Lambertville and Bethlehem families welcome 2014 New Year's babies

Locally, New Year's Day proved to be a slow time for babies. Officials in Easton Hospital and Hackettstown Regional Medical Center said no babies were born at their hospitals during the first 12 hours of 2014.

A Lambertville couple narrowly missed having the first 2014 baby born in New Jersey when they ushered their first child into the world.

Lily Isabella Lukasiewicz was born at 12:03 a.m. at Hunterdon Medical Center in Raritan Township. She arrived a minute after a baby born in Passaic County, said her father, Kevin Lukasiewicz.

"It would have been a great thing for telling stories, but we're still the first baby born in Hunterdon County. We've got Baby New Year right here," he said.

The 20.5-inch-long, 6-pound 8-ounce baby arrived a day before her due date, Kevin Lukasiewicz said. He said he and his wife, Trista Lukasiewicz, had already left the hospital Dec. 31 after a standard checkup when Trista Lukasiewicz started having contractions.

Although the Lukasiewiczs are first-time parents, Kevin Lukasiewicz said, they were prepared to start their new family together.

"We've been setting up the nursery and getting everything ready in the last couple of weeks," he said.

Locally, New Year's Day proved to be a slow time for babies. Officials in Easton Hospital and Hackettstown Regional Medical Center said no babies were born at their hospitals during the first 12 hours of 2014.

The first 2014 baby born in Northampton or Lehigh counties arrived at 1:59 a.m. at St. Luke's University Hospital in Fountain Hill.

Sajjad Shah said he and his wife, Yasmin Shah, thought they could have a Christmas baby on the way when she thought her water broke Dec. 24. The episode turned out to be a false alarm, Sajjad Shah said, and the yet-to-be-named child arrived three days past his due date instead.

The Bethlehem couple opted not to know the baby's gender before his birth, he said.

"We had two or three boy names picked out and two or three girls names. Now we've narrowed down the choices," Sajjad Shah said with a laugh.

The boy is the Shahs' second child, and 4-year-old brother Taha may be the most excited member of the family, Sajjad Shah said.

"He wanted a boy. It looks like he got what he wanted," he said.