Welcome to the world! Melbourne hospital ushers in first three babies of 2022
As Brevard County rang in the new year, a Melbourne hospital welcomed three babies into the world on the first day of 2022.
In the early morning hours of New Year's Day, the three newborns arrived in the Labor and Delivery Unit at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, said Bobby Ampezzan, a spokesperson for the hospital.
The babies arrived within 40 minutes of one another, between about 2:35 a.m. and 3:13 a.m., Ampezzan said. The babies and all three mothers are "doing great," he added.
One couple from Palm Bay had been hoping their daughter would arrive the day before, they told Ampezzan.
Kalei and Logan Edmondson welcomed their second child at about 2:45 a.m., Ampezzan said. The stay-at-home mom and the dad transitioning to a career in the U.S. Army are still deciding on a name for their little girl, who measured 20 inches and weighed 7 pounds and 15 ounces.
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The parents, who have a 2½-year-old son, said they had hoped she would be born New Year's Eve, with Kalei saying they were "trying to get the little [tax] deductions and compensation for her being stubborn."
Kalei went into labor New Year's Eve morning, though the baby had turned into a breech position the day before, "tossing the couple's plans out the window," Ampezzan said. Before Kalei was induced, an ultrasound revealed the baby was head-down again.
"She was literally doing cartwheels before she arrived," Kalei said.
She added that she thinks it will be "fun to have her birthday on New Year's Day."
Holmes Regional Medical Center sees more than 3,000 births each year, Ampezzan said. Approximately 5,000 births take place in Brevard County each year.
Finch Walker is a Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or fwalker@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @_finchwalker
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Three babies born early New Year's morning at Melbourne hospital
