LEWISTON — Elizabeth Langelier was certain she wasn’t going to give birth over the weekend.

Sure, the 22-year-old Auburn woman had an early sign of labor Friday, but she didn’t really feel like she was going to give birth. And besides, she was scheduled to be induced Monday. She’d planned to have the baby then.

But just moments after she sat on the exam bed at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center Friday evening, her water broke.

“The next thing I know, my family was saying ‘happy New Year!'” Langelier said. “And 16 minutes later I was giving birth.”

Dominic John Langelier, born at 12:16 a.m. on Jan. 1, is the area’s first baby of the year. 

“I pushed for two years. I pushed for 2010 and 2011,” Langelier joked Saturday.

On New Year’s Day, Langelier celebrated with family members both the birth of her first child and the start of the new year. In a hospital room filled with flowers, stuffed animals and balloons, someone added a bottle of sparkling cider.

Although Dominic’s father, Leon Payne, was in New York during the birth, Langelier had been surrounded by family members then as well. She wasn’t expected to give birth until Monday, but her mother had flown in early in the week from Montana and stayed with her at the hospital. When they learned Langelier was in labor, local family members dashed there, too. One aunt, Amy Poulin, didn’t have far to go. A nurse in St. Mary’s emergency room, she happened to be working that night. 

Langelier’s labor started around 6 p.m. At midnight, as family members watched the ball drop on the TV in her hospital room, Langelier pushed.

Dominic was born less than 20 minutes into the new year, 19 inches long and weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces.

“I was like, ‘What a great New Year’s present,'” Langelier said. “The first thing I said to him was ‘Thank you for coming out.'”

Although she was excited, Langelier didn’t think a Jan. 1 birth was a big deal. Then the TV stations started showing up Saturday. And the newspaper. After calling other Maine hospitals, a nurse told the family that Dominic might be the first 2011 baby born in all of Maine.

Some family members think that tells of great things to come for him.

“You watch, you’ll be watching everything this kid does,” said Erica Langelier, Dominic’s aunt.

As she held her new son, Langelier couldn’t help thinking about the future, too.   

“He’ll definitely have a great birthday,” she said. 

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Other firsts for 2011:

First movie shown in the Twin Cities: 12:45 p.m., “Yogi Bear,” Flagship Cinemas (Auburn)

First Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office call: 12:02 a.m., Livermore Falls, person received threatening texts.

First CD sold at Bull Moose in Lewiston: “Preposterously Dank,” “We Smoked It All” and the single “I’m Awesome” by Maine rapper Spose.

First winning lottery ticket cashed in: Three $3 scratch tickets for a total of $19 by Paul Roy of Lewiston at Lisbon Street News.  

First Tweet from the area: “Happy new year!” from Bates College student Shervin Chambers.