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Congratulations to the first baby of 2006!

After going into labour just after midnight on Monday (Jan. 2), Whistlerite Meghan Deschenes fully expected to make a brief stop at Squamish General Hospital on her way to Vancouver to give birth to her second child.

After going into labour just after midnight on Monday (Jan. 2), Whistlerite Meghan Deschenes fully expected to make a brief stop at Squamish General Hospital on her way to Vancouver to give birth to her second child.But little Carmen Deschenes had other ideas.

Doctors in Squamish told Meghan Deschenes and her husband Michael, who drives a bus on the mountains for Whistler Blackcomb, that the mother-to-be was too far along to make the journey to Vancouver's St. Paul's Hospital, where she was scheduled to undergo a Cesarean section the following morning at 9:30 a.m.

Carmen Deschenes, weighing in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce, eventually arrived by C-section anyway - on Monday at 5:40 a.m. - but not in Vancouver. Instead, she became the first baby born at Squamish Hospital in 2006.

And mother, father and big sister Desiré, age 3 1/2, couldn't be more proud, her mother said.

From her hospital bed, Meghan Deschenes said she "was kind of hoping to avoid the whole labour pain thing" with her second pregnancy. That's because she had a C-section the first time around.

This time, she spent approximately 5 1/2 hours in labour, reaching 7 centimetres of dilation (10 cm is considered fully dilated) at one point before Squamish-based Drs. Gawley and Cudmore decided to perform the C-section.

"I thought that I was such a wuss, because I had a Cesarean the first time, but after having gone through this, I don't feel like such a wuss anymore," the proud mother said.

Meghan Deschenes said husband Michael was present for the whole procedure, including the labour and C-section. But he didn't exactly find it the most visually appealing experience, she said.

"My husband looked and had the car accident syndrome where he was grossed out but couldn't stop looking," Meghan said with a laugh. "He said it was pretty gross and I said, 'Hey, I told you not to look.'"

The mother, who was scheduled to be released from the hospital today, said she planned to resume her role as a full-time mom upon her return. As well, she said she hopes to resume skiing when some friends visit Whistler next month.

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