| Indianapolis Star
The newborn wears the “Baby Yoda” cap at Franciscan Health Indianapolis
Rio Pun, a newborn baby, wears a “Baby Yoda” cap created by Erin Ollis of Crown Point, Ind., At Franciscan Health Indianapolis on Thursday, December 19, 2020.
Michelle Pemberton, [email protected]
New year, new life.
When the festivities sounded in 2021, Indianapolis families celebrated in their own way, welcoming the newest Hoosiers in the world.
A Carmel mother was in labor for two years. (Okay, maybe not really, but it’s hard to resist this father’s joke.)
This family welcomed bundles of twins of joy: a daughter at 11:37 p.m. on Dec. 31 and a son at 12:07 a.m. on Jan. 1. Just 30 minutes away, the siblings were born in different years (and some would say different decades).
The girl, Joslyn Tello, and the boy, Jaxon Tello, were born to parents Dawn Gilliam and Jason Tello at Ascension St. Vincent Carmel. Joslyn weighed 4 pounds and 11 ounces and was 17.9 inches long and her brother, Jaxon, was 4 pounds and 7 ounces and 18.1 inches long.
In Indianapolis, Ace Moore is the new year of Eskenazi Hospital.
Born at 12:32 in the morning, he weighed 8 pounds and was 21.5 inches long. The mother and baby are doing well, according to a hospital spokesman. The hospital did not provide additional information about the family.
Several other local hospitals also saw newcomers in the hours after midnight.
Baby Giano Peterson was born at 2:59 a.m. to parents Sherea Mitchell and Tramayne Peterson at Ascension St. Women’s Hospital. Vincent. Giano is the second newborn baby in the family; his sister, Nevaeh Steele, turns 14 today.
Families took in babies at community health hospitals throughout the morning.
First up was Marvin Lemont McCray, Jr. Born at 4:17 a.m. in Community East to parents Sondra Mertens and Marvin McCray, he weighed 7 pounds and 12 ounces and was 19.5 inches long.
Emery James Short was born in Community North at 8:43 a.m., weighing 7 pounds and 6 ounces and measuring 20.5 inches long. The parents are Violet and Grant Short of Indianapolis.
Last but not least, Kabir Gulati was born at 10:14 a.m. in Community South of parents Kapil and Anshika Gulati of Fishers. It weighed 8 pounds and 7 ounces and was almost 22 inches long.
At Franciscan Health, Jonah Engelhardt arrived at 5:14 p.m. it weighed 9 pounds, 6 ounces, and was 21 inches long. He is the third son of parents Michele and Danny Engelhardt, who have two daughters.
At IU Health Methodist Hospital, Eliza Genesis Sánchez Rodríguez was born at 7:06 a.m., weighing 7 pounds and 14 ounces. He is the third son of the couple, who also has a son and a daughter.
Eliza arrived about a week before the original due date.
Like most hospitals, UI did not allow IndyStar photographers and reporters to enter maternity wards, due to circulating viruses such as the flu and RSV. But they issued press releases in which they provided quotes from parents and pictures of families and newborns.
“So our New Year’s plans became the hospital,” Mother Carmen Rodriguez-Mendoza said in a statement issued by the hospital.
According to UNICEF, the newest Hoosiers are among the more than 392,000 born on January 1 worldwide. It is estimated that more than half of these births will occur in just eight countries: India, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, USA, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia.
Call IndyStar journalist Holly Hays at 317-444-6156. Follow her on Twitter: @hollyvhays.