Couple welcome daughter, the first 2023 birth at Fountain Valley’s MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center

Huntington Beach residents Joy An and Peter Hseih thought their first daughter was going to be a New Year’s baby.

Acacia had a due date of New Year’s Day, but was born nearly two weeks early in December 2020. The Hseih family made the most of their second chance, so to speak, on New Year’s Day 2023.

Abigail Manna Hseih arrived at 12:36 a.m. on Sunday at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, the first baby of 2023 in that hospital and the first in three MemorialCare Medical Group hospitals systemwide.

Joy reported that both she and Abigail were doing fine on Tuesday. Abigail weighed 6 pounds, 0 ounces at birth.

“It’s so funny,” she said. “For my first one, for Acacia, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s a Jan. 1 baby.’ I was so excited. I prayed to God, ‘Please let her come out on Jan. 1,’ but she came out two weeks early.”

Like her sister, Abigail arrived early; the due date was Jan. 13. Joy said her delivery was smooth and she knows she won’t forget her younger daughter’s birthday.

“You know, Jan. 1, you cannot forget about it,” she said with a laugh.

Peter Hseih noted that the family would have received a larger child tax credit if Abigail was born the day before.

Abigail Manna Hseih weighed 6 pounds, 0 ounces when she was born early on New Year’s Day.

(Courtesy of MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center)

“We were contemplating, but we were like, you know what?,” he said. “We’ll see what God decides and see what Abigail wants. If she wanted to come out in 2022, that’s good, but if she comes out in 2023 then that’s fine too.”

In recognition of their first baby of 2023, Abigail’s parents received a “first baby basket” — stuffed with onesies, booties, newborn clothing, receiving blankets, diapers and gifts for mom and dad — from the care team at Orange Coast Medical Center.

Sherri Hatch, the clinical supervisor for postpartum, was the attending nurse. She said MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center delivers an average of 1,600 babies per year.

Hatch has been a postpartum nurse with MemorialCare for 19 years but said this is the first time she’s been a part of the first childbirth of the new year.

“The unit was so excited to deliver the first baby of 2023, especially to be the first delivery out of the MemorialCare system’s three facilities,” Hatch said. “It was an excited energy on the unit. We are so honored to be trusted by the Hsieh family to deliver their newborn and be a part of this special time in their lives.”

Hatch said Orange Coast is the first facility in the MemorialCare system to offer an Obstetrical Emergency Department and midwifes, and they were involved in the delivery.

Across town, officials at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital reported they had a baby born just 50 seconds after midnight on New Year’s Day.

Fountain Valley Regional spokeswoman Jennifer Bayer said Tuesday that the new arrival was a healthy baby girl, but no other details were immediately available.

Daily Pilot reporter Sara Cardine contributed to this story.

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