New Year’s Baby 2008
What better way to start a New Year and a new life than to be born at 12:01 am on the morning of January 1, 2008? Across the world there are prizes given to the first baby born in the New Year– everything from Savings bonds donated by local banks, bouquets of flowers or free diapers given by the hospital, manicures and donuts for the new mom, and gift certificates for dinners out and baby gear. It seems that every hospital across the country has special gifts set aside for that lucky first baby born after the stroke of midnight.
Some have asked why prizes aren’t given to the last baby born of the year and why the first baby is more special. Well, the answer is that the baby isn’t more special because she was born a minute after midnight instead of a minute before. Every baby is just as special and unique, but the way we calculate time and days, the rollover of a New Year traditionally is a big deal– and what better way to ring in the New Year than with a new life.
The parents of a baby born on December 31 have the prize of getting a tax deduction for that year. The parents of a baby born on January 1, unless they schedule a C-section delivery to be completed at exactly the stroke of midnight, don’t have any say as to what day or time their child will be born. But why not reward that hard work that delivered the baby precisely after midnight with a little extra gift, more than just the joy of looking into the newborn’s face and welcoming the baby into the world.
So, would I plan my pregnancy to have a due date of January 1, 2008 and schedule my labor to be induced in the hopes of winning the prize and the prestige and the fifteen minutes of fame for my newborn? Not a chance– because any day that a baby is born is a special and wonderful day and a new beginning for a new life. Of course, if the hospital still wanted to give me a year’s supply of free diapers I wouldn’t complain!
Let me know how you feel about the New Year’s baby tradition with a comment. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!