COEUR d'ALENE - Bernadette and Brandon Springs weren't expecting the arrival of their fifth child until Jan. 3.

But as the clock struck midnight and ushered in the new year, Bernadette said she began having horrible contractions.

"I was going through pains until around 2 a.m.," Bernadette said. "That's when I woke my husband up and told him it was time to go."

When they arrived at Kootenai Health, a nurse told the couple that they were the first to arrive and that their child could be the first born this year.

"I didn't think much of it at the time because I knew I could be in labor for 24 hours or something," Bernadette said. "But when he was born we got so excited."

At 7:30 a.m., Jaxtyn Alexander Springs was welcomed into the world as the first baby born in Kootenai County in 2015.

Jaxtyn weighed 8.8 pounds.

After the baby was born, nurses and doctors at Kootenai Health gathered around the family to congratulate them on the special birth.

"It was so great," Bernadette said.

Bernadette said Jaxtyn has two brothers, two sisters and a step-sister.

"He evens everything out," she said.

Hospital officials told The Press that the New Year's baby was delivered by Pam Holcomb and marks the longtime certified nurse-midwife's final delivery before retirement.