91原创's first baby of the year, a boy, arrived at 91原创 Memorial Hospital at 9:26 am on New Year鈥檚 day.

Marshall Lee Claridge weighed  4,260 grams (9 lbs 4 oz.).

His parents are Emily Finley and Douglas Claridge, both 32, of Cloverdale. He is their second child.

Marshall arrived more than two weeks ahead of his original scheduled Jan. 17 delivery date, which his parents were thinking of moving up because of his size.

"We found out that he is a big boy," Emily explained.

It turned out they had even less time than they thought.

"I went to bed early and then I woke up in labour," the tired but happy mom told the 91原创 Advance Times.

She turned in around nine o'clock "and I woke up at 1 a.m. and I was having contractions, but I thought it was false labour."

Emily tried to go back to sleep and "ride it out," but it became obvious it wasn't false labour, and around 4:30 a.m. she took an Uber to 91原创 Memorial Hospital (LMH)

Doug had to stay behind to look after their first son.

"They said, 'we're going to have to put you into a C-section', but that's what I was already planning," Emily said. 

"Marshall was hatched around 9:30 in the morning."

Emily was able to remain conscious this time, unlike her experience when her first son, who arrived "the week before COVID," had to be delivered under general anaesthetic at LMH.

"The last time with my [first] son, I was put to sleep, so I wasn't even awake when he was born. So, this was a whole different ballgame."

A few hours after being born, Marshall was doing well, alert and curious.

"He's kind of looking around and checking things out and then giving me a funny look [as if to say] what are you doing?," she laughed.

Marshall's second name of Lee is after two relatives from Texas, she explained.

"Lee is after my uncle, Richard, and my great uncle, Dick, from Texas." 

Mom and son were expected to go home from the hospital on Friday.

As for B.C.'s first baby, he arrived just two minutes into the New Year, at 12:02 a.m., when Jordan Hill (32), with partner Elijah (28) by her side, gave birth to their son, Emerson at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.

PlayNow.com had been taking bets on the birth hospital of B.C.鈥檚 New Year鈥檚 baby.

With 23 labour and delivery hospitals in the running, B.C. Women鈥檚 Hospital in Vancouver was the favourite, even though the hospital hasn鈥檛 welcomed the first baby of the year since 2017.

Last year鈥檚 first baby was delivered at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster.

Kamloops, and 91原创 Memorial Hospital, were ranked near the bottom, among the least likely to be first in the province.

Oliver was the most popular name for babies born in B.C. in 2024, followed by Olivia, Liam, Noah, Theodore, Charlotte, Lucas, Isla, Amelia and Leo, according to the Vital Statistics Agency鈥檚 preliminary figures for 2024.

In 2023, the top names for babies born in B.C. were Noah, Oliver, Olivia, Theodore, Liam, Jack, Emma, Sophia, Ethan and Leo.

As of Monday, Dec. 16, a total of 38,103 babies were registered as born in B.C. in 2024.