PORT ANGELES — All 20 inches of Jason Michael Rutherford Jr. rang in the new year early Sunday morning as the first baby born in 2017 at the North Olympic Peninsula’s three hospitals in Clallam and Jefferson counties.
Jason, whose mother, Monica Rice, 24, gave birth at Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles at 6:23 a.m., weighed in at 8 pounds, 5 ounces as he made ready to make his mark on the world.
She and father Jason Rutherford, 34, arrived at the hospital at about 3:30 a.m. They live in Port Angeles.
“I’m pretty good,” Rice, a Port Orchard native, said about six hours after her son was born.
“I’m ready to go home and go to bed.”
Jason joins brothers Mikah, 4, and Aiden, 6, and a sister, Rachael, 9.
Rutherford, a crewman for Town &Country Post Frame Buildings in Port Angeles, is a 1999 graduate of Crescent High School.
He learned about six months ago that he and Rice would be having a son.
“I was pretty excited about that,” Rutherford said.
He was in the delivery room when Rice gave birth.
Rice’s water did not break until right before Jason was born, he said.
“Her water bag still did not want to break until like the third or fourth push, it finally broke,” Rutherford recalled.
Witnessing Jason’s birth was a moving experience, Rutherford said.
“It was very emotional. You are like, all over the place.
“You’re trying to help her through it, and seeing your son after he comes out and starts breathing, it’s pretty intense.”
Mikah, Aiden and Rachael were anticipating their new brother coming home, Rutherford said.
“They are pretty excited,” he said.
The couple also was presented Sunday with the OMC Auxiliary’s first annual first-baby-of-the-year gift basket.
It contained 18 items, including a baby swing and diapers, that the Auxiliary purchased for more than $300, said Bill Whitten, a past president of the group.
The nonprofit also operates the hospital gift shop and is helping to fund a hospital infant security system, Whitten said.
________
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
Monica Rice, Jason Rutherford and their newborn son, Jason Michael Rutherford Jr., were presented Sunday with the OMC Auxiliary’s first annual first-baby-of-the-year gift basket. They are seen here with Registered Nurse Lynette Brown. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
