Memorial East welcomes first baby born at Shiloh hospital

David Hanvey doesn’t know it yet, but he’ll forever be remembered as the first baby born at Memorial Hospital East in Shiloh.

His mother, Sasha Hanvey, 35, of Millstadt, arrived at the 94-bed hospital on Cross Street at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday — the exact time the new hospital opened for business.

David was born at 9:05 a.m. Tuesday via a scheduled cesarean delivery by Dr. Adriena Beatty, an obstetrician/gynecologist with Memorial Medical Group. He weighted just over 7 pounds and he was 20 inches long.

Sasha Hanvey said Beatty asked if she would be willing to schedule her delivery on Memorial East’s opening day because her due date was April 14.

“When you get to be nine months, two days early sounds wonderful,” she said.

Sasha’s husband, Brett Hanvey, 36, said it didn’t matter to him where the baby was born.

“It didn’t make any difference to me at all,” he said.

David’s delivery went a lot smoother than the delivery of their first son, according to Sasha. David’s older brother Bennett, 4, was born by emergency C-section at a hospital in Honolulu.

“When I had my first, it was a long waiting period just to get into a room,” Sasha said. “We waited four hours just to get a room.”

After some tests, she was admitted to the hospital, and she said they waited some more before doctors decided to do a C-section. “Altogether it was 36 hours with my first one,” Sasha said.

Bennett, who’s in preschool, met his little brother David for the first time Tuesday.

“He didn’t ever want to let him go even when he was crying,” Sasha said. “He’s in love.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Sasha was still the only patient in the birthing center of the new hospital.

“It’s pretty nice,” she said.

Sasha praised the attention she was getting from hospital staff members.

“Everyone here has just been over-the-top awesome,” she said.

The maternity suites are large enough for the babies to remain in the room with their moms.

Sasha said Tuesday night she needed to get a few hours of sleep, so nurses took David to the nursery for two hours.

Her only complaint: The water in the shower could be hotter.

The hospital surprised Sasha with fresh flowers and a basket full of items for her new baby, including a large teddy bear, a quilt made by auxiliary volunteers, a picture frame and gift cards.

Sasha had worked at a daycare in Millstadt, which has closed. Now, she looks forward to being a stay-at-home mother to her two boys.

David is named after Brett’s father, who also bears the name David Hanvey. He lives in Belleville.

“This is a Hanvey all the way,” Sasha said.

David is doing “really well,” and Sasha hopes to bring him home later this week.

“He’s just hungry all the time,” she said.

This story was originally published April 13, 2016 at 3:35 PM with the headline "Memorial East welcomes first baby born at Shiloh hospital."