THE first baby to be born in Spain in 2023 is Iratxe, who came into the world exactly on the stroke of midnight at Madrid's Gregorio Marañón hospital weighing 3.72 kilos (8lb 3.2oz).
She and her mum Andrea are said to be doing well.
Zakaria was the second baby to be born in Spain in 2023, just seconds after the chimes. Here he is with his mum Meryem at Girona's Palamós Hospital
Iratxe was followed seconds later by Zakaria, in Girona's Palamós Hospital, weighing 3.18 kilos (7lb 1.7oz), to parents Meryem and Mohammed, who live in Palafrugell, around 12 kilometres from the maternity ward.
At just one minute after midnight marked the start of the New Year, Aaron was born in Málaga to mum Érika, weighing 4.2 kilos (9lb 4.15oz) and Alejandro in Almería, being the first two births of 2023 in Andalucía, and Diego Gómez García in Valencia's La Fe Hospital, weighing 3.65 kilos (just over 8lb).
Aarón with his mum Érika soon after the birth at 00.01, the joint first baby for Andalucía along with Alejandro from Almería
Before the first hour of the year was out, Jimena's mum welcomed her at 00.10 in Murcia's La Arrixaca hospital – a tiny 2.83 kilos (6lb 3.8oz) - Amelia was born in Fuerteventura General Hospital at 00.23, weighing 2.89 kilos (6lb 5.9oz), the first baby of the year in the Canary Islands, and Gabriel came into the world in Laredo hospital in Cantabria at 00.36, weighing 2.91 kilos (6lb 6.6oz).
At around the same time as Gabriel, Yessica and Antón welcomed their son Antón at the Virgen de Altagracia in their home town of Manzanares, Ciudad Real province – the first baby of the year in Castilla-La Mancha, Antón Junior weighed a healthy 3.38 kilos (7lb 7.2oz).
Also slipping in just before midnight chimed in the Canary Islands – where her date of birth would have been recorded as December 31, 2022 – was Mahelet Arias Castro, who started life at 00.54 at Logroño's San Pedro University Hospital, making her the first baby of 2023 in La Rioja.
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