Couple’s First Child First In New Year

Chris and Debra Lawson’s baby girl has neither an unusual nor common name.

But Danielle Kathryn Lawson has another distinction: She was the first baby born in Kootenai County in 1998.

Danielle was born at 2:23 a.m. New Year’s Day, edging out three other little girls born the same day.

The bundle - 7 pounds, 9 ounces - arrived a little reluctantly, however.

The medical staff decided to induce labor, rather than wait for Debra’s Jan. 6 due date.

While being the New Year’s baby gives Danielle some notoriety, that’s not what’s so special to her parents, who live in Spirit Lake.

“She’s a special baby because she’s here, and she’s ours, our first baby,” Debra Lawson said.

, DataTimes