Brandon Alexander Whittington was originally due on Christmas Day.
But instead, he arrived at 12:06 a.m. at Mount Sinai Hospital on New Year’s Day at 7 pounds and 13 ounces after his mother, Shaniqua Jones, was induced hours before — making Brandon one of the first babies born in Chicago in 2026. Children born this year are among the first to be a part of Generation Beta, made up of babies born between 2025 and 2039.
Brandon’s parents held an early New Year’s celebration at their West Garfield Park home before heading to the hospital to welcome their second child several minutes after midnight on Thursday.
“We kind of figured he was going to come New Year’s or New Year’s Eve, or even the day of, so we dressed up and had our own little thing at home, and then we came to the hospital,” the baby’s father, Brandon Antwon Whittington, told the Sun-Times.
When Jones and Whittington arrived at Sinai, labor was induced, and when the child still wouldn’t come, doctors performed a C-section to deliver him.
Now that baby Brandon is finally here, his parents and 10-year-old sibling are elated.
“We’re just happy and feeling blessed right now,” Whittington said. “At this point, everything that happens at this moment … should just be a blessing. We’re very, very happy and proud to be his parents.”
Jones said she was feeling “excited” and “overwhelmed” after the experience.
Her husband said he’s always viewed his family “as royalty,” and plans to impart the same wisdom he and Jones have shared with their first child: “What we use is these three letters. That’s ‘L,’ ‘L,’ ‘R,’ ‘loyalty, love and respect.’ And long as you have that with each other, you can be as strong as you want to be. And no matter what goes on, you’ll always conquer every dream and everything that you want to do, as long as you have those three letters.”
Among the other babies born Thursday, the first baby boy at Advocate Christ Medical Center was born at 3:43 a.m. Noah Robert García, born to parents Gino García and Samantha Scuito of Joliet, weighs 7 pounds, 3 ounces.
Jonathan Ayala was the first 2026 baby delivered at MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn at 11:44 a.m. His mother Ingrid, a resident of Cicero, was gifted a care package full of baby supplies collected by the hospital’s nursing staff.
Over in Hoffman Estates at Ascension Saint Alexius Women and Children’s Hospital, a baby girl was born to parents Tye and Ian Buckley at 12:02 a.m. A five-ounce, 5-pound named Kendall Quinn met big sister Reagan on New Year’s Day.
Winona LaCount was due to be born on Dec. 26, but she arrived on New Year’s Day after her parents scheduled an induction for Tuesday.
At 10 pounds, 6 ounces, Winona was born at 12:50 a.m. Thursday to first-time parents Olivia Gorney and Ryan LaCount at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
Winona’s parents, who reside in Mount Greenwood, hope she grows up to be “super cool” and “loved by everybody.”
Gorney named her baby Winona primarily because she likes the name “Winnie” as a nickname, but she’s also a big fan of Tim Burton movies, four of which feature actress Winona Ryder.
As far as New Year’s Eve celebrations, Gorney and LaCount kept things low-key. “We kissed at midnight,” Winona’s mom said. “[My husband] was in his scrubs, and I was fearing for my life.”
In Evanston, baby Juliana Marie Poore was born at 12:20 a.m. to parents Cayla Calfee Poore and Preston Poore at Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women’s Hospital.
“She was actually right on time,” Preston said. “Jan. 1 was her due date.”
About two hours before checking into Northwestern, Cayla and Preston decided to go for a walk along the lakefront on Wednesday to watch the snowflakes fall. On the walk back home, Cayla’s contractions started.
Cayla and Preston met at 19 and have been married for 10 years and together for 16. They share another child, 2-year-old William, who is now a big brother. He is at their Evanston home with his grandparents and will meet his new sister on Friday, his parents said.
“He has this idea of what he thinks big brother life is gonna be,” Cayla said. “But we’ll see when we bring her home tomorrow how the reunion goes.”
The Poores agreed that the one thing they want for their kids is a “really strong friendship.”
They hope their children will become “lifelong friends, that are supporters of each other, champions of each other’s causes and interests, and that they both really enjoy each other’s company through life,” Preston said. “I think having a sibling is such a gift, and I really hope that for them.”