THE first Wee County baby of the year was born at Forth Valley Royal Hospital last week.

Bonnie Stevenson was brought into the world on January 4 at 1.04am to Natalie Whyte, 21, and Ryan Stevenson, 24, from Alloa.

Weighing 3.8kg, Bonnie is the couple's first baby and was due to be born on New Year's Eve.

After her due date came and went, Natalie explained how she went to the hospital on January 3 and was sent back home.

Mum Natalie told the Advertiser: "We went up [to the hospital] to begin with and I wasn't far enough on so we went home and I had to go up two and a half hours later.

"About 9.30pm I went up and she was born at four minutes past one."

Natalie explained how nerve-wracking the situation was going into labour in the middle of a pandemic and detailed the extra processes she had to go through.

She continued: "You don't know what the situation's going to be.

"I was quite nervous to be honest; all the doctors and everybody were wearing their masks, and we had to get Covid tests before it happened – so, that was another thing.

"It was a bit more restricted, once we were in the room my partner couldn't leave."

Natalie added how the whole family is already in love and, after being unaware of the gender until she was born, they can now start filling the baby's room with colour.

Furthermore, being the first baby in the area born of the year is a special enough occasion; however, baby Bonnie is also the first female on her dad's side for decades.

Natalie said: "She's the first female born on my man's side for 40 years so she's got 10 uncles. I don't think she'll get a boyfriend any time soon.

"Ryan's amazed: he's besotted. We had in our heads we were expecting a boy because we never actually knew the gender and with the family history we assumed it would be a boy."

After such a hard year with everything that has gone on, Natalie added: "There was a wee storm and she's a wee rainbow."

A spokesperson for NHS Forth Valley said: "We would like to congratulate the parents of all the babies who were born at Forth Valley Royal Hospital over the last year and thank our staff who have continued to support local families across Forth Valley throughout this challenging period."