By Samaia Hernandez
Record-Journal staff

MERIDEN — On the final day of 2009, a rarity occurred. The second full moon of the month, a blue moon graced the skies, and one nurse in MidState Medical Center’s Birthing Center said it was to blame for the “wild day” that ensued on New Year’s Day.

Even those who disregard astrolog¬ical beliefs altogether cannot dispute how busy Friday became for hospital staff who delivered four babies by the late afternoon. However, the day was particularly special for city residents Margarita Leon and Juan Cortes Cortes, proud parents of the center’s first baby of 2010.

A standard bouquet of long stem red roses were delivered to Leon’s room as a sign of congratulations, and the women’s auxiliary donated a hand-knitted pink outfit for baby Yamilka Cortes Leon, born just four minutes shy of 9 a.m. Friday morning. “The most important thing is that she’s healthy,” said 34-year-old Leon, of her 20-inch tall, 7-pound, 4-ounce baby girl. “(The delivery) was fast.”

Cortes assumed the baby would be born in the middle of the night, when he rushed Leon to the hospital at 1 a.m. But after being sent away, the couple then returned again around 6:30 a.m. for a quick and healthy de¬livery.

“We were actually full when she came in, and didn’t have a room,” said Kristiana Gregg, labor and delivery nurse.

Doctor Marlene Waradzin delivered the baby in the operating room, as all 14 birthing rooms were filled with new and ex¬pecting mothers.

The first delivery then set off a momentum for the day that kept nurses and doctors busy all day long.

A second baby was deliv¬ered shortly after the first, and several more trailed, making it one of the busiest holidays, staff members said.

“There were several people in labor,” said Karen Edwards, a registered nurse who assisted with the delivery. “It was just a matter of time.”

First born babies across the country, however, didn’t wait until normal business hours to come into the world.

In Chicago a 29-year-old woman gave birth to a baby girl at exactly midnight on the city’s north side, while a baby boy was born 30 seconds into the new year in a different part of the city. Another baby girl was born in the state of Nebraska one minute into 2010.

Leon, who was assigned a due date of Jan. 15, said she wasn’t entirely shocked that her baby girl arrived earlier than expected, nor that it was on a holiday.

“I’m just very happy,” said the mother of three girls and two boys.

Cortes shared similar thoughts, noting that this Jan. 1, his New Year’s wish is for his baby girl.

“I hope that God grants me the privilege of seeing her grow up happy and healthy,” he said.