New Year's weekend babies arrive with a twist

Tales of New Year's babies are staples for local news media. But the latest turn of the calendar brought a few twists to a familiar tale.

One Utah couple welcomed twins—but they were born in different years. And a Louisiana couple presented their obstetrician with a punch card playing on his frequent joke to new parents: “The 12th one is free.”

Identical twins James and Matthew Criddle arrived via emergency cesarean section at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 31 and 12:01 a.m. Jan. 1, respectively, at Davis Hospital Medical Center in Layton, Utah. Their parents, Huyen Nguyen and Nick Criddle of Clearfield, say they were expecting a quick visit to address some concerns but ended up being transferred to labor and delivery.

Hospital officials, who say the twins had been due Feb. 4, told the Associated Press the mother and children are doing well. James Criddle is believed to be the last baby born in Utah in 2016 and his twin brother, Matthew, the first born in 2017.

In Baton Rouge, Scott and Jessica Gaspard welcomed their 12th child, Graceann, on New Year's Eve, and handed their OB-GYN, Dr. Michael Perniciaro, the punch card they'd mocked up, joking they were ready to “cash in,” according to the Advocate newspaper.

Graceann, like all her siblings, was born at Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge. Most of the children's first and middle names are variations on family names. But the parents decided to honor Perniciaro, who delivered Graceann and some of her siblings, by giving her the middle name Michael.

“We broke the mold to work him in,” Scott Gaspard, a realtor, told the Advocate.