AUGUSTA — The first baby known to have been born in Maine in 2015 made his debut early Thursday morning at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta.
Baby Wil, the son of Chad Vander Lugt and Amanda Adcock of Gardiner, was born at 12:48 a.m. The first-baby designation was based on a survey of Maine hospitals conducted by MaineGeneral.
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Born after more than 12 hours of labor, Wil is the couple’s first child. He weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces, and was 18 inches long.
“It was worth it,” Adcock said, smiling at the baby in her arms.
Meanwhile, the first baby born at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine’s largest hospital, was Owen Marshall Lutz, who came into the world at 2:12 a.m. Thursday after a long and complicated labor.
The son of Amanda and Travis Lutz of Lyman, Owen was due on Jan. 11, but his mother went to the hospital at 6 p.m. Tuesday to be induced into labor because her blood pressure had spiked.
Her labor started around noon Wednesday, and Owen was finally born by Caesarean section after three hours of pushing without result, his parents said.
“Once I got the epidural, it wasn’t bad, which also made the spinal tap easier,” said Amanda Lutz, 30, who is a business operations specialist at Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution.
“I’m just happy to see them both come out healthy,” said Travis Lutz, 32, who is warehouse manager at the Portland Rubber Co.
Owen was 8 pounds, 1 ounce, and 21 inches long. He joins his 7-year-old half-brother, Travis Lutz Jr. His grandparents are Carole and Marshall Alexander of Biddeford, Diane Lutz of Saco and the late James Lutz.
Still exhausted from her ordeal, Owen’s mother couldn’t stop smiling late Thursday morning.
“I’m very excited,” she said. “He’s perfect.”
Wil, who is named after Vander Lugt’s grandfather Wilbert and Adcock’s grandfather William, also arrived ahead of schedule.
“He’s three weeks early,” Vander Lugt said. “The original due date was the 22nd.”
Adcock’s water broke at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. She was committed to a birth free of any pain medication and was able to keep that promise to herself.
“She just powered through it,” Vander Lugt said of his wife. “So many times I heard the nurses say, ‘Have you ever seen a mom like this?’ I’m in awe of her.”
He, on the other hand, was on edge all night. “They had a crash cart for me, but they both did great,” he joked. “It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever experienced.”
Vander Lugt, 42, is from Iowa and Adcock, 34, is from Mississippi. They met in graduate school in Milwaukee 10 years ago and were married five years later.
Vander Lugt’s parents started the 24-hour drive from Iowa on Thursday morning. They’re bringing a cradle his father made for his new grandson.
“They just crossed into Ohio,” Vander Lugt said Thursday afternoon.
Wil’s room is ready for him and so is his car seat. His dad installed the seat this week so he could get used to driving with it.
“I put it in the day before he came,” Vander Lugt said.
Staff Writer Kelley Bouchard
contributed to this report.
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