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QC hospital’s first baby of 2023 couldn’t wait to get here

BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

The first baby of 2023 born at Banner Ironwood Medical Center in Queen Creek was delivered just an hour and 20 minutes into the new year – three weeks before she was scheduled to arrive.

And the baby almost didn’t wait even that long.

Lennon Thamert was not supposed to arrive until Jan 21, but her mom Emma Thamer knew the baby had no intention of waiting around. Emma suddenly went into active labor about 11:30 pm at home on New Year’s Eve.

Emma’s husband and Lennon’s dad, Trace, sprung into action and called 911.

Emma and the baby were rushed to Banner Ironwood by Queen Creek firefighters and by the time they got the pair to the hospital, Lennon was already entering the world.

“She couldn’t wait and ended up surprising her family by being born on New Year’s in the hospital hallway,” a hospital statement said.

“It’s always exciting when the new year rolls around to see who is going to be our New Year’s baby,” said Crystal Fairclough, director of nursing, women and infant services and pediatric services at Banner Ironwood.

They certainly didn’t have to wait long. From the time Emma’s active labor started to the announcement of Lennon’s birth was less than two hours.

The baby was born, literally, the hospital said, as Emma was wheeled through the hospital doors by the emergency crew. Lennon came in at 6 pounds, 6 ounces and measured at 19 inches.

Lennon may need to show the determination she used to enter the world when she gets back home.

She will be the kid sister to two older brothers, the hospital said, and joins a cousin as another holiday baby.

“My sister’s baby was born on Christmas, so we have lots of holiday babies,” Lennon’s mom said. “We’ll probably do big parties for them.”

As the population has grown in Queen Creek, so has the number of babies delivered.

According to Banner Ironwood’s official numbers, there were almost six more babies born per month, on average, in 2022, totaling 1,258. That compares to 1,187 born in 2021.

“Last year we broke our record of deliveries per month, delivering 122 babies in the month of July,” Fairclough said. “We broke our own record again in December with 123.

“At the heart of our successful and thriving program is a highly skilled team who is honored to serve our patients through their magical journey of child birth.”

Fairclough said the hospital is ready for even more babies this year as Queen Creek and surrounding communities continue to grow, especially with the number of young families moving in.

“I have no doubt that the new year will bring new record-breaking growth,” she said. 

Little Lennon Thamert was born at Banner Ironwood Medical Center just 80 minutes into

2023. (Courtesy BannerHealth)

Traditional names in the past for 2022 newborns

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

New Arizona moms and dads aren’t choosing the names for their children this year that their own parent selected for them.

New figures from the state Department of Health Services show the names that were most popular a quarter century have all but disappeared from this year’s Top 20 list.

The lone exception for girls is Emily which was the fifth most popular name for girls in 1997. And it hung on, only barely, at No. 20 for 2022.

And what of the names that were so popular back then? Good luck finding newborns this year with the same names.

Consider Jessica, the most popular name in 1997. There weren’t enough new parents this year for that name to even crack the Top 100. Ditto Alexis, Ashley and Samantha which came in second, third and fourth, respectively that year: all fallen off the list.

So what replaced them?

Olivia remains the top choice for newborn girls for the third year in a row. That is followed by Emma, Isabella, Sophia and Luna.

A similar situation exists among parents of newborn boys, though the shifts in parental preferences aren’t quite so radical.

Jacob, the most popular name back then, fared no better than 49th this year.

Michael, however, which was right behind at second place in 1997, fared better. It now comes in at No. 18.

And Daniel, third in popularity back in 1997, dropped to sixteenth position.

Instead, Liam remains the top choice this year for parents of newborn boys for the third year in a row.

Also posting repeat performances are Noah, Mateo and Oliver which followed as second, third and fourth this year, matching the data from 2021.

Still, there were some major shifts from even a year ago.

Luca, which logged in at No. 48 a year ago, rocketed up in popularity to crack the Top 20.

And Violet, which had been at No. 32 in 2021 moved up to No. 17 for girls. 

Top girl names for 2022 babies

1 -- Olivia 2 -- Emma 3 -- Isabella 4 -- Sophia 5 -- Luna 6 -- Mia 7 -- Camila 8 -- Amelia 9 -- Ava 10 -- Charlotte 11 -- Scarlett 12 -- Aria 13 -- Penelope 14 -- Evelyn 15 -- Gianna 16 -- Sofia 17 -- Violet 18 -- Aurora 19 -- Victoria 20 – Emily

Top boys names for 2022 babies

1 -- Liam 2 -- Noah 3 -- Mateo 4 -- Oliver 5 -- Santiago 6 -- Sebastian 7 -- Elijah 8 -- Ezra 9 -- Ezekiel 10 -- Julian 11 -- Elias 12 -- Benjamin 13 -- Levi 14 -- Alexander 15 -- Theodore 16 -- Daniel 17 -- Angel 18 -- Michael 19 -- Gabriel 20 -- Luca