Winning couple's pint-sized treasure

Deborah Erskine with her Mother's Day present, Anya Jade Erskine, who was born at Queen Mary...
Deborah Erskine with her Mother's Day present, Anya Jade Erskine, who was born at Queen Mary Maternity Unit of Dunedin Hospital yesterday. Photo by Craig Baxter.
Anya Jade Erskine's timing was perfect.

Not only was she born at 1.08am on Mother's Day, weighing in at 3.12kg, she was born within "a small window of opportunity" for her family.

Her parents, Deborah (27) and Nathan Erskine (34), are sharemilkers on a Milton dairy farm, and in March they won the Otago Sharemilker of the Year award.

But the expected date of their second baby's arrival was about the same time as the national final of the competition in Rotorua this week, and the Erskines feared one of them would not be able to make the trip.

In the end, Anya came through, right on cue.

"This is perfect timing," Mr Erskine said.

"There was a small window of opportunity - she had to be born between May 5 and 10 so that we could still both fly up to the national finals on Wednesday.

"If she had come any later, Debs would have had to have stayed at home."

While the couple were excited about competing in the national final, the emotion paled into insignificance with the arrival of a sister for their first-born son Brayton (2).

"Anya's definitely the best Mother's Day pressie ever," Mrs Erskine said.

"It looks like Nathan got let off the hook this time around - he didn't need to buy me a present."

It is understood that Anya was one of five babies born in Otago hospitals yesterday.

john.lewis@odt.co.nz

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