County's New Year's baby arrives Jan. 2
She arrived too late for the Rose Parade and the bowl games, but she was still the first baby born in Butler County in 2020.
Arriving at 7:38 a.m. Thursday at Butler Memorial Hospital by cesarean section, the as-yet-unnamed 6-pound, 9-ounce, 18-inch-long girl is the daughter of Rachel and Timothy Smith of Butler.
Rachel Smith, 29, said her daughter's due date was Jan. 4, but when it was discovered that she was going to have a breech delivery, the decision was made to schedule a cesarean section. “It's better to schedule the C-section early before the mother goes into labor and has to have an emergency C-section,” said Nancy Gross, nursing supervisor of obstetrics at the hospital.
The procedure was scheduled for 7 a.m. Thursday.
“I was really afraid, but a whole bunch of the staff that was there with me helped me and distracted me,” the new mother said.
Timothy Smith added, “It was pretty amazing. We left the room at 7 and it was done at 7:38.”
Rachel Smith was given a sedative that numbed her from the midchest, and her surgeons — Drs. Mildred Duvet and Caitlin Bump — performed the operation.
“They held my hand and talked me through it. They kept me distracted,” the new mother said of the operating room staff.
Timothy Smith said his wife was awake during the procedure, and he was in the operating room with her as he had planned.
When the operation was done, he said, “They held her over the drape real fast, so she (Rachel) could see her.”
“It was a little like 'The Lion King,'” Rachel Smith added.Gross said Little Miss New Year was quickly cleaned off and placed on her mother's chest skin-to-skin to start the bonding process.Gross said the father was in the recovery room with his wife and child and planned to sleep at the hospital until they were discharged.“It's for the family process. We want them to be comfortable,” Gross said.This is the first child for the Smiths, who both work for Cook Medical in Vandergrift. They've picked out a name for their newborn girl, but have been keeping it to themselves until they could tell their families.She's one of the latest New Year's babies in the 30 years Gross has been working at the hospital.
