First baby of 2009 arrived 10 days earlier than expected

Published 11:23 pm Friday, January 2, 2009

LAKE STEVENS — Janice and Shawn Gooch were relaxing in their living room watching “Patton” when they got the first indication they wouldn’t be spending New Year’s Eve at home.

Around 10 p.m., Janice Gooch, 37, pregnant with their fourth child, felt a strong contraction harden her belly. She’d had some light contractions earlier, but this one caught her by surprise. Her due date wasn’t until the 10th.

When the next two contractions came strong, five minutes apart, she knew it was time.

“They had told me it was my fourth baby and it would come fast,” she said.

Her doctor was right.

The couple arrived at the hospital just before midnight. Not long after the clock ticked over to a new year, their daughter, Gracyn, was born at 1:36 a.m., the first baby to arrive in Snohomish County in 2009. She weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and was 19 inches long. She was pink, healthy, her head topped with a swirl of black silky hair.

Her parents couldn’t be happier — or more exhausted.

The couple has three sandy-haired, boisterous boys, all under the age of 5.

When the doctor placed baby Gracyn on Mom’s chest, Dad had one thought: beautiful.

“I was happy she had dark hair,” laughed Mom.

The hospital sent the family home with a basket full of baby clothes, toys and diapers. Home for the first time Friday, the baby spent her first hours sleeping, yawning, stretching — oblivious to her three older brothers, Benjamin, 4; Jackson, 3; and Samuel, nearly 2.

That’s quite a feat, since these three little guys seemed to be heading in eight directions. As Gracyn lay in her mother’s arms in pink, fluffy striped pajamas, the boys had to be reminded: “Gentle!” “Careful with the baby!” and “No fighting over Gracy!”

Jackson has already told his parents Gracyn is his.

So far, she’s proving to be mellower than her brothers, her parents said.

When Shawn Gooch, 38, contemplates a future with his daughter, he knows nobody will mess with her.

“They’ve got to get through me and all three of her brothers,” said Dad, who could be mistaken for a nose tackle. “She’s got lots of protection.”

And her status as the first born of the year?

“It will be something for her to look back and remember,” he said.

Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com.