Rockdale's first baby of the new year came just 18 minutes after midnight with the arrival of Andrew Charles Kimber.
Baby Andrew, weighing 6 pounds, 5 ounces and measuring 20 inches long, was born at Rockdale Medical Center to mother Tangela Kimber, an assistant principal at Druid Hills High School, and father Travis Kimber, band director at Martin Luther King High School, who reside in Lithonia. His 19-month-old sister Angela Christine was also born at RMC on Mother's Day.
Tangela said their extended family was excited to learn he was the first baby of the new year. She and her husband thought it would happen around the holidays, but, “We never guessed that this would happen.”
The pregnancy had been an uncomplicated one – even without morning sickness – and Tangela worked right up until the winter break and had been planning to go back to work this week before the contractions started.
The Kimbers came in Friday along with an influx of 11 families to the Birth Place, according to RMC spokesperson Marsha Terry.
Tangela thought this would be a false alarm since the baby's due date was Jan. 21. But baby Andrew Charles, named after his late paternal grandfather and his maternal grandfather, was born slowly but surely a day later on Jan. 1, delivered by vaginal childbirth under the guidance of Dr. Veronica Garrett.
Travis was in the room and even participated by cutting the umbilical cord. “I’m actually very squeamish. But I held it together,” he said.
Both mother and child are well and Andrew's parents describe him as an easy-going baby, much like his sister. He’s also the spitting image of his sister as a newborn.
One-year-old sister Angela is still getting adjusted to the idea of a new baby in the family.
“She’s very clingy right now,” said Travis. “This is going to be interesting.” When she visited on Sunday, she was a little wary at first, said her dad.
“She just looked around, wouldn’t go over to say ‘hey.’ But she warmed up. By the time the visit was over, she was waving, calling his name.”
Tangela and Travis had both attended Southwest DeKalb High School but went their separate ways in college – she to Tuskeegee University and he to Florida A&M University. They met up again 2007 when a co-worker mentioned him to her. They began dating and married in 2009.
The family resides in Lithonia, where they have many family members within a 10 mile radius, and attend Green Forest Baptist Church
Tangela described their family simply as “blessed.”
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(Jan. 2, 11:37 a.m.) IN BRIEF: Rockdale's first baby of the new year came just 18 minutes after midnight with the arrival of Andrew Charles Kimber. Baby Andrew, weighing 6 pounds, 5 ounces and measuring 20 inches long, was born at Rockdale Medical Center to mother Tangela Kimber, an assistant principal at Druid Hills High School, and father Travis Kimber, band director at Martin Luther King High School, who reside in Lithonia. His 19-month-old sister Angela Christine was also born at Rockdale Medical Center, on Mother's Day.
Tangela Kimber came in Friday with contractions, thinking it would be a false alarm since the baby's due date was Jan. 21. But Andrew, named after his late paternal grandfather and his maternal grandfather, was born a day later on Jan. 1 by natural childbirth. Both mother and child are well and Andrew's parents describe him as an easy-going baby.
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