Mary Rutan Hospital’s first baby of the New Year and also of a new decade — Hollie AnnaMae Dawn Roberts — has a special crew who will be looking after her in the upcoming years.
The 9 pound 9.8 ounce, 21-inch long baby girl has three older sisters, ages 3 and younger, who couldn’t wait to meet her after her arrival at 11:36 a.m. New Year’s Day. Her parents, Alena and Corey Roberts of Bellefontaine, said their other three daughters had been counting down the days to meet their new sibling.
“When our oldest daughter, Hunter, arrived with her sisters to meet Hollie, she exclaimed, “It’s Hollie’s birthday!” Mrs. Roberts said of her 3-year-old. “She had been talking to my belly throughout the pregnancy and couldn’t wait to meet baby Hollie.
“While Hollie has a head of dark hair now, we are guessing that she will look a lot like each of her sisters, who are all blonde with blue eyes,” her father said.
Mrs. Roberts related that her fourth daughter arrived after a scheduled induction that began at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, a little less than a week ahead of her due date, Jan. 7, since her doctors advised that Hollie was measuring a little ahead of schedule.
The baby was delivered by midwife Kelley Dyer in a labor that progressed quickly, but unfortunately, Mrs. Roberts said her epidural did not take effect.
“It was very painful there at the end, but thankfully, Kelley coached me through it,” the 2013 Bellefontaine High School and Ohio Hi-Point Career Center graduate said.
The adventures of raising four girls, “four under four” as they noted, will keep the Roberts family on their toes, but the pair said they are used to tackling challenges head-on. In fact, their daughter Haven, who turns 1 Feb. 18, underwent open heart surgery Sept. 27 at Nationwide Children’s Hospital for the repair of an atrial septal defect and ventricular septal defect.
After spending just a few short days in the Columbus hospital recovering, Haven was released to come home and has been flourishing ever since then.
“She started to pull herself up just after we got home,” her mother said.
“She’s even walking now. Nothing is going to keep her down,” said Mr. Roberts, a 2005 BHS graduate. “We’re so thankful that the surgery and her recovery went so well. Now she’ll be going back for check-ups about every six month.”
Mr. and Mrs. Roberts, who said they met during a first date at Tim Hortons and were married in 2017, noted that Hollie’s middle name AnnaMae is after his late grandmother and middle name Dawn is after his late sister.
Hollie’s maternal grandmother is Paula Blair of Bellefontaine and maternal great-grandfather is Jim Blair Sr. of Bellefontaine. On Mr. Roberts’ side, her paternal grandfather is Brian Scott Roberts of Bellefontaine and paternal great-grandmother is Margaret Johnson of Bellefontaine.
Each year, Mary Rutan Hospital provides a special “Baby New Year Basket” to welcome the first baby of the New Year. The special gift basket includes numerous baby item memorabilia and a golden spoon.