The first baby born in Maine in 2021 appears to have been born at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta, delivered less than an hour into the new year.
Rowan Jess Tillson — the son of Vanessa and Joshua Tillson of Sidney — was born at 12:54 a.m. weighing 5 pounds and 14 ounces and measuring at 18½ inches long, hospital spokesperson Joy McKenna said.
Rowan Tillson was one of several babies born in Maine’s hospitals in the early hours of 2021. Houlton Regional Hospital may have had the second, with a baby being born there at 1:03 a.m.
Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center welcomed Bangor’s first baby of 2021 at 10:30 a.m.: Thomas Lee, the son of Anne and Robert Daniels of Kenduskeag. EMMC spokesperson Bob Potts said Thomas was an infant born in “perfect health,” weighing 7 pounds and 15 oz.
Anne Daniels described Thomas’ birth as a “blessing.” He will join five-year-old Josiah and two-year-old Killian in the Daniels household.
“It’s been a crazy 2020,” Anne Daniels said. “We’re so happy to have the first baby born in 2021!”
Other hospitals that saw New Year’s Day births include Maine Medical Center in Portland (1:58 a.m.), York Hospital (3:07 a.m.), Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick (5:23 a.m.), St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston (10:01 a.m.) and Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston (12:49 p.m).
Around late afternoon on Friday, several hospitals across Maine had yet to see their first babies of the new year. Some — including Bridgton Hospital — said they were in the process of delivering their first infant of 2021.