Courtesy Photo Alyssa and Steve Budnik, with 2021’s first baby Jaxson Dean Budnik, smile at MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena on Monday.

ALPENA — New Year babies are old hat for Alyssa and Steve Budnik, the proud parents of Northeast Michigan’s newest resident.

Welcoming tiny Jaxson Dean Budnik into the world at 1:27 a.m. on Monday at MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena, the couple was eager to introduce the little bundle to his five siblings — including almost-6-year-old Ariana, who enjoyed a year’s reign as the first baby of 2015 in Presque Isle County.

After navigating pregnancy in the middle of a pandemic, Jaxson’s mom was more than ready to have him in her arms, she said.

The tot was ready, as well, arriving three-and-a-half weeks before schedule and beating the doctor to the delivery room.

“He wanted out,” Alyssa Budnik said.

Her husband wasn’t allowed to come to most prenatal doctor’s visits as a safety precaution, and the pregnancy was full of restrictions and uncertainty, but the family was in good medical hands and felt safe, despite the pandemic, the new mom of six said.

All are healthy and safe now (“I’m feeling fine,” the new dad reassured his listeners) after a speedy delivery with a home improvement twist.

“Well, we started out at Home Depot,” said Steve Budnik, describing the Sunday morning on-the-road labor pangs that eventually brought the couple to the hospital — but not before they made it through the checkout line, Budnik said.

Jaxson, all not-quite-six-pounds of him, was introduced to his siblings via Facebook livestream on Monday morning as the older offspring were getting ready to head back to school after Christmas break.

Oldest brother Andrew, 11, greeted the newest sibling in his busy Hawks-area household with tears of happiness, the boys’ mom said.

The previous baby of the family, Natalee, had been pestering her parents to let her meet Jaxson in the days before he was born.

“We had to bring him home,” Steve Budnik said. “You can’t disappoint a 2-year-old.”

Other siblings Lilyanna, 7, and Steven, 3, round out the full Budnik nest that now is one bird bigger.

Though the couple may have to rent a bus to make a full-family trip to Walmart and will now have even more trouble saying the right name when one of the kids is in trouble, the cheerful new dad said, the Budniks are happy with their large brood.

It’ll be a different kind of homecoming for Jaxson than for his siblings, with no big groups of visitors flooding the house to meet him because of virus restrictions. Still, Alyssa Budnik is optimistic about what lies ahead for her young son.

“I think he’s got a good future,” she said, addressing the new addition to 2021 in her arms. “We’ll just take it as we go, huh.”