Yellowknife (Jan 05/05) - Surrounded by family, proud new parents Laura Aubrey and Kevin Smith celebrated the New Year with the birth of their newest daughter.

Anais MacLennan Aubrey-Smith, Yellowknife's New Year's baby 2005, was born at Stanton Territorial Hospital at 3:54 a.m. on Jan. 3.

"We tried to time it to coincide with the Christmas holidays," joked the dad.

Weighing 7 lbs, 12 oz. and measuring 20.5 inches long, little Anais entered the world on a cold Northern morning with a smile, mom said.

"She was very content. She didn't even cry until she was weighed an hour and a half later," said Smith.

"She's very easy going."

This trait may serve her well with a 19-month-old sister eager to get to know her new sibling.

"She spent a lot of time during the pregnancy pointing at (mom's) belly," Smith said of his oldest daughter Amelie Campbell Aubrey-Smith.

"She's very interested. It'll be interesting to see what it's like when she gets home."

Aubrey went without analgesics for her second birth in an attempt to have the most natural active birth possible -- and it didn't seem to faze her.

"There was no intervention whatsoever -- no drugs, no gas, no Tylenol," said Smith. "I think she was so focused she didn't even notice."

Adding to the natural birth experience, the family -- which moved to the city from Fort Smith in September --employed the services of a midwife for the second time.

Midwives are more in tune with the mother's needs, such as providing soft music or low lighting, honouring the family's wishes and offering healthy choices, said Aubrey.

Although they had hoped to have a home birth with the midwife's aid, this is not yet possible in Yellowknife.

Midwife births must be performed under the supervision of a physician, said Wendy Baker, the family's midwife and manager of Maternal Child Services at the hospital.

New NWT legislation is expected to be enacted in 2005 to change this practice, making home birth available.