The south suburbs has two of the first babies born on New Year’s Day in the Chicago area.
Joseph Alberto Guzman was born at 12:04 a.m. at Franciscan Health Hospital in Chicago Heights to Krisna Guzman-Avila, of Sauk Village. Baby Joseph, who joins three siblings, weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce and measured 18.5 inches long.
Four minutes later at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Janae Davis was born weighing 9 pounds and measuring 20 inches.
Her father, Jeremy Davis, of Oak Lawn, was excited that he and her mother, Dana Brown, could have the first baby born at the hospital in the New Year when they first checked in.
“This was such a cool experience to have,” Davis said. “I never imagined it would happen to our family. It’s so rare (to have the first baby). It feels like I just won the lottery or made a trick shot in a basketball game.”
Brown was more concerned with just having the baby.
“At first, I was concerned because Janae was such a large baby, but as soon as we got here I was at ease,” Brown said. “Everything went very well and the team at Advocate Christ Medical Center were wonderful. They were all rooting us on to be the first baby of the New Year. It just made the day even more special.”
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Janae will soon meet her big sister, Jayda, 6, at home.
Both families received gift baskets from hospitals for having the first babies of the New Year.
Frank Vaisvilas is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.