Slade Point toddler Aiden Lea went to bed as usual one night and woke up the next year as a big brother.
His little brother Keegan George was born in a hurry at 2am on January 1, just 11 minutes after his mum arrived at the Mackay Birth Centre.
Parents Peter and Corrina Lea welcomed their second son four days early on New Year’s Day, making him the first baby of 2026 in the Mackay region.
Corrina’s waters broke about 9:30pm on December 31 and her contractions started at 10pm.
“I had spent the entire Christmas holidays redecorating Aiden’s new bedroom,” she said.
“Pete kept joking that the minute I finished the baby would arrive. I spent New Year’s Eve finalising a dinosaur mural and installing the skirting and generally finishing it off.
“I sat down at about 9:15pm and announced to Peter that I am actually fully finished and he mentioned we just had to adjust the door handle.
“So we jumped up and as we were doing that my waters broke.”
Corrina’s parents were celebrating the New Year at home at Cape Hillsborough when they got a call just before midnight to come and look after their grandson.
“I was trying to pack up my tools during labour but I insisted Pete finish the door handle whilst I was in the bath.”
The couple arrived at the Mackay Birth Centre at Mackay Base Hospital at 1.52am and Keegan was born just 11 minutes later at 2.03am, weighing 3.91kg and measuring 54cm long.
Despite his very quick arrival, Corrina said it was a very normal pregnancy with no complications.
“This was my second pregnancy through the Mackay Birth Centre. I definitely miss the old building but the midwives were fantastic.” Corrina said.
“Massive thank you to Katie, my assigned midwife, and Marion, my delivery midwife. Both of them were wonderful.
“Katie has been fantastic through the pregnancy and the post-natal care, and Marion was amazing on the night of Keegan’s delivery; she made it feel like we’d known each other the whole time and I felt very cared for.”
Keegan was given the middle name George in honour of Corrina’s great uncle who turned 100 on 8 January. Unfortunately, the family missed his birthday party, but they had a good excuse.
Corrina was discharged from the Mackay Birth Centre about four hours after Keegan’s birth and was back home before Aiden woke up on New Year’s Day.
“We don’t usually do a whole lot on New Year’s so it was definitely eventful for us,” she said.
“Keegan has settled in really well. Aiden went to bed on New Year’s Eve as usual and woke up and we were back home already with his baby brother. He was quite surprised when he woke up.”
Congratulations to the Lea family on their beautiful New Year’s arrival. 💙