Not every new mother in San Antonio gets to leave the hospital bearing not just a baby, but donated gift cards, baby toys, child locks and a $10,000 scholarship to the University of the Incarnate Word.

Those special perks are reserved for the one who gives birth to the first baby of the year.

Jocelyn Ramos-Campechano, 19, gave birth to Jayme Campechano at 12:11 a.m. on Jan. 1 at the Metropolitan Methodist Hospital — the first baby born in San Antonio this year.

For 17 years, area hospitals have pooled together gifts to welcome the first baby. This year, some of those gifts included a $100 gift card for Walmart from CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System, $50 gift cards to Target and Babies R Us from the Methodist Healthcare and Baptist Health systems, and a car seat and portable playpen from University Health System.

“It was a long experience but it was exciting,” Ramos-Campechano said about being in labor, which lasted almost two days. “And when she got here, it was so beautiful.”

This was the first child for Ramos-Campechano, who is a second-year nursing student at the University of the Incarnate Word. She said it was exciting to find out that on top of giving birth to a healthy six-pound seven-ounce baby girl, she would be getting donations for having the first one of the year. Babies born from a planned C-section or planned inductions don’t qualify for the first baby of the year title.

“I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t planning on it, either,” she said, sitting in a wheelchair near a table with her donations Sunday morning, her sleeping daughter swaddled in her arms.

“She did it like a champ,” said her doctor, Christian Santiago. “She pushed like she had to.”

The first thing they all noticed when Jayme was born was the baby’s cap of smooth brown hair.

“We said wow, she has a lot of hair!” said Santiago to Ramos-Campechano, who giggled.

Greg Seiler, CEO of the hospital, said it had been more than 10 years since Metropolitan Methodist delivered the first baby of the year. He said there was “a little friendly competition” between hospitals,“but as you can see, we’re all in it together.”

Last year’s first baby of the year was Serenity Jo Gloria, born just after midnight at University Hospital.

Jayme didn’t budge Sunday morning, fast asleep in her mother’s arms.

“Hopefully she stays like that,” said Santiago. “A lot of times they start crying right away and they don’t stop.”

sfosterfrau@express-news.net