Life is often so much about timing. For newborn Mary Meredith Jones, despite being due on Dec. 26, her late arrival meant she earned her 15 minutes of fame after being only a few hours old.

"We were anticipating a Christmas baby, so we bought all these 'Baby's First Christmas' ornaments, but when I went into labor after midnight, we knew she was going to be a New Year's baby," said smiling mother Jennifer Jones. "Now her birthday is 1/1/11."

Born to Jennifer and Christopher Jones of Woburn, this is their  second child. The couple did not know whether it was going to be a boy or a girl.  Jennifer first went into labor around 12:20 a.m. on New Year's Day, and Mary Meredith was born at 5:03 a.m. She was delivered by Dr. Sean Pocock and weighed in 7 lbs., 11.5 oz. While Mary is her first name, her parents plan to call her by her middle name. They already have a 26-month-old daughter named Margaret who seemed very excited to now be an older sister.

Dr. Peter Slavin, president of MGH, presented her and her parents with a gift basket and a $200 savings bond on behalf of the hospital. The event marked the first of many that will take place throughout the year to celebrate the hospital's bicentennial. Massachusetts General Hospital was first founded in 1811 to help Boston's poor. MGH is the oldest hospital in New England and the oldest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, as well as the third-oldest hospital in the United States.

"This is a great way to start our bicentennial celebration. We wanted to kick off the year with our first new arrival, and Meredith certainly fits the bill," Dr. Slavin said.