Jan. 02--Making her debut shortly after the stroke of midnight, Jaylanie Rodriguez was born Friday at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, one of the first new arrivals in the Chicago area in 2016.
Jaylanie was delivered at 12:01 a.m., weighing 5 pounds, 10 ounces, said Evonne Woloshyn, the hospital's director of public affairs.
"Both mother and baby are doing great," Woloshyn said.
Jaylanie is the first child of mother Aliyah Rodriguez, 15.
"She has nothing to worry about," the new mother said of her daughter. "She has a great family that she's coming home to, so many people that she's going to be loved by."
What's more, Rodriguez said, Jaylanie is going to be a Cubs fan.
Rodriguez first went to the hospital on Christmas Day, her due date, with contractions, but she was sent home. She returned Thursday.
"It was really hard throughout my whole pregnancy, especially having her at a young age," Rodriguez said.
Along with being a mother, Rodriguez plans to finish high school, attend college and become a police officer.
"I can do it," she said.
At Prentice Women's Hospital in Chicago, officials confirmed that a baby girl named Madeline Elizabeth was born at 12:04 a.m., but the hospital, citing privacy issues, declined to provide further details.
Twenty-one minutes later, baby boy Teddy Sepsis was born to parents Demetri and Gia Sepsis of Elmhurst at NorthShore Evanston Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The baby weighed in at 7 pounds, 4 ounces. The couple's original due date was Dec. 19, which was then bumped to Christmas Day, Gia Sepsis said.
When the baby still had not arrived on Dec. 28, Gia Sepsis was admitted to the hospital, where despite doctors inducing labor, Teddy was not born until 12:25 a.m. Friday, she said.
"He was taking his jolly good time," said an excited, although exhausted, Sepsis, 37.
"We bought a home in November, and just got settled in, and Teddy's arrival has made everything complete," said Gia, a project manager. "We couldn't be more ecstatic."
"He's probably going to be someone who takes his time," added Teddy's father, Demetri Sepsis, 36, a credit analyst.
"Thanks to this little guy, New Year's Day will always be extra special," he said. "We're just so happy we're a family."
Elsewhere, after dropping off their 2-year-old son, Ethan, at his grandparents' house, James and Kari Lovgren of Bloomingdale were enjoying a long-awaited New Year's Eve dinner date at The Assembly restaurant in Hoffman Estates when Kari's contractions began.
By the time the couple had finished their dinners -- a slab of ribs for Kari, 32, and a burger for 34-year-old James -- Kari's contractions had grown stronger and more frequent.
At 12:50 a.m. Friday, the couple welcomed a 6 pound, 6 ounce baby boy, Luke Robert Lovgren, who was born at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield.
"It was nice having the hospital's first baby of the new year, and he doesn't know it yet, but he's already gotten his five minutes of fame," James Lovgren said.
Chicago Tribune photographer Chris Walker contributed.
kcullotta@tribpub.com
