Steamboat Springs — John Ernest Collier III might have missed the first day of the new year by less than an hour, but he was still the first infant born in Routt County in 2002.

The baby boy arrived Wednesday at 12:50 a.m. at Yampa Valley Medical Center.

His parents, John Collier Jr. and Tina Williams, said they thought their son might come around the first of the year.

It was just a hunch the infant would be the first born at the hospital in 2002, Williams said.

Collier said the child carries a proud family name.

“He’s the last one of my generation,” Collier said.

There were no complications during or after the delivery, and mother and father were able to spend much of Wednesday with their son.

They said he revealed some of his personality while he was awake.

“I saw some, but that’s just me, that’s just mom,” Williams said.

Family traits, such as a few blond hairs, showed his heritage, Collier said.

“You can tell he’s definitely Irish,” he said.

Baby John joins Williams’ three other children, Sierra, 5, Britteny, 4, and 1-year-old Jeremiah. The children will not see their new brother until Williams returns home to Craig on Friday.

Williams said she doesn’t expect the family to grow any more after its most recent addition.

John Collier III weighed 5 pounds, 11 ounces and measured 18 1/2 inches at birth.

The absence of a New Year’s baby is not that unusual at Yampa Valley Medical Center, said Public Relations Director Christine McKelvie.

Newborns have arrived after Jan. 1 on two of the past six years, she said. Several mothers, however, gave birth at the end of December 2001.

McKelvie said 355 infants were born in 2001, a 10-percent increase from the 320 infants born in 2000.

By late Wednesday afternoon, no other newborns were reported.

The parents of the first baby of the year receive several gift certificates for Steamboat businesses, and the baby receives a teddy bear.