OLEAN — Xavier LeBarron faced long odds to be the first baby born at Olean General Hospital in 2017.
He had a due date of Jan. 9, and when he began to arrive early on New Year’s Eve night, his parents were out at dinner an hour’s drive from the hospital.
Yet he was born at 7:50 a.m. Sunday weighing 6 pounds and 12.5 ounces in Olean General, earning him the designation of “New Year’s baby” and a bassinet full of items like diapers and clothing donated by the maternity ward staff.
The calm baby boy was still resting Monday afternoon in the ward with his parents, Leilani Callahan and Robert LeBarron of Randolph, who called having the New Year’s baby “special.”
They certainly didn’t expect to be parents of the first baby born in Olean in 2017. When Callahan began to feel as if she may go into labor while she and LeBarron enjoyed a date at Fuji Sushi and Steak House in Lakewood, she said it was both scary and exciting.
Despite having to make what Callahan called “quite the drive” to Olean, the two arrived at the hospital in time. They even had a few moments to spare, as they stopped home in Randolph on the way there for some prepacked items.
Hospital staff informed them in the delivery room that Xavier would be the first baby born in the hospital during the new year.
Nurse Amy Wojcik said the staff is always excited to meet the New Year’s baby, noting it’s usually impossible to predict who it will be. The process is sometimes ridden with drama: In some years multiple women are in labor at the same time; in other years several days pass before the first baby is born.
This year the maternity staff took it upon itself to donate items for the New Year’s baby, Wojcik said. Someone even donated a bassinet.
“There’s diapers, there’s bibs, there’s clothing, there’s quilts,” Wojcik said. “It was whatever each individual wanted to donate and could donate.”
Callahan and LeBarron were appreciative of the gifts, as LeBarron noted they were in need of a bassinet.
“Now we have one. It makes it a lot easier,” he said.
The two are used to holiday babies, as Xavier’s 13-month-old brother was born on Thanksgiving last year.
The older brother got a chance to meet his new younger brother in the hospital.
“At first he was a little apprehensive, but right when he was leaving he put the side of his face right down on him gently,” LeBarron said. “He’s going to love his little brother — pick on him a little bit, but that’s what brothers do.”
Callahan said she thinks Xavier’s birth will be the start of an exciting year, though LeBarron noted there will be “no more babies for us for a couple years.”
“No more holidays if it means babies,” Callahan said with a laugh.
Wojcik said it’s rewarding for the maternity staff to see new life begin and families grow in size, and that’s why they always want the first baby of the year to be special.
“Every patient and family and delivery and newborn is different that comes through here. They have their own story to tell,” she said. “I think we’re very nurturing and care about our patients and do the best for them.”
