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Babies Vie As Austria's First '06 Newborns

Posted on: Sunday, 1 January 2006, 12:00 CST

VIENNA, Austria - Austria's first baby of the new year was Isabella Melanie. No, wait, it was Jelena. Or was it Johannes Samuel?

Three infants born at precisely the same time on Sunday - one minute after midnight - all laid claim to the traditional honor of being the nation's first newborn of 2006.

Because official hospital records gave the time of birth as 12:01 a.m. Sunday for all three babies, their parents will have to be content with sharing the honor, Austrian state television said as it tried to sort out the confusion.

At least they made their debuts in different corners of the country: Isabella Melanie was born in the town of Scheibbs in the province of Lower Austria; Jelena, the daughter of Bosnian immigrants, arrived in Oberwart in the easternmost province of Burgenland; and Johannes Samuel made his appearance in Kirchdorf-an-der-Krems in Upper Austria province.

One commentator suggested that Jelena deserved the honor of 2006's first baby by default because she arrived four weeks early and had to be delivered by emergency Cesarean section.

But Isabella also came ahead of schedule, said her mother, Melanie Erber. "Actually, we weren't expecting her until Jan. 8 at the earliest," she told the Austria Press Agency.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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