News
New Year's Day Baby The First Of 2010 At Riverview
By John Burton
RED BANK - It was an exceptionally happy New Year's for Alicia Schaarschmidt.
Schaarschmidt gave birth on New Year's Day, delivering a healthy eight pound 12 ounce boy last Friday morning, the first child to be born at Riverview Medical Center in the new year.
Schaarschmidt, 25, Cliffwood Beach, came to the medical center here in the borough at about 6:30 a.m. The baby had been expected by Christmas day, Schaarschmidt said, so by New Year's her doctor recommended inducing labor. "We knew it was going to be either Christmas or New Year's," she said.
The doctor's performed a Caesarean section to deliver David, in part because of the child's large chest and shoulders, Schaarschmidt said.
"It was a hard pregnancy," she acknowledged. "But I'd do it all over again for the little guy."
Schaarschmidt's grandmother was her labor coach and was with her, keeping the rest of the family up to date on what was happening. When Schaarschmidt first saw her little guy, "He was doing a lot of screaming," she remembered.
Schaarschmidt and her grandmother decided on calling her new son David because they both liked the name, and went with Wesley as his middle name because it was her great grandfather's middle name, she explained.
The holiday season is a hectic time of the year, but try it while being nine months pregnant. Schaarschmidt had to rely on her grandmother to do her holiday shopping as she prepared for David's birth. It may not have been the most advantageous time of the year, but after giving it a little bit of thought, Schaarschmidt concluded, "I think anytime of the year is a good time of the year to have a baby.
"I mean, anytime a baby is born, it's special."
Last year, 1,475 babies were born at Riverview, according to Tom Paolella, the medical center's public relations manager. But only one can be first of the year - a distinction not lost on Schaarschmidt.
"I'm going to make sure he knows it," she said. "It just makes him just a little bit more special."
