First children of the new year, new generation born in Chicago: 'We’re so excited to get to know her'
Scarlett Carmela Sartori almost shared a birthday with her dad.
Instead, the six-pound, 15-ounce newborn was delivered at Illinois Masonic Hospital less than 15 minutes after the new year began, making her one of the first babies born in Chicago in 2025 and one of the city’s first members of Generation Beta — which will make up all babies born between 2025 and 2039.
Labor was induced on the 30th, Scarlett’s father Josh’s 35th birthday, and bets quickly started flying between the Irving Park parents and delivery team about when she would be born.
“Once New Year’s Eve hit, we were all staring at the clock to see if she would end up as a New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day baby,” mother, Sophia Sartori, told reporters on a Zoom call Wednesday morning. “As we were going through the trenches at 11:45 p.m., we all had bets going on with the delivery team on when she would be born.”
Scarlett — named after Sophia’s favorite book, “The Scarlet Letter,” and her mother’s first name, Carmela — was born while “Mr. Jones” by the Counting Crows played, the result of her '90s alternative music-loving mother who asked for music during the delivery.
Sophia called the experience “surreal.”
“We’re very tired,” Sophia said, laughing. “[But] we’re so excited she’s here and we’re so excited to get to know her today.”
At Rush University Medical Center, Lavaeh Brandt was born at 1:03 a.m. She’s Ingrid Brandt’s fourth child, so her newborn will be coming home to “excited” siblings between ages 4 and 17.
While Lavaeh was born earlier than she anticipated, she hadn’t made plans for New Year’s Eve anyways, meaning the birth brought some excitement to what would’ve otherwise been a quiet night.
“[Spending New Year’s Eve giving birth] is OK I guess,” Brandt said laughing. “I had no plans anyways.”
Among the other newborns were Ethan Jovanni Maxinez — born at 12:56 a.m. at Lutheran General Hospital to Dunning parents Zara Amirova and Giovanni Maxinez — and Aiden Jimenez, born about an hour later at Mt. Sinai Hospital to parents Rubicelda Morales and Jose Luis Jimenez Bello.
Amirova and Maxinez were surprised around 2 a.m. Tuesday when Zara’s water broke when the two were watching TV, two weeks before her expected due date.
They had anticipated Ethan might be sharing a birthday with Giovanni’s younger brother Jan. 15. With Giovanni’s birthday Dec. 4 and the holidays, he joked it would be a busy time of year for the family going forward.
“We weren’t even thinking about having him so soon, but he wanted to come out early,” the newborn’s father told the Sun-Times while his wife rested. “He just wanted to celebrate New Year’s with us.”
Aiden’s parents were given a basket of clothes, baby items and a gift card as part of an annual tradition at Mt. Sinai for the families of newborns delivered shortly after a new year begins.
“Celebrating the first baby of the year is an incredible way to kick off the new year — with new life, new beginnings, and boundless hope,” said Irene Cisneros, nursing operations manager of women’s and children’s services at Sinai Hospital in a statement.