As the crowd raced towards the Burj Khalifa, and other places to watch fireworks, Sanoob Mohammed Noordeen, an Indian, was excited about reaching the Medcare Women and Children in time. His wife Jisme Yousuf had gone into labour and delivered their second baby girl Afreen Sanoob in the wee hours of January 1, 2017 - one of the first few New Year babies.

"My wife is an employee of the same hospital and in fact worked in the delivery section of the hospital, however, it was her own delivery this time and she pretty much was in control of things." Jisme had a normal delivery and the couple was blessed with a 3.3kg healthy baby girl.

"We were expecting it to happen around January 7th or 8th but as God had planned it, this has been the best New Year gift for us," Sanoob told Khaleej Times.

The first baby, however, born at the hospital was a baby girl born to Libyan parents at the exact stroke of midnight. She weighs 2.7kg. Other new year new borns at the hospital included one Jordanian, 2 Emirati baby girls and a boy.

Medcare stated that all the new borns are healthy and doing well.

Four babies were born after midnight across three Thumbay hospitals - Ajman, Dubai and Fujairah. While the hospital welcomed three boys, one each of Syrian, Indian and Pakistani nationality, a baby girl too was born to Indian parents.

Born at 6:30 am on New Year's Day, a Syrian-couple's bundle of joy came two days later than planned, making the baby boy Mohammed one of the very first Arab born in 2017 at Thumbay hospital. Fourth-time mum, 26-year- old, Walaa Younes was overjoyed that the baby picked the first day of the year to arrive. She said, "It's considered an auspicious occasion in our culture, and I am really happy that the baby chose this special date. What makes it even more special is the fact that I was born on January 2, so our birthdays is just one day apart."

Weighing in at 3.76kg, little Mohammed is the Syrian couple's fourth son together. The proud mum added, "I plan to tell my bundle of joy that the wonderful fireworks in Dubai each year are for him."

'It was worth the pain'

Meanwhile, for Indian couple, the doctor has suggested a due date of January 28, 2017, but Iyrin Maria went into labour at the stroke of midnight. "I think he was in a rush to come. It was pretty hard as this is our first baby, but the doctors have been really helpful. It's a special, exciting and a "woah" moment for us."

Iyrin, a nurse by profession, further added that it was an awesome feeling to hold my son for the first time, "the pain and hardship was all worth it."

Abu Dhabi

At the Burjeel Hospital, Abu Dhabi, little Athaba Saeed Al Mansoori, was born a second after the fireworks went off announcing the start of 2017. The first baby to be born in 2017 at the Capital's hospital, Athaba, weighing in at 3,330 grams, is the fifth child of Al Mansoori family, Emirati nationals living in Abu Dhabi.

Expressing joy at the fact that their baby was the first to be born in 2017, Athaba's father Saeed Mohamed Saeed Al Mansoori, said:  "It is a great beginning of the year with this exceptional gift. Both mother and baby are doing great and in good health."

"We are thankful to Dr. Sausan Abdul Rahman and the medical team at Burjeel Hospital, Abu Dhabi for ensuring the safe delivery of our baby girl. It is a blessing to be starting this year with this precious new family member."

"In addition to Athaba, Burjeel Hospital Abu Dhabi ensured safe deliveries of four more newborns - UAE and GCC nationals - in the early hours of 2017.

RAK Hospital

While at the RAK Hospital, the first baby was born to Pakistani couple Waleed Khalid Mohammed Khalid and his wife Nada Waleed Khalid. This is the couple's first child and they have named their baby girl Dua (prayer). " Ours was a love marriage and we had planned that we will name our first daughter  Dua and if son then we would name him Azaan. It is as if Allah heard our dua (prayer) and blessed us with an excellent New Year gift, healthy child," said the baby's ecstatic father Waleed Khalid Mohammed Khalid.

source: Khaleej Times