Families in Melbourne’s east share their New Year’s Day baby joy

Some went into labour one year, and gave birth the next — meet the mums from Melbourne’s east whose precious new bundles were among Australia’s first babies born in the new decade. SEE PICTURES

Ringwood North parents Mary and Seth Winkles at home with their baby boy Sariel, the first baby born at Box Hill Hospital for the decade. Picture: Julian Smith

Three proud families in Melbourne’s east welcomed new additions to their families on New Year’s Day, making them among Australia’s first babies born for the decade.

When Mary Winkles went in to labour at 2pm on New Year’s Eve, it never occurred to her that her son might be the first baby born at Box Hill Hospital for the decade.

In fact, she’d have preferred little Sariel didn’t take so long in arriving.

Ringwood North mother Mary Winkles says she would have been happy if her son Sariel arrived a little sooner rather than later. Picture: Julian Smith

“If given the chance I’d have pushed him out straight away, but he had bigger plans,” she laughed.

“He wanted to be born in the next decade.”

Sariel was officially born with a clean bill of health at 12.26am, the water birth being the first birth at the hospital for the 2020s.

Mary said she and husband Seth, from Ringwood North, had planned for a water birth.

“I wanted a water birth and that’s what we did. My husband and I did a heap of birthing classes for five weeks,” she said.

Associate Midwifery unit manager Susan Terrill said NYE was an exciting time to work in maternity.

“A woman can go in to labour one year, and have her baby the next,” she said.

“Baby Sariel’s birth was made even more exciting as he came in to the world during a beautiful water birth.”

Liam Alvandi’s parents hope he’ll share their love of academia and music.

Liam Alp Alvandi couldn’t wait to get a headstart on life when he arrived 19 days early to celebrate New Year’s Day with his parents, Maryam Anjiri and Abraham Alvandi of Clayton.

He was born at Cabrini hospital in Malvern at 8.31am weighing 2.5kg.

Mr Alvandi said while his son’s early arrival took everyone by surprise, he was glad to meet him earlier than expected.

“I just want him to have a healthy and safe life,” he said.

“We are both academics, so we hope he pursues further education and maybe sports as well.

“We would love for him to learn the piano and the Azerbaijani tar, a musical instrument from my home country.”

Liam is the couple’s first child.

Nhu Mai Hoang of Ormond with baby Amy Mai Lan Pham, born on New Year’s Day 2020.

Nhu Mai Hoang of Ormond welcomed baby Amy into the world at lunchtime on January 1 weighing 3.62kg at Monash Medical Centre in Clayton.

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Amy is the family’s third child and Ms Hoang said her professional career in environmental science meant she had a strong interest in the world that would be passed on to the younger generation.

“As a mother who has environmental science background, I hope she will live in a peaceful world with minimum effects from climate change,” she said.