Welcoming the First Babies of the Decade

Instead of spending their New Year’s Eve at the neighborhood block party, many parents across Ohio were happily welcoming little bundles of joy into their families instead.

Just one minute after the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Day, the first baby of 2020 and the new decade for central Ohio, Michael Reese Bentley, was born at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital.

Born to proud parents Jessica Whitt and Troy Bentley, Michael is the couple’s third child and their first son. Weighing in at 6 pounds, 9 ounces, Michael’s two big sisters can’t wait to welcome their baby brother home.

"He was wanting to be a New Year's baby," Whitt told ABC6 reporter Terri Sullivan. "It didn't matter either way. As long as he came out healthy."

Although Michael has quite the celebrity title, other babies throughout Ohio were quick to follow him into the new year.

Those at OhioHealth Marion General Hospital had to wait a little longer for their New Year’s baby, but just under two hours after midnight, Kinleigh Randal, born to parents Tracy and Robert Farst, became the first baby born in Marion County at 1:37 a.m.

Shortly after, Rumi Pushpa Rajan was born at 5:44 p.m. to Shweta and Prashant Rajan at OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 9.5 ounces.

OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital’s first baby came as a bit of a surprise to parents Michael and Rebecca Subit.

"The morning started off much different than a typical morning," Michael told WMFD reporters Jesse Smith and Sartaj Singh. "You know, you go outside and there's a half-inch of ice on your vehicle and you have to chisel it out, you get to the hospital late, so it definitely wasn't something that we were thinking, 'Oh, this is going to be the first baby.’”

Little did they know their daughter, Sybil Anne-Marie Subit, would be the first baby born in the new decade in the Mansfield area.

Congratulations to all parents and families across Ohio who welcomed their newborns into 2020!

To read more about OhioHealth’s New Year’s babies, click on the media logos below.

To learn more about women's health services at OhioHealth, click here.