Bermuda welcomed in 2005 with the births of five new babies.

The first to arrive at 8.58 a.m. was seven pound, four ounce, baby boy Kint Ezekial Armstrong.

"I'm just very grateful he's here," his mother Shilik Hayward said from her King Edward VII Memorial Hospital bed yesterday.

And although she said little Kinta was "doing great," as was proud father is Kunta Armstrong, she said she was still feeling the effects of the delivery.

The nursing supervisor at KEMH said the parents of the second and third babies ? two girls ? "did not want to release any information on their babies at all," she said yesterday.

But the third to arrive was seven pound, 10.5 ounce baby girl Ayah Mason who was born at 2.05 p.m. after a long and painful labour, her mother Robin Mason said yesterday.

"I guess I'm excited (to have a new year baby), she said, "I am excited to have a baby at all".

She said she was "feeling good, her baby was happy and healthy" and she had a "natural delivery".

But she was not expecting to give birth in 2005: "I thought I would have had her before," she said.

However, the fifth and final baby of January 1 was six pound, nine ounce baby boy, J-Zenda Tucker who was born at 6.27 p.m.

"It was a good start to the year," his mother Monique Tucker said, "It's a blessing."