Baby boys make grand entrance for 2025

While Vincentians and visitors were attending celebrations to mark the start of a new year, at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH) two families were having celebrations of a different nature as they welcomed the first babies born for 2025.

Baby Charles, born to Anna Dudley, was the first baby born for 2025.

Romansia Ollivierre, age 28; and Anna Dudley, age 29, welcomed baby boys on January 1, 2025. Both mothers were expecting their bundles of joy would have arrived on December 25, Christmas Day.

Dudley, a mother of three, told SEARCHLIGHT that Old Year’s Night quickly turned into an eventful one when her water broke around 10:45 p.m. She explained that because her labour was progressing differently than with her first two children, she believed the baby may have come quickly.

With a slew of events taking place on the south coast and around Kingstown, the family made the decision to travel from their Ratho Mill home to the Georgetown Hospital instead of the MCMH in Kingstown.

“We figured it would be faster to go to Georgetown. I was concerned that the baby was going to come pretty soon, and when we got there they said they don’t have a maternity ward.”

She said jokingly she had hoped that the team at the Windward hospital would still be able to “catch baby”, however arrangements were made for a transfer to the MCMH.

“In the ambulance it felt like kind of a crazy ride, but I was glad that my husband was there with me. When we came down it was around 3:00 a.m, so there was no traffic.”

They arrived at the MCMH after 3:00 a.m and Baby Charles became the first 2025 baby, entering the world at 6:22 a.m weighing 2.7 kilograms.

“The day I was full term was actually Christmas Day, and with my firstborn I went into labour on the day that I was full term, and my daughter was born on her due date so we thought we might have a Christmas baby.”

Dudley can boast of now holding three birth-related records. In addition to having the first baby born at MCMH for this year, her second-born, a girl, holds the record for being the longest baby born in the British Columbia Province of Canada at 55 centimeters. On her father’s side of the family, the daughter is the first girl born in 52 years.

The Dudley children were all born in different countries- France, Canada and SVG, and Anna said while living abroad and raising a family does have its challenges, it also presents opportunities for new adventures and experiences. She said her hope is that Baby Charles will emulate this in his life.

“I hope that he would love new experiences and meeting new people and also have faith to take great adventures. Also, to enjoy all kinds of experiences, even if it is kind of scary and do it with people that you love.”

Meanwhile, Ollivierre welcomed the second 2025 baby, Shiloh, at 11:45 a.m. The mother of four boys was pleasantly surprised at the weight of her almost eight-pound bundle of joy.

“He’s a very big baby. All my other kids weighed 2.7 kg and he came at over 3.3 [kg].

“I was praying for a girl and then I did the ultrasound and a ‘he’ popped up, so I started calling him Shiloh.”

She shared with SEARCHLIGHT the challenges she encountered during the first trimester of pregnancy with Shiloh.

“When I found out that I was having another baby I was working on the cruise line. I came home immediately because we were in a part of the world where the waters are very rough, so morning sickness was a hassle. I came home at nine weeks.

“I wasn’t eating, I was losing weight, and I couldn’t perform at work and I had to be calling in sick a lot … I felt like I was putting strain on the team.”

She made the decision to take maternity leave, return home to rest, and spend time with her three older children. While the remainder of the pregnancy passed without incident, baby Shiloh stirred up around Christmas Day.

“He was actually supposed to be born on the 27th of December. He tricked me, because on Christmas Eve I had a false alarm. I started having contractions, but then it stopped.”

Ollivierre arrived at the MCMH around 8:00 a.m on January 1, and doctors informed her that she had to be induced as the labour was not progressing as expected. She sang the praises of her delivery team of nurses that assisted during the birth.

“The team that took care of me was amazing. They really took their time with me.”

Ollivierre said she is looking forward to being back home with her three oldest and her newest addition to bond before she returns to work.

SVG recorded two births on Christmas Day, 2024; both babies were girls.