Hospital welcomes first baby of '06

Although Sandra and Nathan Hughes were hesitant about heading to Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center on New Year's Eve because of nasty weather, within eight hours they had brought their first son into the world and the first baby born in 2006 at the hospital.

"Everything went good," said Sandra. "It just went perfect."

Michael Wayne arrived at 4:32 a.m.

Fortunately, the couple, who has lived in Carson City for more than 11Ú2 years, is within a three-minute drive of the hospital. But Sandra, who was supposed to be induced next Tuesday, was as surprised as anyone to be in the hospital on Near Year's Day.

"I think it's way cool," she said nestling the 9-pound, 2-ounce, 21-inch Michael Wayne in her arms. "People have New Year's resolutions and try to plan for the whole year. This is my planning right here. This is my whole year."

Nathan Hughes said Michael Wayne weighted exactly as much as he did when he was born - according to his mom. That the baby was taking after Dad was the general consensus, especially because of his shock of blond hair.

Michael Wayne will have plenty of feminine attention as he grows. He has four older siblings, and they are all girls: Heather, 14; Melissa, 11; Erin, 11; and Kaitlyn, 8.

"This has been a long time coming," dad said. "The girls have gotten tired of riding motorcycles and playing baseball. We were hoping for a boy."

As of Sunday afternoon, only Heather had seen her baby brother, but Nathan's brother, Dan, and Michael Wayne's grandmother, Sheri, were also at the hospital to witness his birth.

"They were all here from the beginning, and Dan was pretty excited," said Nathan. "He's got two girls of his own. This is the first boy. It's like it's everyone's boy."

Although Nathan was loathe to admit he hopes his son becomes a pro-baseball player - "He can be whatever he wants" - Sandra said Dad hopes Michael Wayne will be an athlete. The Cincinnati-Kansas playoff game hummed quietly on the TV in the room.

"I don't even know where to begin," said Nathan. "I've been raising girls all my life."

With a weather-related state of emergency declared Saturday in Carson City, Sandra said they were nervous about the drive to the hospital. Her contractions began New Year's Eve as her daughter's friends were at the house to celebrate. She and Nathan arrived at Carson Tahoe about 8:30 p.m.

The baby-to-be kept family and nurses excited about being the first of 2006.

"We were all thinking about it," Sandra said.

The family considers the birth of Michael Wayne, whose first name comes from his paternal grandfather and second name from his maternal grandfather, to be a harbinger of hope for the new year.

"It means it's going to be a good year," said Dad.

n Contact reporter Maggie O'Neill at moneill@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.