A new life, a new family and a new year

TRURO - Arriving on the second floor of the Colchester Regional Hospital Saturday morning, visitors quickly realized something special had happened.
Jessie Marie McRae was the star of the floor. That's impressive for a one-day-old child.
Her claim to fame?
She was the first baby of 2010 born at the hospital.
"It's absolutely unique ... she's the first baby (here) of the decade and that makes her very, very special," said dad Jeffrey McRae, 27, originally from Nuttby Mountain.
Jeffrey and wife Charlotte welcomed their daughter at 5:44 a.m. New Year's Day. The McRaes live in Greenwood but spent the holidays in Truro to be near relatives for their child's birth. Jeffrey is originally from Nuttby Mountain.
"Her due date was Dec. 23. It was unexpected that she would be the New Year's baby and I didn't even think of it at first," said Charlotte, 26.
It's difficult to not consider it now, though. Friends, family and staff of the hospital have been marvelling at the infant's timing since she came into the world.
"People keep commenting how cool it is and asking if she is the New Year's baby," said Charlotte.
Jeffrey said the symbolism between a new life and a new year have not been lost on the family.
"A new life, a new family and a new year ... it all ties in together perfectly," he said.
Within the first hour of Jessie Marie's life, the proud parents were taking photos.
"That is coming out on her wedding day," laughed Jeffrey.
The child is the first for the couple, who were married in June 2009. They hope to have two more children.
Miriam Cox, an RN at the hospital, said
the arrival of the first New Year's baby is never boring.
"I've been in nursing 34 years ... seven of them here ... and it's still exciting. There's a rush," said Cox.
Cox said hospitals tend to have a
playful competition regarding which facility has the first baby of the year, provincially and nationally.
Those statistics were not available on the weekend.
The Girl Guides of Canada presented the McRae family with a gift package, celebrating the first baby girl born in the Colchester East Hants District Health Authority.
The organization is presenting a package to the first female born in each of the nine capital health districts.

mchiasson@trurodaily.com