Poughkeepsie Couple Has 1st Baby Born in Dutchess County for New Year

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The first baby born in Dutchess County in 2017 arrived early New Year's morning at Vassar Brothers Medical Center.

Kamyah Selman was born at 3:45 a.m. weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces. Her mother, Shatya Tolliver, and father, Elvin Selman, were surprised when contractions started on New Year’s Eve, more than one week before their child’s Jan. 8 due date, according to a hospital spokesman.

Tolliver, a mental health worker, first experienced the contractions as she prepared to go to sleep before her overnight shift.

“I was shocked because my due date wasn’t for another week, and I didn’t think that she would be coming so early,” Tolliver said.

“At first, I thought she was kidding,” Selman said. “But once she said she needed to go to the hospital, we brought her right in.”

This is the Poughkeepsie couple’s first daughter.

For information about Vassar Brothers Medical Center’s maternity services, go here.

Photo caption: Shatya Tolliver and Elvin Selman hold their newborn, Kamyah Selman, at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie. Photo credit: Submitted.