Ready for his close-up: Wayne County's first baby of the new year makes his debut
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on January 2, 2013 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/TROY HERRING
Little Elliott Asher Zachwieja sleeps in his mom, Amanda's arms, oblivious to the fact that he is now First Baby of 2013.
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News-Argus/TROY HERRING
Amanda and Daniel Zachwieja welcome their newborn baby boy, Elliott Asher, into the world at Wayne Memorial Hospital Tuesday. Baby Elliott, 7 pounds, 5 ounces, was the first born of the New Year for Wayne County at the time of 5:13 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2013. He has a sister, Juliet, 7.
When Amanda Zachwieja started having contractions around 2 p.m. Monday afternoon, her initial thoughts were not on winning any sort of pool predicting the baby's birth -- they were on doing her job.
"I was having contractions, but they weren't really bothering me, so I just kept right on working," she said, figuring, "I might as well stay at work. My friend was at work. We were timing my contractions all day."
Jan. 2 was the actual due date for the accounts manager at Mega Force Staffing, so she continued working until her typical quitting time, 5 o'clock.
"I knew payroll had to be processed, so I stayed and got that done," she said.
She and her husband, Daniel, who live in the Rosewood community, decided to go to the hospital around 7:30 Monday evening. The baby was delivered at 5:13 a.m. Tuesday, making it Wayne County's first baby born in 2013.
The couple already has one child. Juliet, 7, a first-grader at Rosewood Elementary School. A friend watched their daughter while her younger sibling came into the world.
The delivery was different this time, Mrs. Zachwieja said, as she had a C-section. It wasn't scheduled, though, so, no, she didn't arrange to have the first baby of the new year.
The new addition to the family was a boy -- Elliott Asher Zachwieja, who weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces and measured 19 3/4 inches long.
The couple, originally from Rocky Mount, Va., has been married 11 years. Daniel, a member of the 4th CMS Squadron, has been stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base for the past 12 years.
It's been nice to live in close proximity to family, Mrs. Zachwieja said Tuesday afternoon, anticipating their arrival.
She also can't wait to bring their son home from Wayne Memorial Hospital to be reunited with their firstborn.
"She's very excited. She helped with the nursery and everything. Now she'll have a real-life baby doll," Mrs. Zachwieja said. "I'm just excited to have one of each. It's going to be a lot different because boys are a lot different than girls.
"We're just excited to have another little one."