Having the first baby born in Pierce County in 2013 was the last thing on Kathy Bates' mind as she went into labor the last day of 2012. But the unexpected honor went to Sydney Lee Bates when the 8-pound, 8-ounce bundle of joy arrived at 1:46 a.m. Jan. 1 at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup. "It will be cool for her when she's older and she can say she was the first," said Sydney's mother. Sydney is the first child for Kathy and Jason Bates of Graham. Kathy is diabetic and the couple wasn't sure they could have kids. But at age 40, "I got pregnant," Kathy said. "We're so lucky and happy. It was a good pregnancy. Everything went very well." That includes the actual birth, which was by Caesarean section. It wasn't the original plan, but after being in labor from 7 a.m. to midnight Dec. 31 and Sydney "wouldn't come out," Kathy said, the decision was made to have a C-section. Mother and child were scheduled last Thursday or Friday to go home where Kathy and Jason moved 10 years ago after getting married. Their 10th anniversary is next June. They weren't expecting to have the first baby of the new year. "We thought she'd be born in 2012," Kathy said. "Even when we realized it would happen in 2013, we didn't think 1:46 in the morning would be the first delivery. We thought another one would happen sooner." The odds of being born on Jan. 1 are 365 to 1. Thousands of babies are born annually in Pierce County. In 2011, the last full year for which statistics are available, 2,153 were born at Good Samaritan alone, according to hospital owner MultiCare Health System. Jason Bates is manager of the distribution center in Tukwila for Gene Juarez Salons and Spas. Kathy, who was born in California but grew up in Kent, is two quarters away from finishing her studies at Green River Community College in medical office administration. She's taking a break from school with the arrival of Sydney.
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