‘First of her generation’: Chris Delia and Stephanie Grace welcome their New Year baby
The parents of Barwon Health’s first baby of the year could not be happier as they edge closer to giving the 3.68kg girl a name.
Geelong
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A Geelong couple has celebrated the New Year in the best way possible, welcoming a baby girl in the early hours of 2025.
Now, she just needs a name.
What started as a quiet New Year’s Eve for Stephanie Grace and Chris Delia quickly turned into a night they will never forget.
Along with their four-year-old daughter Marnie, the couple were with friends before heading to bed early.
They didn’t sleep for long.
“She (Stephanie) woke me up at 1am, we got to the hospital around 2am,” Mr Delia said.
Due on Boxing Day, the couple had planned for a water birth, but after three hours their little girl’s heart rate had started to slow and they were rushed into an emergency caesarean.
At 5.30am, she was brought into the world at Geelong hospital weighing 3.68kg, in the process becoming Barwon Health’s first baby of the year.
“It had turned a bit scary so when she came out fine it was a big relief,” Mr Delia said.
“She’s definitely very wriggly already and making lots of sounds.”
Mr Delia said Marnie had not yet met her little sister, who was close to having a name.
Ms Grace said it had taken the couple a week to name Marnie, as wanted to get to know their baby first.
“She’s super chill and doing all the right things … and sounding like a little guinea pig in her dad’s arm,” she said.
This year marks the start of Generation Beta, which will continue until 2039.
“She’s one of the first in her generation in the world, that’s pretty amazing,” Ms Grace said.
“Emergency C-section was not in the birth plan, but (now) we are a family of four and very happy.”
Around 40 babies were born in the early hours of 2025 across Victoria, including one at 4am at Geelong’s St John of God Hospital.
Last year saw more than 80,000 births registered in Victoria, with March proving the busiest month.
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Originally published as ‘First of her generation’: Chris Delia and Stephanie Grace welcome their New Year baby
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