Terrace - Jedi Wells
Time: Jan. 2 at 8:26 p.m.
Weight: 8 pounds, 14 ounces
Location: Mills Memorial Hospital
Parents: Phyllis Wells and Justin Squires
Before Jedi Wells had left the Mills Memorial Hospital, mother Phyllis said the power was already strong in the infant.
It was all in the hand movements, she said.
"It looked like he was using his Jedi power," said Phyllis of her son, Terrace's first baby of 2016, born on Jan. 2 at 8:26 p.m.
"When they use their powers, they use their hands in a certain way. He did that," she said with a giggle.
Phyllis' father is a big fan of Star Wars, and that's where the she and Jedi's dad Justin Squires got the inspiration for the name.
"We just like the name," Squires said. "It was a unique name that nobody has."
"We were originally going to go with the name Luke," Phyllis said, like the movie's hero Luke Skywalker. "But we wanted to have another 'J' name, so we stuck with the theme of Star Wars."
Now all the boys of the family, including her sons Jared and Jade, are an alliterative quartet.
Jedi has yet to secure Star Wars swag, since in First Nations culture people wait until after the birth to give gifts.
"It's bad luck," she said.
But what she's most looking forward to is breaking the news of his name to her father.
"He hasn't met him yet."
Prince George's own Ellie Marie Bajic was the first baby born to the north at at 1:25 a.m. on Jan. 1. She was just over an hour behind B.C.'s first baby boy, born at Surrey Memorial Hospital at 12:15 a.m.
Fort St. John - Bohden Rogers Stefiuk
Time: Jan. 1 at 5:36 p.m.
Weight: 8 pounds, 9 ounces.
Location: Fort St. John Hospital
Parents: Kasja Stefiuk and dad Adam Stefiuk
Due Dec. 23, Bohden Rogers Stefiuk could have just as easily been a Christmas baby.
Father Adam was really rooting for 2016. A sports aficionado, he'd heard that athletes born early in the new year just might perform better, particularly in professional hockey.
"We kind of joked it would be nice to hold out for the New Year," said Kasha, who gave birth to Bohden Jan. 1 at 5:36 p.m.
"There's such a difference," she said in starting schooling and sports, just based on whether a baby is born before or after the first day of 2016.
It didn't seem like a safe bet early on.
"He's a good size so the ultrasounds were predicting him even earlier than (his due date)," Kasja said.
Once they induced, the wait was over almost right away.
"When he decided he was finally ready to come it went quickly," she said. "It went very, very quickly and was extremely painful."
The couple liked how his name sounded together with older brother Bjorn, who is two and a half, and already shown softly kissing his little sibling in family pictures.
"It's a Ukrainian name so we both have Ukrainian roots and so we were looking for something a little more traditional."
Smithers - Kaylee Margaret de Jong
Time: Jan. 1 at 11:32 a.m.
Weight: 9 pounds, 1 ounce.
Location: Bulkley Valley District Hospital
Parents: Jamie and Jesse de Jong of Telkwa
Jamie's second child, Kaylee came a lot faster and easier than her son.
Both parents liked the name Kaylee, but Jamie said it's the girl's middle name that holds special significance.
"My granma passed away last week and Margaret was her name," she said.
Quesnel - Owen Jurgen Freybe
Time: Jan. 1 at 11:40 a.m.
Weight: 7 pounds, 4 ounces
Location: GR Baker Memorial Hospital
Parents: Amanda Hennigar and Andrew Freybe
Owen shares his middle name with that of his great-grandfather when the immigrant came to Canada from Germany.
"He had issues with people pronouncing his name, so he changed it to Walter," Hennigar said.
Now, with her son, the name is back in the family.
"We went back to the German roots and chose Jurgen out of respect," she said.
Asked whether having a New Year's baby adds any special significance to his birth, Amanda said "I think it just stresses the new beginning of our life."
Prince Rupert - Olivia Baath
Location: Prince Rupert Regional Hospital
Time: Jan. 1 at 10:34 a.m.
Weight: 6 pounds, 10 ounces
Parents: Bhupinder Baath and Ginny Baath
Olivia is the Baath's first child.
"It was perfect," said Ginny. "It was a first time, exciting. You don't have the words to explain, but everything's fine."
Prince George - Ellie Marie Bajic
Time: Jan. 1 at 1:25 a.m.
Weight: 8 pounds, 1 ounce.
Location: University Hospital of Northern B.C.
Parents: Kayla and David Bajic
Click here for Ellie's story.
Vanderhoof - Leo Eldon Vankoughnett
Time: Jan. 1 at 10:09 p.m.
Weight: 7 pounds, 8 ounces
Location: St. John Hospital
Parents: Lisa and Brad Vankoughnett
Dawson Creek - Jace Edward George
Time: Jan. 4 at 10:02 p.m.
Weight: 8 pounds
Location: Dawson Creek and District Hospital
Parents: Cara and Michael Umbrite
