New Year's Baby: Falkirk connections for Glasgow's first baby born in 2024

With his due date on Boxing Day, mum and dad Kirsty Crowe and Hugh Macgregor had been expecting their little boy to arrive around Christmas time and be a 2023 baby, however it seems the tot had other plans, arriving within minutes of the beginning of 2024.

Lewis Andrew Macgregor was born at the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital in Glasgow at 12.06am on January 1, 2024, weighing 8lb 1oz.

He was the first baby of the year to be born in Glasgow, and was joint second across Scotland with another little one being born at the exact same time as him, but in Aberdeen.

Although born in Glasgow, where his parents now live, Lewis has strong connections to the Falkirk area.

Kirsty and husband Hugh are both originally from the area with Kirsty, 32, growing up in Falkirk and Hugh, 33, in Carron. They still have family living within the area

Kirsty, who is a doctor in training specialising in kidney medicine, said: “He was due on Boxing Day. We were expecting him to be born around Christmas and be a 2023 baby, but he’s a 2024 baby.

"I had been having small contractions for a couple of days leading up to it and then my waters broke and we went into the hospital on Hogmanay.

"The pregnancy was mostly fine, but I managed to catch Covid twice. I’m a doctor and had managed not to catch it throughout the pandemic, but I had it twice while I was pregnant with him.

I quite enjoyed being pregnant and the actual delivery was really straightforward. I think we were pretty lucky given it was our first pregnancy and I didn’t have any complications.

"It was quite funny in the room as people were saying Happy New Year and it was the most bizarre bells/Hogmanay situation I’ve ever been in.

"I wasn’t really aware it was approaching midnight as I was busy concentrating on other things.

"The midwives were really excited he was the first born at the Princess Royal and in all the Glasgow hospitals. I didn’t realise before that being the first of the year was such an honour. I didn’t really think it was that big a deal.

"The midwives gave us a wee hamper of gifts and everyone clapped as as we went from the labour suite to the antenatal ward.

"Everyone was really excited to meet him in the hospital – he was like a wee celebrity.”

Mum and baby stayed in hospital overnight and went home on January 2. Kirsty and Hugh, who works for charity Cycling Scotland, are delighted to have their bundle of joy home.

Kirsty said: “We’re still just getting to know him. He’s just over a week old now and we’re getting into the swing of things. We’re first time parents so we’re enjoying riding the chaos.”

Lewis’ proud grandparents, Andrew and Jill Crowe and Diana and Ian Macgregor, are also delighted with the family’s newest arrival.

Hugh’s dad Ian used to work beside Kirsty’s mum Jill in the same Falkirk GP practice, while Kirsty’s dad Andrew was also a GP locally. They have all now retired.

Speaking about Lewis’ name, Kirsty said: “We both really liked the name Lewis and we wanted to have a Scottish sounding name. When he was born we didn’t know what we were going to call him. We had a shortlist, and when we met him we thought Lewis suited him. His middle name Andrew is in line with my dad and his side of the family.”

The couple would like to thank the staff at Glasgow’s Princess Royal Maternity Hospital.

Kirsty said: “We’re very grateful to the midwife team for the care they gave us. The midwife care we received was brilliant. It really made a big difference and I’m really grateful for that. We’re also thankful to our families for being really really supportive.”