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    Friday, April 19, 2024

    Groton infant first Backus baby of 2018

    Amanda Archuleta of Groton holds her daughter, Bailey, the first baby of the new year at Backus Hospital in Norwich Monday. (Dana Jensen/The Day)
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    Norwich — Bailey Eve Archuleta was scheduled to greet the world next week, but parents Amanda and Mark were at Backus Hospital at 5:30 Monday morning to meet their daughter, who arrived on New Year's Day.

    The Archuletas, who moved to Groton in October, said Amanda had pre-eclampsia with their son Jameson, now 16 months, and she had high blood pressure during this pregnancy. Her doctors had scheduled a caesarian section birth the second week of January but rescheduled for Monday morning and brought Bailey into the world at 9:08 a.m., and she measured 20 inches and weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces.

    WFSB reported the first Connecticut baby of 2018 was born just after midnight at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital, and another was born at the Hospital of Central Connecticut at 12:04 a.m.

    Amanda Archuleta said Bailey and Jameson looked nearly identical at birth, as Mark found their son's birth photo in his phone for a comparison. Bailey's eyes are gray, unlike Jameson's brown hue, but Amanda said his eyes had changed color, so hers might too.

    "We showed [the photo of Jameson] to my mom when she was here earlier and she was like, 'Oh, that's a good picture of her,'" she said. "I said, 'That's not her.'"

    Before she got to meet her brother later Monday evening, Bailey had to get her shots and a bath, which Mark said she was not happy about. After that, though, he said she had been quiet, sleeping in her mother's arms wearing a pink hat knitted by hospital volunteers.

    "She's a very happy baby," Amanda said.

    a.hutchinson@theday.com

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