Canton family welcomes region’s first baby of 2024

Eileen and Andrew DeRoma with their three girls, (l-r) Kelsey, Emily and Haylee

Eileen DeRoma was hoping to give birth without any fanfare to a healthy “1-2-3-1-2-3” baby when she went to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on December 31, 2023. Instead, her daughter Emily Margaret DeRoma arrived at exactly 12 a.m. on January 1, 2024, joining two other babies who were born at the exact same time to make some local history. The trio of girls were the first babies born in Boston in 2024.

DeRoma and her husband, Andrew, had been given a due date of December 29 for their third baby, but when that date passed with no delivery, an induction was scheduled for Eileen on December 31.

“I really wanted to have a 2023 baby,” Eileen said. “I really tried and tried and tried to have a 12/31/23 baby.”

DeRoma arrived at the hospital at around 1 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. As the clock approached midnight, her doctor encouraged her to push and try to have a New Year’s Eve baby. But Emily instead arrived at midnight on the dot. “She had her own plans,” Eileen said of her new daughter.

Sharing the title of “Boston’s first baby of 2024” with Emily were two other girls: Ophelia, also born at Beth Israel, and Selena, who was delivered at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. Ophelia is the first child of Quincy couple Min Li and Huaien Wang, and Selena is the first of baby of Dorchester couple Margarita Gari Vega and Roberto Rosa Jr.

Emily is the DeRomas’ third daughter, joining big sisters Haylee, 4, and Kelsey, 3. The DeRomas did not know the gender of the baby ahead of time and had picked out a few names for their new child. They chose Margaret for her middle name after Andrew’s maternal grandmother, who had passed away before she had a chance to see Andrew’s mother Linda get married or meet any of Linda’s four children.

Eileen said her mother-in-law was thrilled that they chose Margaret to be the middle name in honor of her mom.

Eileen was very impressed with the care she received from BIDMC. “I would like to really highlight Beth Israel labor and delivery as a very positive experience for me, but also for just what they do in general — they welcome babies and they take care of mothers,” she said.

She added that the doctor, nurse, and other staff were very professional in the moment and did not allow themselves to be carried away by the excitement of Emily’s timely birth.

After Emily arrived, Eileen took photos with her labor and delivery nurse, Julie Worthington, and her physician, Jenny Shaw. They held champagne glasses, minus the champagne, and Eileen wore a party hat. Justin Stiles, her anesthesiologist, was very helpful, since Eileen has a fear of needles. Margret Parker, a friend that Eileen has known for years, was her postpartum nurse on January 1.

Other staff members also came in to see the new baby and congratulate Eileen. Once she got to the postpartum floor, the visits continued and Eileen received a bag of goodies for Emily.

Following Emily’s birth, the DeRomas FaceTimed with their extended family. Andrew’s uncle Robert Fitzgerald, who lives in California, put together a video and a personalized front cover of People magazine to send to the entire family, and Andrew’s cousin Colleen Trapani, who is in Morocco, was the first family member to see the news on People.com.

“We celebrated with the media, but also my two children, Haylee and Kelsey, came in to the hospital to celebrate,” Eileen said.

Eileen treasures her older daughters’ reactions to meeting their little sister for the first time. After seeing the tiny newborn, Kelsey said, “Oh, my goodness, Mommy, she’s so adorable!” And Haylee immediately asked to hold Emily.

“On New Year’s Day, we all celebrated as a family of five,” Eileen said.

The family heard from several reporters from around the country and were featured on ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir as well as in the Boston Globe and New York Post, among other media outlets. Eileen invited nurses from the postpartum floor to join her for a photo opp for ABC.

When Emily is old enough, she will follow in the footsteps of her older sisters. “Another DeRoma is excited to attend the Rodman [preschool] in three short years,” Eileen joked. She, like her big sisters, will then continue in the Canton Public School system.

Emily officially joined the Spring Valley neighborhood of Canton when she arrived home with Mom on Wednesday, January 3. So far, Eileen said it has been an easy transition, adding that her family is doing wonderfully and now feels complete.

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Posted by Mary Ann Price on Jan 12 2024. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.