First baby of 2018 arrives at Queensway Carleton Hospital

Matthew Pearson
Ottawa Citizen
Mon, 01 Jan 2018 23:02 UTC

Even though his wife, Mirna Aloula, was nine months' pregnant and had contractions throughout the weekend, Anthony Rabaa didn't expect his fourth child to actually arrive on the Jan. 1 due date.

"We thought it would be a quiet, relaxing New Year's Eve," the 39-year-old said Monday.

Famous last words: 24 minutes after midnight on New Year's Day - while revellers across the city had barely finished belting out beer-soaked renditions of Auld Lang Syne - their daughter Tia Mirna Rabaa made her grand entrance at Queensway Carleton Hospital. She was the first baby born in the Ottawa region in 2018.

"It was a big surprise," Rabaa said.

Weighing in at 3.4 kilograms - or seven pounds, five ounces - Baby Tia has a full head of fine dark hair, deep blue eyes and a sweet little button nose. She yawned a few times, but otherwise didn't let out a peep as reporters and photographers fawned over her, a journalism tradition for those scheduled to work on Jan. 1.

Her pink cap matched her onesie adorned with elephants, and her pink booties trimmed with white faux fur.
Taking her moment in the spotlight like a natural, Baby Tia opened her eyes for the camera and even winked once or twice.

The birth story Baby Tia's parents will tell her someday goes like this: After experiencing contractions all weekend, the couple called the hospital on Sunday afternoon and made arrangements to go in for a check-up.

After an assessment, the doctor, according to Rabaa, asked if they wanted to have the baby that day. "Yes, let's have the baby!," Aloula announced. And so it was she found herself induced at 7 p.m. and in labour shortly thereafter.

After the initial excitement surrounding Baby Tia's birth had passed, Aloula nursed her second daughter and soon watched closely as she slept closeby in a bassinette. Aloula, however, says she didn't get much sleep because she kept waking to check on her new baby.

Later Monday, Aloula and Rabaa were to be joined at the hospital by their daughter, Hanna, two-and-a-half, and Talal and Gabriella, Rabaa's grown children from a previous relationship.

The couple met in Lebanon eight years ago while Rabaa was vacationing there. Aloula, 27, arrived in Canada the following year and the family now calls Barrhaven home.

They had only positive words for the staff of the Queensway Carleton Hospital.

Tom Schonberg, the hospital's president and chief executive, broke the happy news with a statement early Monday: "The first baby of a new year is always exciting. It reminds us of the hope we have for our community and the potential inside each and every one of us. We wish the family much health and happiness."

In the Outaouais, the first baby of the new year was also a girl. Isla Kelly was born at 3:17 a.m. at L'Hôpital de Gatineau. The daughter of Brennan Kelly and Katherine Mackenzie weighed 4.3 kilograms - nine pounds, five ounces.