Barstow's new year deliveries come a few days late

BARSTOW • Taymar Carter Briggs was the first baby delivered in a Barstow hospital in 2009 — it only took four days.

The infant boy was born on Sunday at 9:19 a.m., ending an abnormally long dry spell for births in Barstow Community Hospital’s obstetrics unit, according to unit manager Lauren Stapp.

The first baby delivered in Barstow, though, was actually on Saturday. An uidentified local mother had given birth in her home and came to the hospital’s OB unit for treatment, but was released the next day, Stapp said.

The OB unit averages about 30 deliveries a month, Stapp said, but expectant mothers sometime arrive at the hospital in waves.

“It’s unusual to have such a long period with no babies,” Stapp said. “We delivered quite a few right before New Year’s, so that was probably the reason for the wait.”

Taymar was delievered by Cesarian-section and joins two brothers: one-year-old Leeland Briggs and seven-year-old Aaron Briggs III. Parents Leianna Chambers, 25, and Aaron Briggs Jr., 29,  met during high school in Los Angeles. The couple said they look forward to a bustling family of three boys.

“The kids are always doing something with each other, playing with toys or running around,” said Chambers, a Barstow resident who works at the 99 Cents Only Store on Main Street. “It’s a blessing to have another boy to add into the mix.”

Aaron watched the birth of his third son on Sunday morning, then spent the afternoon watching the playoff blowout of his favorite football team, the Minnesota Vikings. The pain from the playoff loss was eclipsed by the arrival of his newborn son, joked Aaron, a Hesperia resident. Aaron said he hopes to raise his sons as sports fans, especially of football and boxing.

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