New Year’s babies, as the years go by – The Greenville Advocate

Last week’s “Can you guess the name of this New Year’s baby” post on The Greenville Advocate’s Facebook page got a lot of attention. It didn’t take long for this New Year’s baby to be correctly identified. Before the baby’s name was guessed, Linda Morton of Greenville recognized the nurse pictured as Bessie Johnson. Moments later, Ashlie Owens of Georgiana positively identified the baby as Michael Smith also of Georgiana.

Smith was the first baby born in Butler County in 1972, celebrating his 50th birthday this year. He remembers his mother saying they were given extra nappies to take home when they left Stablers Hospital as a special gift.

When Smith was born, the national average birth price was $1,500. In 1972, the average price per diaper was 10 cents. Infant car seats were about $10 each, if available. One could buy a 32 ounce can of formula for about $4 and fill up their gas tank for about 40 cents a gallon. A gallon of milk cost $1.30, a loaf of bread 25 cents, and 10 pounds of potatoes only cost 93 cents.

Although New Year’s babies are said to be lucky for life, Smith said he always chose to stay home for the New Year simply as a precaution. He was employed as a tow truck driver for many years and worked on several accidents involving people celebrating their birthdays. Unfortunately, due to what he calls his bad luck and consideration for the sometimes treacherous road conditions that can be found on New Year’s Eve, Smith says staying off the roads has always been his choice.

Teresa Taylor of Prattville was the second baby of 1972 born at Stablers Hospital, just hours after Smith was born. Her father told her that the doctor had been in and out of the delivery room while a very important Alabama football game was on the air and that he wanted to keep an eye on the television in the next room.

In 1972, a new television set cost between $300 and $500, with the minimum wage being $1.60. The national median income was $11,000.

Taylor recalls her mother mentioning that she shared a hospital room with another mother and the New Year’s baby. Twenty years after the babies were born, Smith and Taylor were visiting mutual friends when the topic of birthdays has been addressed. It didn’t take long for the birthday twins to discover their connection.

Taylor and her older sister were often mistaken for twins themselves as children since Taylor became the big sister at just 11 months and eight days old. New Year’s Day birth, sister’s closeness in age, similarity in appearance coupled with being born in the same year and being the same age for three weeks, are factors that have always made a terrific conversation, but perhaps initially confusing when the subject of birthdays is discussed.

Myra Blackburn, a longtime Butler County resident who is now 94, was the first to give birth in Butler County in 1959. She is proud of her three daughters and loves the way conversations about her baby from New Years provide an avenue for her to brag about her three daughters.

Blackburn’s New Year’s baby, Jill Blackburn Autrey, who now resides in Birmingham, has always enjoyed her birthday being on New Year’s Day. Autrey finds the new year even more refreshing than most and said there’s some order to having the calendar roll over to a new year on the same day his chronological odometer turns around.

“For me, the New Year is not just the start of a new calendar year. It is the beginning of a new year of life.
My birthday being at the start of a new year, I always look forward to the year ahead,” Autrey said.

The year Autrey was born, car seats for infants and children did not yet exist, in fact seat belts were not standard on most cars until the late 1960s. the 1960s, child harnesses, for use as a restraint, were available for purchase for less than $2. These harnesses allowed the child to sit, stand, kneel or sleep without disturbing the driver, according to the 1961 newspaper ad.

In the year 1959 of Autrey’s birth, a hospital stay for the new baby and mother averaged about $120. The national average for a gallon of gasoline was 30 cents. The price of a gallon of milk was around 90 cents a gallon. A dozen eggs cost 60 cents ($5.40 in today’s dollars), a loaf of bread 19 cents ($1.71 in today’s dollars), and a bag of potatoes 10 books cost about 63 cents ($5.67 in today’s dollars). The minimum wage was $1 and the median income was $2,600. The first color televisions sold for $1200, a huge investment for the time.

Ethan Vickery’s mother, Cheryl Taylor, knew her 2012 New Year’s baby was going to be an amazing human from day one. Ethan has always been a loving child and his big brother Matthew adores him. Matthew is 13 years old and has cerebral palsy. Matthew is mostly non-verbal, but he always responds with smiles and laughter when Ethan walks into the room. Matthew can only say a handful of words, and Ethan is his favorite word to say. The boys like to watch cartoons on the projector in Matthew’s room. Ethan also enjoys spending time with his three-month-old niece Presleigh, and he also has two older sisters, Dana and Faith.

Ethan goes to Greenville Elementary where he is in fourth grade. Her favorite subjects are science and social studies. He likes to color and play outside at school.
At 12 months, he was diagnosed with autism. Ethan is a high functioning autistic child who loves to hug and talk. He loves science and anything related to the solar system. He enjoys learning the geography of Earth and has a great memory, often spouting out a wide variety of facts that many would not know. His favorite thing about being a New Year’s baby is starting each year with gifts.

The year Ethan was born, the average price of 32 ounces of formula was $5, and the average infant car seat sold for around $30. In 2012, the minimum wage was $7.25 and the median income was $55,000. A gallon of milk cost $3.49, a dozen eggs $1.84, a loaf of bread $1.42, and 1 pound of potatoes $0.66. The national average cost of a hospital birth was $14,000.

Molly Killough Reaves of Greenville is the mother of a newborn and a 21 month old. She gave birth to the first baby born at Baptist East Montgomery in 2022. Killough said the birth was quite an experience considering the impact of COVID and associated protocols. His waters broke at home and they rushed to the hospital. Hudson was born at 6:46 a.m. via an all-natural birth and weighed eight pounds and 10 ounces. Baby Hudson was due to arrive on January 6. Reaves said her family teased her about having a New Year’s baby, but she continually told them they would be wrong. Reaves’ 21-month-old son is named Finn and she loves every opportunity that arises where she can talk about her kids.

“My babies are my life. I love talking about them and Hudson’s birth on New Years Day started a lot of conversations about my boys,” Reaves said.

Although the financial obligations of having a baby today can vary widely, with 90-day NICU stays costing over $100,000, the average cost of an uncomplicated delivery and associated expenses is $20. $000. The current average price for 32 ounces of formula is $10. An infant car seat can be purchased for as low as $45 or as high as $500. Diapers cost an average of 45 cents each.

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 and the median income is $79,900. With today’s extreme variety of choices when it comes to buying a TV, the price range is just as wide with TVs starting at $40, with some of the larger ones selling for $5,000. $.

A lot has changed over the years and the differences can be quite stunning when viewed side by side. With approximately 130 million babies born each year worldwide, being born on New Year’s Day is always held in high esteem.

Could this be the start of a new year blessed with the start of a new life? That might be the case, starting the new year with the most precious gift of all. Whatever the reason, happy belated birthday to all the New Year babies!

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