Two baby boys in New York were born exactly at midnight on Jan. 1. Zayden Noel was born "at exactly midnight" at the New York City Health + Hospitals/Coney Island in Brooklyn just as Time Square's crystal ball fell. Baby Zayden weighed 7 pounds and 1 ounce and quickly gained fame as New York's new arrival for the year.
However, doctors at the Northwell Health's Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens said New York's first 2016 baby was born at their hospital at the "stroke of midnight." Their New Year baby will be named after the boy's bris (circumcision) ceremony this January.
Brooklyn's New Year Baby
Baby Zayden's 25-year-old mother, Stephanie Diaz, went into labor sometime around 10 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2015 at the New York City Health + Hospitals/Coney Island. Diaz said the hospital's doctors and staff kept telling her that her baby will be born on Jan. 1.
"He came exactly on his due date, exactly on time," added Diaz, who recounted having a TV in the delivery room. The crystal ball on Times Square was dropping just as she was giving birth.
Baby Zayden's 31-year-old father, Paul Staley, said the experience made him cry and that he'll remember the moment for the rest of this life. The couple also has a 4-year-old son.
Queens' New Year Baby
In Queens, the 7-pound, 4-ounce baby boy was born to proud parents Daniella and Eli Malakov at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center. Twenty-six-year-old mother Daniella, whose due date was actually Dec. 30, 2015, said her baby's arrival wasn't planned.
Based on the in utero fetal tracking device provided by the hospital, the Malakov baby arrived at the "stroke of midnight."
"We've gotten very used to timing milliseconds because everybody is looking for that New Year's baby," said Patricia Garofalo, a nurse at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center.
The hospital's spokesman Terry Lynam said they had four other babies born within the New Year's first few minutes.
It's A Tie
The team at New York City Health + Hospitals/Coney Island claimed to have same test as the one used by the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, and it the results were exactly the same as well. It seems that both mothers in Brooklyn and Queens gave birth to their little boys at the same time, so it's a tie.
More New Year Babies
In Bronx, Rosana Alvarez gave birth to a baby girl at 12:22 a.m. at the Lincoln Medical Center. The baby girl weighed 6 pounds, 4.9 ounces.
Other states also welcomed newborns a little past midnight on Jan. 1. Baby Jaylanie Rodriguez was born at the Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Chicago at 12:01 a.m. Jaylanie, who weighed 5 pounds and 10 ounces, is the firstborn of Aliyah Rodriguez.
In Massachusetts, Baby Carmelita Skaza was born at the UMass Medical Center at 12:02 a.m. Carmelita is the hospital's first birth in 2016. In Houston, Key'Asia Adams was Memorial Hermann hospital's first born in 2016, however, the time of her exact birth was not released.
Photo: Heather Katsoulis | Flickr
