GREENFIELD — Although Jennifer Heim and her husband, Kenneth, expected their son to be born Dec. 30, he surprised them by entering the world 13 minutes after midnight on Jan. 1, making him the first baby to be born at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in 2023.

“I wasn’t thinking (he would be the first baby of the year) until we got down to the wire and then I thought that would be pretty cool,” Heim, 45, said during a Zoom interview from the maternity ward on Sunday afternoon, with newborn Jack Kenneth Heim resting on her chest. “As we closed in on the date I thought, ‘I hope he ends up being a New Year’s baby.’ But I was expecting him to be born on Friday the 30th.”

Jack, who weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces and measured 21 inches long at birth, is the second child for the Greenfield couple, joining his 3-year-old sister Soleil Louise. While Soleil was welcomed to the hospital to meet her new sibling on Sunday morning, Heim said having a little brother may still be sinking in for her.

“When she left today she kissed my belly again,” Heim recounted. “I told her, ‘You can kiss Jack on his head now.’”

Although Jack’s due date was not until Jan. 6, Heim was scheduled to be induced into labor Dec. 30 at 6 p.m. due to her age, which increased risk factors for her delivery. Her daughter had been born a few days after her due date, leading to complications for Heim’s first delivery.

“We were trying to avoid repeat kinds of complications,” Heim said of being induced. “It was pretty much all of Saturday that I labored.”

Still, Heim said, her labor and delivery for Jack proved to be easier than what she had experienced with Soleil. She noted that ongoing health safety regulations at the hospital didn’t impact her birthing experience.

“I was able to have the birth the way I wanted, with just me and my husband there,” she said.

Jennifer and Kenneth Heim have been married for almost 10 years and have been together for closer to 20. Jennifer, a native of Charlemont, and Kenneth, who is originally from Boston, first met through police work. Kenneth Heim was formerly chief in a few local towns, including Ashfield, where he hired Jennifer as one of his officers. Kenneth, 75, is now retired, while Jennifer last worked as a security officer at Landmark College in Putney, Vermont, in 2009.

The Heims, who have lived in Greenfield for about 15 years, planned the births for both Soleil and Jack using in vitro fertilization. The couple was aware ahead of time they would be having a boy, and picked the name Jack in honor of Kenneth’s best friend. The baby’s middle name comes from his father.

Although Kenneth Heim had children from a previous marriage, Jennifer Heim said there’s still a feeling of being a little overwhelmed, nervous and excited, all at the same time. She said she’s “so grateful” for being able to give birth to her two children.

“I’m thinking Jack’s my last,” she said. “I haven’t decided 100%.”

Reflecting on her newborn son’s personality during his first 13 hours of life, Jennifer Heim said her two children have proven to be very different so far.

“He’s very calm and chill and laid back. That’s what I’ve picked up on so far,” she said. “His sister has always been full of energy right from the get-go. It feels a lot different.”

Reach Shelby Brock at sbrock@recorder.com or 413-930-4277.

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