First babies of the New Year in Bay of Plenty, Lakes welcomed

Harpreet Singh and Daljeet Kaur have welcomed their first baby daughter, Amaanat Kaur. Photo / Supplied

The first two Bay of Plenty babies of 2023 have been born.

The first baby in the Bay of Plenty district was born nearly 40 minutes after midnight in Tauranga while the first baby in the Lakes district was born at 6.29am in Taupo.

Eleven days past her due date, Daljeet Kaur gave birth to her daughter Amaanat on New Year’s Day.

Amaanat, which means God’s treasure, was the first baby born at Tauranga Hospital in 2023 and arrived at 12.37am on January 1.

The first-time mother said it felt “really awesome” for her and her husband, Harpreet Singh, to become a family of three.

Kaur, 27, said she was induced because she was 11 days past her due date - she then went into labour on New Year’s Eve. She said the birth went smoothly and she was “well-looked after” during and after her baby’s delivery at the hospital.

The Pāpāmoa family have since returned home. For the next few days, Kaur said she would “just rest and look after my daughter”.

Kaur said the pair was originally from India and moved to New Zealand in 2018 as her husband had a job here.

She said she was looking forward to raising her daughter in New Zealand as there were “lots of facilities” and there was “a good future for children” here.

In the Lakes district, Larea Berdebes gave birth to her daughter Everly Burrows at Taupō Hospital at 6.29am on January 1.

Berdebes lives with her partner, Ryan Burrows, and their 23-month-old Laynie Burrows in Taupō.

“We just got home [yesterday] so it was really special watching my first child Laynie meet her for the first time. That was really cool.”

“We’ve definitely got our hands full,” she said with a laugh.

Berdebes said her due date was on January 22.

“So she decided to be a New Year’s baby instead.”

Berdebes said she would spend the next few days adjusting to having two children, with the help of her mother.