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Nelson welcomes the 2016 New Year’s Baby

Wanda and Randy Santos welcomed a nine-pound unnamed boy to the world at Kootenay Lake Hospital 11:26 a.m. on Monday.
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Wanda Santos enjoyed a quiet cuddle with her newborn son at Kootenay Lake Hospital on Tuesday morning. He doesn't yet have a name

Down a quiet, secluded hallway in Kootenay Lake Hospital on Tuesday morning, new mother Wanda Santos was sharing a shadowy cuddle with her unnamed son. Born less than a day earlier— at 11:26 a.m. on Monday, weighing 9 pounds, 6 ounces — she had just learned that he was Nelson's New Years Baby for 2016.

"He talks quite a bit, and grunts," the 39-year-old told the Star, gazing affectionately at him and running her finger through his fuzzy brown hair while he napped. Her son took the opportunity to yawn, paw at his face and screech like a dinosaur.

"He's pretty amazing."

Wanda and husband Randy decided not to learn the gender of their child beforehand. Because the pregnancy felt different than when she carried her four-year-old son Matthew, she figured it was going to be a girl. Now all the names they've discussed are inappropriate for the newly-arrived infant.

One option they're considering? Alexander, after Randy's recently departed father.

"Me and my husband weren't planning on having more kids, but then we decided we wanted Matthew to have a little brother who lives nearby," she said. "We decided on this little guy."

The delivery was uncomplicated, according to Wanda.

"My water broke at 4:30 a.m. and I delivered by 11:26 a.m.," said Santos, who called the delivery "very quick."

Her boy is joining a family that already includes 18-year-old Katrina and 14-year-old Nicholas, siblings from Randy's previous relationship, as well as four-year-old Matthew.

The pair live in Passmore. Wanda works for Pacific Insight, while Randy is employed by Western Autowreckers. They have family elsewhere in the country who are joining them in enthusiastically welcoming Wanda's boy to the family.

"It's pretty wild. I didn't expect on Jan. 4 to have the New Year's Baby, but it's pretty exciting."