Kings County's Adventist Health welcomes first baby of New Year at 2:18 a.m. on Jan. 1

The baby’s mother, Michelle, was at her mother’s Hanford home on New Year’s Eve, making soup for her six-year-old son and planning to play board games with her siblings. They were all ready to ring in the new year when she began feeling strong contractions just after 11 p.m.

She and her boyfriend, Adrien, were expecting their second child on New Year’s Eve, so they were ready to head to the hospital at a moment’s notice. The two arrived at the Adventist Health Hanford Birth Center, and with the help of Dr. Richard Ellsworth and Registered Nurse Geneve Serrato, welcomed their baby girl early on New Year’s Day.

“We were hoping it would happen that way,” says Michelle. “Adrien kept telling me to hold the baby in until the New Year.”

They wanted a unique name for their baby girl, so they chose Ameyalli, which is an Aztec name, specifically from the Nahuatl tribe.