Baby rattles ring in their new year

Proud parents on both sides of Tampa Bay have babies just after midnight.

By JANET ZINK, Times Staff Writer
Published January 2, 2008

Sally Soucy, a certified nurse midwife from the Women's Health Center, rubs noses with Michael Daniel Pierce Jr., as mom, Miranda Cyrus, and dad, Michael Daniel Pierce, look on. Michael was born at 12:01 a.m. Jan. 1 at Tampa General Hospital.
	[Carrie Pratt | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Lara Cerri | Times] Nikki Harwood, 19, and Douglas Seitz, 36, admire Cheyenne Elizabeth Seitz, born at 1:24 a.m. Jan. 1 at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg to be Pinellas County's firstborn.

TAMPA - Michael Daniel Pierce Jr., wasn't due to enter the world until later this month, but he couldn't wait to get started.

Michael was born at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday at Tampa General Hospital, making him the Tampa Bay area's first baby of 2008.

"He was eager to get out," said Michael's mother, 21-year-old Miranda Cyrus, who also has a 2-year-old daughter.

Cyrus said before she went into labor her plans for New Year's Eve were to sit in her Plant City home "being miserable and pregnant."

"It couldn't have been a better New Year's," she said. "He has an exciting future ahead of him."

Michael is a distant relative of pop icon Miley Cyrus, a.k.a. Hannah Montana, according to Cyrus.

Miranda Cyrus said she is the second cousin of Billy Ray Cyrus, a country music performer and father of Miley, who portrays Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel show and in a sold-out concert tour.

"As long as the baby doesn't sing I Want My Mullet Back, we'll be fine," said Miranda Cyrus, referring to a Billy Ray Cyrus song. Her grandfather and Billy Ray Cyrus' father were brothers, she said. The relationship couldn't be independently confirmed Tuesday.

Michael, named after his father, weighed 6 pounds, 10 ounces.

"He came out squawling and looks great," said Sally Soucy, a certified nurse midwife who helped deliver the baby.

In Pinellas County, Cheyenne Elizabeth Seitz was the first baby of the year, born at Bayfront Medical Center at 1:24 a.m. to Nikki Harwood. Cheyenne weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces.

Harwood, 19, smiled as she cradled her daughter Tuesday morning. Her boyfriend, Douglas Seitz, 35, looked on. They live in Largo.

"It feels great," Harwood said. She said she named her daughter Cheyenne after the fictional daughter on Reba McEntire's television show Reba.

Back at Tampa General, Soucy said there was a bit of a race as the midnight hour drew near. Another mother labored nearby and delivered her baby at 12:06 a.m., according to hospital officials.

"It was fun because we both knew that it was close," Soucy said. "The other room knew that we'd made it because we were yelling and screaming so loud."

Times photographer Carrie Pratt contributed to this report. Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3401.

[Last modified January 1, 2008, 23:09:19]