Sellersburg couple have HCH’s New Year baby
Jo Ann Spieth-Saylor, Editor, [email protected]
Kristina Powell said she was “just hanging out” at home on New Year’s Eve when she felt like she was going into labor.
Her due date was calculated to be Jan. 11, but Powell was pretty sure her unborn daughter had other plans.
Powell, 24, waited until her significant other, Zachary Hill, also 24, came home from work at Kia in Clarksville then they headed from their home in Sellersburg to Harrison County Hospital in Corydon.
The reason for delivering at HCH? Powell’s obstetrician, Dr. Kerrin C. Dunn, only delivers there, Powell said.
“Fourteen years ago she delivered my little brother,” Powell said of why she selected Dunn to be her OB physician.
A C-section needed to be performed because the baby was breach. At 8:50 a.m. on New Year’s Day, Kalli Hill arrived. She weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces and was 21 inches long.
Hill said he initially thought they were the parents of the second baby to be born in 2021 at HCH, but they were the first.
It’s the third year in a row that the New Year baby has been born on Jan. 1, each arriving before noon. It’s the fourth year in a row for the first baby to be a girl.
John and Kelly Birkla continued their tradition of donating a goodie basket to the couple of the first baby. The Birklas have done this since 2006 in memory of their daughter, Carly Birkla, who was the first baby born at HCH in 1985. Carly died as a result of a car crash in 2005.
Kalli’s grandparents are Elizabeth Barro of New Albany and Cheryl Hill and Daryl Hill, both of Sellersburg. Great-grandparents are Denise Powell and Darlene Hill, both of New Albany.
With plans to be discharged on Sunday, the new parents said Saturday evening they were ready to get home with Kalli, their first child, even though they were pleased with their time at Harrison County Hospital.
