FREEPORT, ILLINOIS — The first baby born in 2020 at FHN Memorial Hospital in Freeport came into the world at 2:43 p.m. on January 1 – Walter Maurice Hayward III arrived more than 6 weeks early! He is healthy and spending some time in the FHN Memorial Hospital Family Birthing Center nursery.
Walter is the first child for happy parents Kaylie Spradlin and Walter Hayward II of Freeport. He debuted at 4 pounds, 8 ounces and measured 17.5 inches long. Walter is a true New Year’s baby – his mother’s contractions started at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
The happy parents were presented with gift baskets filled with infant care items provided by FHN Obstetrics staff and the family of last year’s FHN New Year’s baby.
“My number one wish for the new year is for our baby to be healthy and thrive,” Spradlin said.” We’re excited and a little nervous, but we’ll be focused on him.”
FHN, a not-for-profit organization with nearly 1,400 employees, is an award-winning regional healthcare system committed to the health and well-being of the people of northwest Illinois and southern Wisconsin. FHN Memorial Hospital has been recognized as one of the state’s top hospitals for safety by the Leapfrog group and Healthgrades as well as by the world’s largest, completely independent, non-profit product- and service-testing organization. FHN caregivers serve an average of 1,500 people each day across FHN’s 19 locations in 5 counties spanning northwest Illinois. Organized in 1995 as an integrated healthcare delivery system, FHN is comprised of FHN Memorial Hospital, the Leonard C. Ferguson Cancer Center at FHN Memorial Hospital, 13 family healthcare centers offering primary and specialty medical care, hospice, and outpatient mental health services. For more information about FHN, please visit www.fhn.org.