A little girl named Dezirae may not know it yet, but she and her family will never forget New Year’s Day 2026. Dezerae was the first baby of the New Year in Mendocino County at Adventist Health Ukiah Valley’s Family Birth Center at 4:42 on Thursday. It worked out pretty well, too– her Mom, Anna, had gone to the center on New Year’s Eve for a check-up. Dezire wasn’t due until the 2nd– but, calendar or not, there she was–welcomed by her Dad, Andrew, and her Grandma, who’s a retired midwife. The Family Birth Center team has a tradition of celebrating the first baby of the year in a big way — and Dezirae was no exception. As the first baby of the year, she was welcomed with gifts, smiles, and plenty of fanfare, including baskets filled with essentials and two handmade quilts, one stitched by the hospital’s Labor & Delivery nurses and another gifted by the Grapevine Quilters Guild.