Migdaliz Rivera’s due date for her pregnancy was not for a few more days, so she wasn’t really thinking about having St. Croix’s first baby of the new year.
But when her blood pressure started fluctuating dangerously Saturday, her doctor decided to induce labor, leapfrogging her to the front of the line. Eight hours later, at 2:36 a.m. Jan. 1, she gave birth to John Anthony Cruz, a 5-pound, 2-ounce boy, at Gov. Juan F. Luis Memorial Hospital.
Still sounding tired in a phone interview from her hospital bed Sunday night, Rivera said her nurses kept telling her, "You’re going to have the first baby of the year. I kept saying, ‘Nah, no I won’t,’ but at 2:36 I got him."
JFL will hold a ceremony Monday to honor both the first baby born at the hospital in the new year and the last baby born in 2011. According to Pamela Toussaint-Sanes, communication and community coordinator for the hospital, the last child born at JFL in 2011 was "Baby Girl" Huggins. She was born at 9:19 a.m. Saturday and weighed in at 5 pounds, 15 ounces. Neither the child’s nor parent’s first names were released by the hospital. According to Toussaint-Sanes, mother and child went home Sunday.
The hospital and local store owners have donated gifts that will be presented Monday at a time to be determined.
