New Year’s babies born to families who endured difficult pregnancies

Two families who faced serious challenges in their pregnancies were celebrating Friday after giving birth to the first babies born in the Kansas City area in 2016.

Brecken Bubeck arrived 22 minutes into the new year, born in the Fetal Health Center at Children’s Mercy Hospital to Anna and Josh Bubeck of Kansas City, Kan. The baby, who weighed 5.12 pounds, was taken almost immediately into surgery because of a condition called gastroschisis, in which the intestines form outside the body.

Anna Bubeck was scheduled to be induced into labor on Jan. 7, said Children’s Mercy spokeswoman Lisa Augustine.

“They came in for a checkup yesterday morning and the doctor said, ‘You guys are staying here tonight,’ ” Augustine said. “And at 12:22, there he was.”

Babies aren’t usually born at children’s hospitals, she said, but Children’s Mercy allows families to deliver at the Fetal Health Center so they will quickly get the care they need while keeping the family at the same hospital.

“There are weeks when we don’t deliver any babies in our Fetal Health Center,” Augustine said. “But if they know ahead of time that there is going to be a child who is going to have immediate needs upon birth, then the arrangements can be made to have the delivery there.”

Augustine said gastroschisis isn’t as rare as one may think. Children’s Mercy sees about two patients a month with the condition, she said.

“When the body is ready, they have the surgery and put the intestines back in,” she said. “That can be days later or weeks later.”

She said Brecken’s prognosis is good, and he’s now in the Children’s Mercy Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Brecken has a 3-year-old brother, Easton.

“They’re all doing really well,” Augustine said. “Everybody’s got a really positive attitude.”

About two-and-a-half hours after Brecken’s birth, another baby boy helped his family ring in the new year at Overland Park Regional Medical Center.

Jeyren Millian was born at 2:50 a.m. to Anyeli Arguijo-Garcia and Jose Millian of Shawnee. The couple’s third child, baby Jeyren weighed 6 pounds, 9 ounces and was 18 inches long.

A hospital spokeswoman said Jeyren’s mother calls him her “New Year’s Miracle.”

“The mom had some issues early on and she wasn’t supposed to be able to carry her pregnancy past three months,” she said. “So they’re really very excited.”

This story was originally published January 1, 2016 at 6:39 PM.