Taylor Stutsky officially holds the title of B.C.’s New Year’s Baby after being born just after the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day.
And her parents, Julia Goryn and Travis Stutsky, could not be prouder.
The Maple Ridge residents are laughing at all the attention they have received since their six-pound, 14-ounce bundle of joy was born at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster.
“The last push came out right at midnight,” chuckled Taylor’s 31-year-old father from home.
The couple, who have lived in Maple Ridge for the past three years, went to Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, for an in vitro fertilization procedure – where the egg is fertilized by sperm in a laboratory, before being placed in the uterus – because, explained Travis, it was more affordable. The cost for the procedure, according to the Prague Fertility Centre, is a little more than $3,000 in the Czech Republic compared to about $10,000 in Canada.
“It’s been a long journey,” said Travis.
Taylor was initially supposed to be born on January 20, but because Julia had a condition called cholestasis – a disorder of the liver where bile flow is blocked– during her pregnancy, doctors decided to induce labour on December 30 for an early birth.
They chose to have Taylor at RCH because Julia worked there while in nursing school and the 36-year-old really liked the hospital.
After being induced, Julia ended up back at RCH at around 8 a.m. the following day when she started having contractions. At about 5 p.m. the same day, Julia was fully dilated and started pushing, but Taylor had other plans.
“Taylor was not coming out yet,” laughed Travis. “She was kind of hung up on one side.”
So Julia took a break before trying again. Then Julia took another break and switched positions, which moved Taylor to a better position. Julia then tried again at around 11:45 p.m., with Taylor being born seconds into the new year.
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Taylor is the couple’s first child and Travis can’t get enough of holding her and says his voice can already calm her down when she is crying.
They picked the name Taylor because they wanted a name that began with a “T”, to have the same initials as her father.
They also wanted a name that sounded American. However, although they are Swifties, the couple did not name her in honour of the famous star.
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Travis couldn’t help but mention how amazing the experience was. He said they received tremendous care from everyone at RCH and are thankful for the support they received from all of the doctors and nurses – including the staff in Prague where they received the in vitro procedure.
“It was crazy,” continued Travis of Taylor’s delivery, noting the whole delivery department was in the room cheering Julia on.
The couple are now flabbergasted by the attention they have received since being told Taylor is the 2024 provincial New Year’s baby.
“It’s something really cool that we can share with her when she grows up,” he said.