New London - Thomas Thayer and Kathryn Woolrich didn't need to make a New Year's resolution to help them bring about a change in their lives.

Caden Oliver Thayer did that for them.

"He's an awesome baby, so very calm," said Thomas Thayer, standing beside Kathryn as she rested in her hospital bed at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital on Thursday.

At 9:23 a.m., Caden was born by cesarean section, the first baby of 2015 born in southeastern Connecticut. As teenagers, the new parents, residents of Pawcatuck, had been best friends at Robert E. Fitch High School in Groton, then reconnected about three years ago. Thayer, 33, and Woolrich, 32, are planning to be married in a few months, perhaps this spring.

For now, though, Caden is the center of their attention.

"He's got huge feet. Maybe he's going to be a point guard," joked Thayer, a cook at a local restaurant. "And he's a super strong kid. When he first gripped my hand, it was like a Hercules grip."

Eight of their relatives - new grandparents, new aunts and cousins - gathered around the hospital room after taking turns holding the 9-pound, 2-ounce bundle, eyes open and cooing for his next meal.

"He's got an impressive amount of hair for a newborn," said Woolrich, as she slipped off the white cap covering Caden's head to reveal wispy black locks.

"Did you have a lot of heartburn?" asked one of the visitors.

"I did, actually," she said. "That old wives' tale is true."

The first months of her pregnancy, Woolrich recalled, she endured morning sickness, which was especially difficult while she was at her job managing a local fish market. The days leading up to the birth didn't go smoothly either, starting with her admission on Monday and a labor induction procedure that didn't progress, then a return home and a re-admission Wednesday. Kathryn remained calm throughout, Thomas recalled, a trait he's sure she's passed on to their son.

"He took the (immunization) shots with no crying," he said. "He's just a very relaxed kid."

Mike O'Farrell, spokesman for L+M, said there was one other birth there on Thursday, the latest in what has been something of a baby boomlet at the hospital. From Dec. 22 to the 29, he said, there were 67 babies born there, about twice the usual number.

For the whole month of December, there were 136 births. The monthly average is 115.

At The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, one woman was expected to give birth before midnight Thursday, spokesman Jeff Evans said.

The first baby of the year in Connecticut was a boy born at 12:17 a.m. at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

j.benson@theday.com

Twitter: @BensonJudy