FIRST BABY OF 1995 IS FIRST FOR MOM TOO

Sherry Brown was at a New Year's Eve party in New Madrid when she started feeling the contractions. While her husband, Donnie, played party games, she gritted her teeth and kept quiet.

That changed at about 12:30 a.m. New Year's Day, when the couple loaded their car and rushed to Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Thanks to a nervous dad and empty roads, they made the trip in just over half an hour.

"My water broke as soon as we got here," Brown said. "We got to the delivery room and had the baby 15 minutes later."

Devin Dwain Brown arrived at 2:19 a.m. Jan. 1, weighing 5 pounds, 11 ounces. More than two weeks early, he was the first baby born in Cape Girardeau this year.

Devin almost was born long before the new year. Brown went into premature labor in early December, spending four days at Southeast on medication to keep from delivering. It was vital that Devin's lungs develop more before his birth.

"I'm just so glad it's over now, especially after those first four days of just waiting," Donnie Brown said. "Of course, by being born when he was, we just missed that tax deduction."

The father was able to watch the birth of his second son. It was Sherry Brown's first baby, but her husband said she was patient and quiet, not "screaming and hollering like what you see on television."

The couple knew the baby would be a boy, so everything is ready for Devin at the Brown home, including grandparents anxious to do some babysitting and a proud older brother. Because he was the first baby of 1995, Devin received a few perks.

Jean Christy, a registered nurse in Southeast's obstetrics ward, said the baby got an engraved silver cup, a basket of silk flowers, a musical clown, and a quilt from the hospital's pathology department.

"The first baby of the new year is always special," Christy said.

Another mother decided to forego the honor so she could claim the baby as a deduction on her 1994 taxes. Her child was born at 11:56 p.m. on Dec. 31.

Other Cape Girardeau New Year's Day babies were born at:

-- 3:11 a.m. to Dr. Bridget Ostrow.

-- 3:19 a.m. to Amy Yates.

-- 5:53 a.m. to Susan Hager.

-- 5:46 p.m. and 5:50 p.m. to Patricia Curry, the mother of twins.