New parents James,32, and Margret Free, 34, of Butler welcomed their newborn Charles Edward Free, at 2:07 p.m. Jan. 1. He was Butler Memorial Hospital's first baby of 2022. He was born two weeks early and weighed 7 pounds at birth.

Margaret and James Free's first child was due for delivery Jan. 14, but Margaret's co-workers joked that she would end up giving birth on New Year's Day.

“Not possible,” she said.

Their son, Charles Edward Free, would end up missing the New Year's Eve festivities, but not by much.

“We were actually out with friends in New Year's Eve for a get-together,” Margaret said. “We didn't get home until like 2 (a.m.), and my water broke at 4 (a.m.).”

Charles Edward Free was born at 2:07 p.m. Jan. 1 at Butler Memorial Hospital — about 12 hours after his parents returned from the New Year's Eve gathering, Margaret said.

Read more in Sunday's Butler Eagle.