Bianca Izaguirre and Jordan Raley welcome their first child together daughter, Oakley Haley. The couple are the first to have a child born in Hancock County for the new year. Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023.
GREENFIELD — It’s a girl!
The first baby born at Hancock Regional Hospital this year is Oakley Raley, a 7-pound, 20 ¼-inch baby girl who made her debut at 1:28 p.m. Monday, Jan. 2.
Her parents — Bianca Izaguirre and Jordan Raley — drove from New Castle to have their baby at the Greenfield hospital, where several of Izaguirre’s family members have given birth in the past.
“It’s more of a family hospital to us,” said Izaguirre, 20, who was resting up Tuesday afternoon in her hospital room with little Oakley at her side.
Clad in a bright pink onesie with a matching hat and white bow, the baby girl slept peacefully as her mom and dad pondered the future as new parents.
“I just look forward to watching her grow up and leading her down the right path,” said Raley, 22, who works as a lineman in Henry County.
Raley said watching his daughter come into the world “was a beautiful thing to witness.”
With a due date of Dec. 31, he and Izaguirre thought they’d be ringing in the New Year with a new baby, but Oakley had other plans. It wasn’t until Jan. 2 that Izaguirre’s contractions suddenly came five minutes apart, prompting the new parents to hop in their car and drive from New Castle to Greenfield.
Marlo Hubbard, who manages the hospital’s Hancock Women + Children center, said it’s always an exciting time when the first baby of the new year is born at the hospital.
“It’s especially exciting to see someone come in on their own,” without a scheduled induction or c-section, she said.
Each year, the family who has the first baby born at the hospital goes home with a big gift basket of goodies from the hospital’s gift shop.
“With the gift shop under construction this year, they’ll be going home with a VISA gift card and a smaller gift basket,” said Hubbard, along with a 7-pound bundle of joy.
