The first baby born in New Westminster this year didn’t waste a lot of time after her mom arrived at Royal Columbian early on New Year’s Day.
Seven-pound, five-ounce Tiana Haji was born at 4:57 a.m. – less than half an hour after her mom, Maria Savisko, got to the hospital.
Her dad, Araz Hajiyev, didn’t even get a chance to be in the room after settling her two brothers, seven-year-old Ali Michael and three-year-old Jael into a waiting room.
“We were driving, and I said, ‘Don’t do it here, please! Wait! Wait!’” Hajiyev said with a laugh.
With Hajiyev and Ali Michael suffering from the flu and Jael grumpy at being woken up in the dead of night, the trip to the hospital had been a noisy one.
“They’re crying; they’re not stopping. They’re just crying and it’s 4 a.m.,” Hajiyev said.
Heavy snowfall didn’t help, as the family decided not to risk getting stuck in the snow to drop the boys off at a friend’s before heading to the hospital.
Little Tiana is the second of the Coquitlam family’s babies to be born at Royal Columbian. Jael was the first.
Eldest, Ali Michael, was born in Azerbaijan before Hajiyev, who is originally from that country, and Savisko, originally from Latvia, decided to move to Canada.
“For kids, it’s better,” Hajiyev said. “Because it’s a lot of corruption in that country. Here is more calm.”
With the ordeal of driving to the hospital in the middle of a blizzardy night behind them, Tiana’s brothers are now totally thrilled at the arrival of their new little sister.
“They were excited all time of the pregnancy, waiting for little sister, talking about her, listening to the belly,” Savisko said. “And right now they are all around, trying to touch her, to kiss her, sharing toys and everything.”
