First baby born in DeKalb’s Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital in 2024

DeKALB – Almost no babies were born on New Year’s Day 2024 at Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital, but Jeremiah Amiri Hernandez took his first breath with minutes to spare.

Jeremiah’s parents, Sophia Iversen and Jayden Hernandez, welcomed him into the world at 11:26 p.m. Monday. He weighed 7 pounds and 5.1 ounces, and was 21 inches tall.

To celebrate his birth – and the genesis of a new hospital program – the Malta-based family was sent home with a bundle of supplies, including a large diaper pack, baby wipes, two onesies, two blankets and a sleep sack.

The package is part of a new program dubbed “Baby Bundle” launched at Kishwaukee Hospital with a grant from the Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Foundation, Waterman said. It’s meant for qualifying new mothers who may not otherwise have had prenatal care or require additional social help.

Iversen was given a bundle to celebrate the program’s launch in the new year.

On Monday, Northwestern Medicine media relations manager Kim Waterman said there was no guarantee that Kishwaukee Hospital would deliver a baby on New Year’s Day.

“As of 4:38 p.m., no baby yet at Kishwaukee Hospital,” Waterman wrote in an email. “We do have someone in early labor, so we are expecting a baby tonight or early tomorrow.”

Almost seven hours later, Jeremiah became the newest DeKalb County resident.