Worth the Wait: First baby born in Cape this decade
High school sweethearts who tried more than seven years to have children could not have chosen a more opportune time to have their first.
The Port Charlotte couple became the first this new decade to have a baby at Cape Coral Hospital after giving birth to a girl Wednesday.
Corinne and Ryan Wimberly celebrated the birth of Gwenavere Wimberly early Wednesday morning around 4:30, weighing exactly 9 pounds and measuring 22 inches.
The proud grandparents and best friend of the mother came to celebrate the big day Wednesday afternoon, which did not come easily.
“I didn’t even think about it being the first baby born this decade. It’s wonderful. We’ve waited a very long time for a child and it’s a wonderful way to start the new year,” Corinne said.
The baby came three days early, and even on Tuesday afternoon they didn’t think it would happen, Corinne said. However, things sped up quickly.
“My blood pressure got a little high, so they were going to monitor me. But then my water broke and it was time,” Corinne said, who had a healthy daughter via C-section.
The Wimberly family lived near Burnt Store Marina in the north Cape for several years before moving to Port Charlotte just before Thanksgiving, but continued to utilize Lee Health because of the quality of service, Corinne said.
Corinne and Ryan met and fell in love while attending Charlotte High School and have been married eight years.
For nearly their entire marriage, they tried to have children, without success, which was very difficult for the couple.
Finally, they resorted to in utero fertilization (IVF), which proved successful. The couple plans to have more babies via IVF, as they have four embryos frozen and ready to be implanted when the time is right, Corinne said, who works as a manager at Harpoon Harry’s in Punta Gorda.
“It was a long time coming, so I’m glad this was how she was brought into this world,” Ryan said. “We will always remember this.”
The Wimberlys just missed having the first baby in the county by about 40 minutes.
The first birth in Lee County came at 3:50 a.m. at HealthPark from a couple from Fort Myers. Luis Eduardo De Leon was born weighing 6 pounds, 9 ounces to Julia Miranda De Leon and Luis Alberto De Leon Nix.