A few months ago, Elizabeth Serdar was pregnant with her first child and informed the due date was December 29. With that date being so close to New Year’s Day, Serdar realized that she could have the first baby at a hospital of the new year.
“Actually, I had that goal in mind once I passed my due date,” Serdar said.
Serdar, 33 and her husband, Jonathan, 31 are now the parents of Carson, a 7 pound, 2 ounce baby boy, who made his entrance into the world at Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital at 3:28 a.m., thus becoming the first baby born in 2020 after approximately 1,700 births in 2019 at LFH.
“I thought it would be pretty neat to have the first baby, and I guess we did it,” she said. “That is pretty special.”
Elsewhere in the region, the first baby born in 2020 at NorthShore University’s Highland Park Hospital was a boy, Remy Kai Bhosale-Wrightson. Remy Kai was born at 8:16 a.m. to parents Anushree Bhosale and Chris Wrightson, of Wheeling.
Remy Kai weighs 6 pounds, 13 ounces and is 20.75 inches in height.
One of the first babies to be born in the city of Chicago was Phillip Benjamin Brown. He was born at 12:58 a.m. at Illinois Masonic to parents Stephanie Travis and Benjamin Brown from Chicago.
Baby Phillip weighs 6 pounds, 14 ounces and is 19.5 inches in height.
For the Serdars, the couple only moved to Antioch late in 2019 and heard good things about Lake Forest Hospital, so they decided it would be the right place to have their first baby.
However, Elizabeth’s goal of having the first baby of 2020, was less than certain for a time on Tuesday, as she recalled going into labor around 2 a.m. However, even as the labor pains came, Carson took his time to make his anxiously awaited appearance.
“The contractions were hit-and-miss, so I was wondering if the baby would be born on the 31st or the 1st, but once we got to 8 or 9 (p.m.), I said he is probably going to come on the 1st,” said Elizabeth, a chemical sales representative.
With everyone healthy, the Serdars now embark on their parental journey.
“I’m very excited,” Elizabeth said. “This is an experience that nothing will compare to.”
Hospital officials were thrilled that everything went smoothly.
“Welcoming the first baby of the new year is always an exciting and a heartwarming experience that we all look forward to,” LFH spokeswoman Jill Edgeworth said in an email. “Most importantly, both mother and baby are doing well, and the family had a positive and smooth experience here at the hospital from when they first arrived yesterday through today.”
To commemorate the achievement of having the first baby of 2020, Edgeworth noted the Serdars can expect a gift basket on Jan. 2, including a hooded bath towel, receiving blankets, an outfit, bibs, toys and diapers.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
