MONIQUE FORD/Stuff
Mikaera and Arama Rochel, welcomed their baby boy Mikaera Kohi Eruera Bracken Rochel at 4:22am on New Year s Day.
The Wellington region welcomed its first baby of 2021 in the early hours of January 1. Mikaera “Mika” Kohi Eruera Bracken Rochel was born in Hutt Hospital at 4:22am, the third child of Mikaera and Arama Rochel. It was a busy New Year s Day, with grandparents, aunties and uncles all stopping by to meet baby Mika and offer support. ”It’s lovely. We’re a very family-orientated family,” Mikaera said, speaking from Hutt Hospital after a long day. Baby Mika was due on the 27 December. The family had half-expected an early birth, they weren’t predicting having to wait till 2021 to meet their son.
Danielle Langlands and her newborn son Felix Langlands, who is Taranaki s first new baby for 2021.
Taranaki’s first baby for 2021 was having trouble staying awake on New Year s Day following the drama of a helicopter ride less than an hour after he was born. Felix Langlands was born at 12.12am on Friday January 1 at Hāwera Hospital, and could be the first baby of the New Year. Around the country baby girl Ivah arrived at Ashburton Hospital at 12.17am, while five minutes later another baby was born in New Plymouth at Taranaki Base Hospital. In Auckland another baby girl was born at 12.45am at Waitākere Hospital.