First baby three weeks early

The first Wairarapa baby born in 2013 made a surprise arrival on New Year's Day, three weeks before due date.

Tinui farmers Nicky Jones and Tom Brown were taking a break at Ngawi when Ms Jones started getting pains on New Year's Eve. But she still didn't think the baby was on the way.

"We sort of thought it didn't look like much was happening," she said. "We thought we'd just come in to make sure everything was okay."

The couple came to Wairarapa Hospital the following morning to find something was happening - their baby boy was born at 5.27pm on New Year's Day, weighing 2.61kg (5lbs. 12oz).

The newborn, who is the couple's first child, was nicknamed "Peanut" before birth, but hasn't yet been named. Mr Brown said they had some ideas in mind: "We've got a list of a few."

The sheep and beef farmers had been planning to take "a bit of a holiday" before the baby's expected arrival on January 22, Mr Brown said.

"We thought it might be nice to have a few days off before the baby comes," he said.

Instead they'll be taking baby home to settle in, and looking forward to having two reasons to celebrate at New Year in future.

The first 2013 baby in New Zealand was born in Auckland at 12.02am on January 1.