First baby of the year came early

Ja’necia Kelly entered 2017 in severe pain, but she is a happy woman now.

At 3:09 a.m. on Sunday at the Houston Medical Center she gave birth to Zachariah Harmon, the first baby of the year in Houston or Bibb counties. She and Zachariah’s father, Derrick Harmon, beamed proudly as media interviewed them Sunday afternoon in their room. Zachariah weighed in at 5 pounds, 1.4 ounces and was doing well. 

“He’s a sweetheart even though he’s little,” she said as she held him.

At just more than eight months pregnant Kelly had no thought of giving birth to the first baby of the year, but Zachariah had other ideas. Kelly, who lives in Fort Valley, got to the hospital at about 4:30 p.m.  on Saturday. She thought even then she would give birth before midnight, but that didn’t happen.

It was the first child for both Kelly and Harmon. 

“He’s everything I ever wanted,” Harmon said. “It’s like a dream come true. It’s like a breath of fresh air.”

He said he loves Kelly and wanted it to be known that he is thinking about marrying her. Kelly is a nursing student at Central Georgia Technical College.

She said her due date was Jan. 23. She had just been to the doctor last week and was told there were no signs the baby would be coming early.

But she had her bag packed and was ready to go when she went into labor. She had not made plans for celebrating the New Year.

“That’s why I was happy to get up and go,” she said.

She said got the name Zachariah from the Bible and it was her best friend’s suggestion.

She did get some special gifts for having the first baby of the year. Milly Brock and P.J. Lively of the Crochet Club of Middle Georgia brought a large gift basket that included some handmade crochet items as well as other gifts. The club has a tradition of giving a basket to the first baby of the year.

This story was originally published January 1, 2017 at 4:39 PM with the headline "First baby of the year came early."