AS the clock passed midnight on January 1 many families came together to celebrate the start of a new year, and a new decade.

But for four families there was another reason to celebrate, as they welcomed Somerset’s first new youngsters of 2020 into their lives.

Musgrove Park Hospital’s first new tot of the decade was Miles John Mclaughlin.

He was born just two hours and two minutes into the year 2020.

He is the fourth child to parents Claire and Julian, who are property developers from North Curry.

Baby Miles weighed eight pounds and three ounces.

Mum Claire said she was ‘shattered, but overwhelmed’, and added: “I am OK, he is OK, and that is the important thing.

“We thought at one point he was going to be enormous, but he slowed down a bit fortunately.”

Dad Julian said: “His siblings are a bit older so he is going to be like an only child and get spoilt rotten.”

As well as a child born at 2.02am, Musgrove welcomed a tiny baby who weighed just over two pounds, with the scales reading 2.020.

Parents Rachel Tilling and Alan Windsor were originally due to welcome baby Kasper around February 12.

However, his mum’s waters broke at 28 weeks. They managed to get to 34 weeks, which was doctors’ aim, before Kasper was induced.

On seeing baby Kasper’s weight, dad Alan said: “I thought ‘that is a bit strange’. It gets you thinking, you know, maybe this was meant to happen.

“We have been here since Monday (December 30) so we watched the New Year on TV.

“Midnight passed and we were going to have a baby and watching Craig David. I don’t think it is something you could ever repeat.”

Rachel wasn’t the only member of staff at Bridgwater and Taunton College to welcome a new baby last week.

Course leader Dom, and his other half Laura Hodges, welcomed Musgrove’s third new baby boy of the 2020.

Their little one, who didn’t have a name yet when they spoke to the Mercury, was also a few weeks early.

Dom said: “We haven’t got anything ready at home. The plan was to sort everything out before we went back to work.”

The couple live in North Petherton and already had a three year old.

Dom said he was ‘very excited, happy, elated’ with Laura adding that they were ‘very much in love’.

Shortly after midday on January 1, the neonatal ward welcome its fourth boy of the new decade.

New parents Cezary Grzegorski and Sandra Szalek met their new son just an hour before talking to the paper.

The family lives in Wilstock Village, near Bridgwater.

Cezary said: “We are very excited. It is a lovely New Year’s gift.”