Born at 9.04pm on January 1, the first daughter to Tongala’s Michelle Bartolomeo and Boyd Regan took her first breath as the world said farewell to 2020.
Weighing 4080g (9lb), Elly was the first baby to born at Echuca Regional Health in 2021.
She is the first grandchild of Jill and Greg Regan of Tongala and another grandchild to Suzie and Umberto Bartolomeo of Echuca.
“Elly was three days late, so we were saying she was waiting for 2020 to be over,” Michelle said.
“There was no one else having a baby at the time so it is pretty special to think she was the first to arrive at the hospital.
“My water broke at about 1am on New Year’s Day but we didn’t go into the hospital until about 10.30 that morning.
“My labour wasn’t too bad although there were some complications towards the end. Elly’s position wasn’t too great.
“We’re extremely thankful to the staff at ERH for everything they did for us to ensure our daughter’s safe arrival.”
Michelle and Boyd, who have been together for four-and-a-half years, said the name Elly had always stood out to them.
“We wanted to go for something simple when she has to fill out forms as she gets older,” Boyd joked.
“Elly also doesn’t have a middle name but I’m not too sure how common or uncommon that is.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has given Australians plenty of challenges since the first case was diagnosed in March 2020.
But Michelle said her pregnancy was smooth.
“It didn’t affect us too much,” she said.
“We only missed out on some pre-natal classes, but I thought we were able to make do without those pretty easily.”
Elly enjoyed her first stay out of hospital on Monday night at Michelle’s parents’ home.
“It was a pretty sleepless first night,” Michelle said with a laugh.
“Elly was just a little bit unsettled, but she has been fantastic ever since.
“It’s special we’ve been able to share this moment with both our parents. They’ve been along the journey with us.
“Now we’re looking forward to watching Elly grow up.”
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