Bluewater Health says the first baby of 2025 was born on New Year's Day, weighing seven pounds and four ounces.
New parents, Jessica Brown and Trevor Howard, welcomed their first born child, Levi Joshua Howard, on January 1 at 6:34 p.m.
"Mom and Levi are doing great," said Howard. "Levi is everything we could ever ask for. He's sleeping well, he's eating well, he's doing everything that he needs to do. Mom is doing great, she's recovering fantastically."
The family is from Strathroy.
Howard said the maternity ward is no longer open at Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital so they decided to have their baby in Sarnia.
"Truly, I don't think we could have chosen a better spot to go. Everyone here has been nothing short of fantastic," said Howard.
He also said as new parents, they had a lot of questions but the hospital staff were friendly and supportive with their answers.
The new parents are feeling a lot of emotions as they prepare to take baby Levi home.
"Excited is probably the best word, tired would probably be the second best, and maybe a little anxious" said Howard. "Jess has a lot of experience with babies. She has a big family and a lot of nieces and nephews who are younger and she was able to be involved in that process as they grew up. So she's got a lot of experience -- I'm a bit of a newb (newbie) myself but I've got a great teacher."
Howard said they expected to be discharged from the hospital Thursday evening.
"We have lots of family and friends who are very eager to meet [Levi]," chuckled Howard.