AUGUSTA — The state’s New Year’s baby made his entry Thursday morning at MaineGeneral Medical Center.

Baby boy Wil was born at 12:48 a.m., Thursday. Though Wil’s title as the state’s first New Year’s baby was unofficial Thursday afternoon, MaineGeneral spokesman John Begin said a comprehensive survey of hospitals across the state indicate Wil beat everyone else to the punch.

Wil, who tipped the scale at 5 pounds, 12 ounces, and 18 inches in length, is the healthy son of Gardiner’s Chad Vander Lugt and Amanda Adcock. Wil is the couple’s first child.

“He’s three weeks early,” Vander Lugt said, barely able to take his eyes off his son. “The original due date was the 22nd.”

He said one of the nurses in the delivery room has delivered babies for 38 years, but until Thursday had never delivered the state’s New Year’s baby.

“She’s like, ‘I can retire now,'” he said, laughing.

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Wil is named after the couple’s grandparents, Vander Lugt’s grandfather Wilbert and Amanda’s grandfather William.

Adcock and Wil are both doing great, Vander Lugt said.

“I was on the edge all night,” he joked. “They had a crash cart for me, but they both did great.”

Adcock’s water broke at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday. Vander Lugt rushed around, trying to gather up supplies and get them loaded in the car. Things were going smoothly until he opened the door to let the dog out before leaving. The dog ran away and ignored Vander Lugt’s effort to call it home. The couple eventually had to leave.

The dog, it turns out, went to visit a neighbor.

“It was all fine,” Vander Lugt said.

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That was the beginning of 12-plus hours of Labor for Adcock. She was committed to a birth free of any pain medication. She was able to keep that promise to herself.

“She just powered through it,” Vander Lugt said. “So many times I heard the nurses say, ‘Have you ever seen a mom like this?’ I’m in awe of her.”

“It was worth it,” Adcock said, smiling at the baby in her arms.

Vander Lugt, 42, who is originally from Iowa, and Adcock, 34, originally from Mississippi, met in graduate school in Milwaukee 10 years ago. They have been married for five.

Their families live out of state. Vander Lugt’s parents, who live in Iowa, started making the 24-hour drive east Thursday morning. They are bringing with them the cradle Vander Lugt’s father made for his new grandson.

“They just crossed into Ohio,” Vander Lugt said Thursday afternoon.

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Wil’s room is ready for him and so is his car seat. Vandgr Lugt just this week decided to install the seat in the car just so he could get used to driving with it.

“I put it in the day before he came,” he said.

Having a New Year’s baby is exciting — Vander Lugt said is a sign that Wil is destined for great things — but it’s just icing on the cake compared to the joy Wil brought just with his arrival.

“It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever experienced,” he said. “I was in awe the whole time.”

Craig Crosby — 621-5642

ccrosby@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @CraigCrosby4


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