'Excited just to start motherhood': Louisville couples welcome first babies of new year
Three Louisville hospitals welcomed the first babies of the new year on Saturday.
Archie Loveland was born first at Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital at 12:03 a.m. on Jan. 1 to Karissa and Austin Loveland. He weighs eight pounds and 11.5 ounces and is 20.5 inches long.
Archie's mother, Karissa, was admitted to the hospital and due Dec. 31, but "he just wanted to wait in there a little bit longer," she said. "So he was expected, but he was just a few minutes late."
Kentucky weather: State of emergency issued in Kentucky as rain, cold temperatures bring possible tornadoes
"I was stoked," father Austin said of the New Year's Day birth. "I wanted that title ... our baby's going to be firstborn in Louisville."
Archie is the Louisville couple's first child. Of all the names they went back and forth on, Archie is the only one that stuck.
"I'm excited just to start motherhood because I've always wanted to be a mom," Karissa said in a video interview Saturday.
Now that Archie is here, Austin, who is in his second year of dental school, said he's excited about his next big step — a new hairdo.
"I've kind of been waiting for the baby to come to cut my mullet, finally," he said. "I've had it for a little over a year now. It's just been getting too long. I want to cut it. I kind of just wanted a picture with baby and the mullet, so now I can get it cut without pics."
"He'll be a new man," Karissa said.
Just over an hour after Archie's arrival, Payson Grace Cecil was born at Baptist Health Louisville at 1:05 a.m. on New Year's Day, weighing in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces.
Parents, Josh and Jessica (and big sister, Piper) were excited to welcome their newest family member into the world.
Payson’s name was chosen by her father based on a television show that he enjoyed watching called "Make It or Break It," Jessica Cecil told Baptist. The name of one character on the show was Payson and it remained in his mind for naming their second daughter.
One in 3,000: How this Louisville woman fought and survived breast cancer while pregnant
Payson’s birth is not only special for her family because she is the first baby born in 2022 to Baptist Health Louisville; it was also an anniversary present for her parents. The Cecils celebrated seven years of marriage on Dec. 31, 2021.
“We are so blessed," Jessica said in a news release. “We just can’t wait to get Payson home and introduce her to her sister.”
Finally, Sophie Ross was born at the University of Louisville Hospital at 8:36 a.m. on Jan. 1 to Elizabeth and Garett Ross. She weighs six pounds and eight ounces and is 20 inches long.
Contact Ayana Archie at aarchie@courier-journal.com or follow on Twitter @AyanaArchie. Support strong local journalism by subscribing to The Courier Journal.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville hospitals welcome 2022 New Year's babies
