First babies of 2023: Quebec families ring in new year with newborns

A tiny bundle of joy may be the best way to ring in the new year and a handful of lucky parents at hospitals across Quebec kicked off 2023 exactly that way.

In Montreal, maternity wards welcomed (presumably exhausted and overjoyed) new moms, dads and their little ones on the first day of the new year.

At the Lakeshore General Hospital, baby girl Hazel Letchuk made her arrival in the wee hours of Jan. 1. She was born around 2 a.m. and is the West Island regional health authority’s first newborn of the year.

“Congratulations to the whole family,” the health authority wrote on social media.

Over in downtown Montreal, another baby girl made her entrance into the world shortly after 2022 came to a close.

The McGill University Health Centre says the little one, whose name was not revealed, was born at 12:29 a.m. and that her parents are from Montreal. Mother and baby are doing well.

A boy named Roman was the first baby born on New Year’s Day at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal.

The hospital network posted a photo of the beaming parents accompanied by a staff member, wishing them love and happiness.

It wasn’t just a joyful time for Montreal families, either. Hospitals across the province had birth announcements to share — and it was the day for girls.

In Quebec City, baby Éliane was born at 12:17 a.m. at Hôpital Saint-François d’Assise. No photos were provided, but not only is she a New Year’s babe, she is also the firstborn child of her parents Roxanne Martel and Alexandre Angers.

Small babe Ève-Rose arrived in western Quebec at 1:23 a.m., weighing 5.6 pounds. The Outaouais regional health authority congratulated the family and posted a picture of happy mom and baby.