TYLER, Texas — Expectant mother Lala and her partner, Laban Lewis, were content to spend a quiet New Year’s Eve at home, folding new baby outfits, tidying up and, of course, checking and re-checking that Lala’s overnight bag was packed with everything she’d need when the time came for the arrival of their precious baby girl.
But around 5 p.m. on Thursday, when Lala got up for a quick bathroom break, she realized their quiet evening at home had taken an exciting turn.
Lala called out to Laban from the bathroom – “My water just broke!” – and within minutes they were rushing to Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler, where baby Leana took her sweet time in coming and “made us hurry up and wait,” Laban explained.
Leana wouldn’t arrive for another 14 or so hours — and, on Jan. 1, 2021, at 7:20 a.m., would make herself Christus hospital’s first newborn of the new year, and one of Tyler’s first known babies of 2021.
Read the rest of the story with our news partners, the Tyler Morning Telegraph.
