Heidi Connors due date wasn’t until Jan. 11, but in recent days, she and her husband Chris were more than ready for pregnancy to be over and for the chance to finally be able to hold their little one.
The couple hadn't been expecting the baby until Jan. 11, but were thankful for the chance to get to meet her a bit earlier.
Heidi Connors due date wasn’t until Jan. 11, but in recent days, she and her husband Chris were more than ready for pregnancy to be over and for the chance to finally be able to hold their little one.
The couple hadn't been expecting the baby until Jan. 11, but were thankful for the chance to get to meet her a bit earlier.
They got that chance on Jan. 2 when Blake Annarielle Connors entered the world at 10:29 p.m. weighing 7 pounds, 8 ounces.
What they hadn’t expected was that their baby would be the first of 2017 to be born at the Aberdeen Hospital in New Glasgow.
After Heidi gave birth there were a number of other women who went into labour.
“It seemed like the dominoes fell after us,” Chris said.
Blake is the couple’s first baby. They said she is healthy and seems to be a quiet baby so far, although she seems to be mixed up by being active all night and sleeping during the day.
“We’ve got to get her flipped so night is night and day is day,” Chris said with a laugh.
Already the couple has their baby girl wearing a Montreal Canadiens hat, the NHL hockey team that both parents favour.
Tuesday morning, Debbie MacDonald, manager of the women’s and children’s health unit, presented the family with a quilt and congratulated them on having the first baby of the year.
In 2016 there were 298 babies born at the Aberdeen hospital. Of those, 137 were girls and 161 were boys according to statistics provided by the Nova Scotia Health Authority.
Nova Scotians had two clear favourites in 2016 for babies’ names – Olivia and William. According to Nova Scotia’s Registry of Vital Statistics, this year Nova Scotia welcomed at least 48 babies named Olivia and 62 named William.
Of the 7,318 registered births in Nova Scotia up to Dec. 19, the top five girls names were Olivia, Abigail, Ava, Emma and Charlotte, while the top five boys names were William, Benjamin, Oliver, Noah and Liam.
Boys names have remained fairly consistent over the years with only two new names on the list for 2016 compared to 2015 – John and James. In contrast, eight new names have been added to the girls list for 2016 from 2015. They are, Violet, Ilsa, Isabella, Claire, Lily, Evelyn, Ella and Ivy.
Nova Scotia began formally registering births on Aug. 1, 1864. The most popular girl’s name was Mary, and for boys, John.
Following are the top baby names for boys and girls born in Nova Scotia in 2016:
GIRLS
Olivia (48), Abigail (40), Ava (38), Emma (38) Charlotte (35), Violet (34), Amelia (32), Sophie (30), Claire (29), Sophia (28), Evelyn (27), Isla (27), Lily (27), Scarlett (26), Ellie (25), Isabella (25), Emily (24), Madison (24), Chloe (23), Brooklyn (22), Ella (22), Ivy (22).
BOYS
William (62), Benjamin (47), Oliver (47), Noah (40), Liam (39), Owen (37), Ethan (36), Hunter (35), Jacob (35), Logan (35), Mason (35), Lucas (34), Henry (32), Emmett (31), Jack (31), John (31), Wyatt (30), Carter (29), James (29), Jackson (28).