A Tofino couple welcomed West Coast General Hospital’s first baby of the decade in Port Alberni on New Year’s Day.
Mariella Hermosilla and Matty Westcott said hello to their son, Ollie Mateo Norman Westcott, at 7:39 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. He weighed eight pounds, eight ounces as he was delivered by caesarean section after more than 50 hours of labour.
“I started labour on the 30th (of December),” explained Hermosilla. “[Wednesday] we decided to come to the hospital.”
Hermosilla and Westcott had originally planned to have a home birth. They had a “really good team” prepared, said Hermosilla, with their siblings and a midwife around to help with the delivery.
“It was a beautiful experience,” said Hermosilla.
“Then we ended up in here [at WCGH],” Westcott laughed.
After another 12 hours of labour at the hospital, Ollie was finally delivered by C-section.
“In the end, it was going to be the only way he was coming,” said Westcott.
Ollie is Hermosilla’s first child, although Westcott has two other children with a previous partner. He said he is excited for Ollie to meet his older siblings.
Ollie was originally due to arrive on Boxing Day; Westcott explained that it was a bit of an “ongoing joke” that Ollie would arrive just in time to ring in 2020.
“He always wanted to be a 2020 baby,” Hermosilla said.
“We expected he was going to make a bang and arrive on New Year’s Day,” Westcott said. “He’s gonna be a real party animal when he’s older,” he added with a laugh.
For both parents, it was “the best ever” way to start the new year.
“Now we have a birthday to celebrate,” Hermosilla said.
Hermosilla and Westcott thanked their home birth team—especially Holly Pinto and midwife Sarah Bjorgan—as well as the team at West Coast General Hospital.
“They were all amazing,” said Westcott.
The first baby in the province to be born this year arrived at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster at 12:01 a.m., while the first baby on Vancouver Island arrived at Victoria General Hospital at 12:17 a.m.
elena.rardon@albernivalleynews.com
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