43
By ED RUNYAN
By Ed Runyan
YOUNGSTOWN
It’s considered good luck to be born the first day of the year, exciting to be the first baby born in the area.
But to Becky Wollet of New Waterford, the birth of her second son, Ryder, at 4:10 a.m. was so much more than just lucky.
“I just wanted a healthy baby,” she said, and that’s what she got.
Wollet should know; she’s a nurse clinical specialist at St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital, where Ryder was born early Thursday.
There are several perks she and her husband, Dienez Wollet, received for having the first baby in the Mahoning Valley of 2015 — gifts from the hospital including a blanket, stuffed animal and picture frames. It’s debatable how lucky it is to have strangers from local news outlets coming into the room all day.
Fortunately for Becky and Ryder, who weighed in at a healthy 8 pounds 3 ounces and 20.5 inches, both mom and baby looked remarkably comfortable in spite of their night’s worth of labor.
Ryder’s birth was not planned for New Year’s Day. He was due Jan. 15, but Becky says she seems to be a “fast cooker,” since her older son was two weeks early as well.
Becky and the mother of the first baby born in Trumbull County Thursday, Julia Gadd of Warren, agreed that there’s another nice thing about having a New Year’s baby.
“I think it’s a cool birth date,” Becky said. “No matter what, there will always be a party for his birthday. I hope he likes pork and sauerkraut.”
Said Gadd, “It’s great. She’s going to have the best birthdays.” Luci, Gadd’s first child, was born at 11:31 a.m. at St. Joseph Warren Hospital. Luci weighed slightly more than Ryder — 8 pounds, 4 ounces — but was the same length, 20.5 inches.
Luci was not only healthy;she was “talkative,” Gadd said of her daughter, who was due Jan. 8.
St. Joseph Warren Hospital also had goodies to give to Gadd and the baby’s father, Jacob Penzerro of Farrell, Pa. — a diaper bag full of useful items and an Eastwood Mall gift card.