After 14 hours of labor that started late on New Year's Eve, wee Remi Hamper emerged from the womb as Brevard County's firstborn baby of 2024 at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne.
"She's very vocal. She's a loud girl," said Remi's mother, Shannon, laughing during a New Year's Day afternoon phone interview from her hospital room.
"She's a pretty good sleeper. She's taking a nap right now," Shannon said.
"But when she's up, she lets you know," she said.
According to representatives from Brevard's three hospital systems, Remi's 11:20 a.m. Monday birth claimed the crown as the Space Coast's 2024 New Year's baby. Remi weighed in at a healthy 8 pounds, 7 ounces. She measured 19 inches long.
"We were honestly surprised, because she was born so late in the morning. When they told us, my husband and I were definitely very surprised," Shannon said of her newborn daughter taking the New Year's baby title.
Remi overcame long statistical odds. During 2022, the most recent data available, 5,238 infants were born in Brevard, Florida Department of Health records show. That brigade of babies tops the combined populations of Melbourne Beach, Palm Shores and Melbourne Village.
Remi's debut narrowly bested a boy who was born at 11:56 a.m. Monday at Rockledge Regional Medical Center, spokesperson Cathy Pague said. His mother declined an interview request.
More:Brevard County's first baby of 2023 born 17 minutes after midnight
Shannon Hamper, a Raytheon pricing manager, and her husband, Corey, a Pepsi Co. sales representative, married in May 2021. The Melbourne couple has two boys: Finn, 8; and Connor, 2.
"We're really excited. This was our last baby, regardless of the gender. But we were very, very excited when we found out that she was a girl, especially having two boys. The boys are over the moon to have a little sister," Shannon said.
Corey concurred.
"I'm beyond ecstatic, especially since it's my first baby girl. Excited that she's finally here — and excited to see what this new world brings to us," he said.
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Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
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