Baby enters world at 7 seconds into the new year on Long Island
Meet Baby, New Year’s Baby. You can call him 007. His parents do.
Adina and Eli Derdik welcomed their boy seven seconds after midnight on New Year’s Day, likely making him the first baby born on Long Island and in the metropolitan area in 2019.
The 7-pound, 13-ounce baby, who has yet to be named, was born surrounded by party hats, glitter makeup, streamers, excitement and “the whole staff” of Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, his mom said.
“It was an amazing moment,” said Adina Derdik, 24, a graphic designer. “We had a cheering squad. We had the ball dropping in the background.”
The nurses nicknamed the 20.75-inch-tall baby “007” after his birth time and James Bond. His parents, of Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, will give him his real name in eight days at his bris, a baby-naming and circumcision ceremony, according to religious Jewish tradition.
“It’s as close as I can remember” to a midnight birth in a 22-year career with the Northwell Health system, hospital spokeswoman Michelle Pinto said Tuesday morning in a phone interview.
The Derdiks' second child was also the “best kind” of birthday present for Eli Derdik, who is turning 28 on Wednesday.
“My wife always says I’m the hardest person to find a present for,” Eli Derdik, a physician assistant, said as Adina voiced her agreement. “This is up there. It’s No. 1.”
The baby, who on Tuesday was nestled in his mother’s arms and wearing a hat with a puff of blue fabric on top, was due to be born on Dec. 29. He came into the world after three hours of labor.
Adina Derdik says the birth is an exciting and overwhelming way to celebrate the New Year, although it is a less significant holiday than the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah.
“I’d rather the tax deduction than the New Year’s baby, but you can’t plan these things,” Adina said, with a laugh.
Rochelle Monroe, left, and Josean Lewis, of Amityville, with their newborn baby boy Kairo on Tuesday. Kairo was born at 12:08 a.m. New Year's Day. Credit: James Carbone
Suffolk County's first baby appeared to be Kairo Lewis, born at 12:08 a.m. at Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip to Rochelle Monroe and Josean Lewis of Amityville. Kairo weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces and measured just over 22 inches long, according to hospital spokesman Timothy Kelchner.
Josean, 32, a warehouse worker, and Rochelle, 30, an elementary school teacher, were tired but elated, along with Kairo's big sister, Gianna Lewis, 7.
"We feel great, we feel happy," said the newborn's father, who made a prediction for 2019: "It's going to be restless nights."
Ketan Patel and his wife, Hetal, of Farmingville, with their newborn baby girl on New Year's Day 2019. Credit: James Carbone
Elsewhere on Long Island, Ketan and Hetal Patel of Farmingville welcomed their daughter to the world at 1:26 a.m. at Stony Brook University Hospital, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
Ketan, 35, and Hetal, 27, both work in pharmaceuticals and said in a phone interview they would follow Hindu custom in seeking advice from family before naming their 6-pound, 14-ounce girl.
Ketan Patel said he and his wife had hoped for a New Year's baby and "that dream came true. It's called the grace of God." Said Hetal Patel: "When I show her, when I hold her, my pain is gone away."
Humans weren't the only ones whose New Year's Day birthdays caused a stir.
The Long Island Aquarium announced Tuesday that two penguins have hatched and posted a photograph of them by a Happy New Year’s hat and party blowers.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the community where the Patels live due to incorrect information from the hospital.
Nicholas Spangler is a general assignment reporter and has worked at Newsday since 2010.
