Allegheny, Westmoreland counties celebrate the first babies of 2025
William, Genesis, Shiloh, Luka and Mila were all born shortly after midnight.
William, Genesis, Shiloh, Luka and Mila were all born shortly after midnight.
William Sido Scott was born 10 seconds after midnight Wednesday to become the first birth of 2025 in the Pittsburgh area.
William, the son of Frank and Evan Telban Scott of South Strabane, Washington County, was born at St. Clair Hospital in Mt. Lebanon, seconds after his New Year’s Eve due date.
Evan, 25, said her water broke Tuesday morning and they went to the hospital, where William arrived, all 6 pounds, 9 ounces and 19 inches of him, after about 12 hours in labor. He is the couple’s first child.
“It all went very well,” Evan said. “He’s doing fine.”
As for future New Year’s Eve celebrations, “it’s going to be a pretty good birthday” for William, she said.
Within the first hour of the new year, three more babies were birthed at UPMC and AHN hospitals in Allegheny County. It took until 4:10 a.m. for a baby to arrive at Independence Health Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg.
Two babies were born at 12:10 a.m. at UPMC Magee- Womens Hospital in Oakland.
They were the first babies born in UPMC hospitals in the Greater Pittsburgh area, said Andrea Yorchuck, a UPMC spokeswoman.
Genesis, an appropriate name for someone born at the beginning of the year, is the daughter of Dae-Janae Hippsshelton and Jake Pertras of New Brighton. She weighed in at 6 pounds, 5 ounces and is 19 inches long.
Shiloh, the son of Jerricka Belt of Monroeville, arrived at the same time as Genesis, according to UPMC.
Shiloh weighed in at six pounds, 2 ounces and was 20 inches in length.
At Allegheny Health Network, the first baby born in its hospitals in Allegheny County was Luka Gold Cunningham, the son of Rachel and Mark Cunningham of Richland. He made his entrance at 12:44 a.m. at AHN Wexford Hospital in Pine.
Luka weighed in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces and is just a little over 20 inches long.
“We’re really excited and happy that he’s healthy,” said Rachel, 33.
Luka will be joining three siblings at home: Roman, 4; Rayleigh, 3; and Presley, 16 months, his mother said.
Rachel said she was due on New Year’s Eve and, when she went into her doctor’s office for a checkup, her doctors decided it was time for the baby to arrive.
Luka will be her second child in diapers, which makes the gift AHN provided her all the more special for being the first baby at AHN hospitals in the county.
The family will receive one year of free diapers, thanks to the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank, and a special gift of free swim sessions from Goldfish Swim School in Fox Chapel, said Nikki Buccina, an AHN spokeswoman.
At Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg, Mila Kaye Donofrio, the daughter of Dominique Pampena and John “Rocco” Donofrio of West Newton, made her arrival at 4:10 a.m., the first baby born in 2025 in Westmoreland County.
Mila, who weighed in at 8 pounds, and 19½ inches long, will join her big brother, John “Romeo” Donofrio, 2, when she gets home.
Mila missed her due date by a few hours. Dominique said her daughter was due on New Year’s Eve and doctors induced labor about 3:30 p.m. Dec. 31.
With the birth not happening until after 4 a.m., Dominique said, they got to watch the ceremonial ball drop in New York City’s Times Square marking the beginning of the new year and some of the after-midnight festivities.
