year-old farmer not only welcomed the first infant of the new decade, but it was her first child, and couldn’t be any happier.

“It is such a privilege to be a mother and I am looking forward to grooming him the best that I can so he can be somebody who can make a difference in the years to come. I will always put his interest first from now on and I will do everything as a mother to direct him on the right path,” she said.

Her son Nathaniel was due on January 14 but was delivered at 12:45 a.m.

Shanice Thomas (below) was the second woman to give birth on New Year’s Day. She hadn’t decided on a name for her daughter.

On the other hand, Shanice Thomas, the mother of the second baby born, said she was overdue. Thomas, 27, gave birth at 5:11 a.m.

She told reporters that her daughter, who is her second child, was due three days prior, so she was not expecting her to be born on New Year’s Day.

“I think there is something extra special about having a baby in 2020, and I had a pretty rough pregnancy and a rough delivery, it just feels like a reward.

“It was only after I realised how close it was to New Years that I was like ‘she has to come’, and after all of this work and this effort; I deserve it,” Thomas said proudly.

Both women were presented with Johnson & Johnson and Huggies hampers from Massy Distribution.

Two more babies were born after the news team left the QEH and one more was expected, but none had been born at Bayview Hospital. (TG)