As the country was counting down the seconds until the ball dropped in New York City, signaling the beginning of the new year, Theodore Dalessandro was making his way into the world, garnering him the title of the first baby born in Lycoming County in 2025.

Theodore, the son of Dr. Nicholas Dalessandro and his wife Jessica Kozlowski, arrived at 12:01 a.m. at UPMC Williamsport, also making him the first baby in the new year born across the entire system of UPMC hospitals. He joined the family which includes his older brother, Niccolo, who is 3 years old.

His father, a physician at the hospital, described the scene in the delivery room.

“The TV was on. The countdown was going. It was the New York Times Square thing, and we saw it counting down — 10, nine, eight, and when it got to like, five, four, we saw his head come out. And I was thinking to myself, ‘I wonder if he’s gonna beat it or not beat the new year?'” Dalessandro said.

Then almost in sync with the ball dropping and the countdown ending, Theodore arrived.

“I was holding my wife’s leg up, and the angle I was at, right in front of the television … I was able to time them both with this exactly, and… the ball dropped, and then he came out,” he said.

The parents were not exactly surprised that their newest family member arrived when he did.

“It’s kind of funny… I told my wife, like, five days before he was born, ‘Just watch, he’s probably going to be born at like 01 minutes on Jan. 1.’ I said it kind of off-handed. But I was just knowing the timing of our luck,” Dalessandro said, referring to their first son’s unique birth date.

Although labor had been induced because Theodore was supposed to arrive on Christmas Eve, everything went smoothly, Dalessandro said. Mom was not part of the interview because she was caring for her newborn.

The couple had arrived early in the day on New Year’s Eve for the induction, which could not be scheduled earlier because of the lack of an open bed, but also could not be held off much longer after the due date, which is how they ended up in the delivery room as the new year approached.

Theodore weighed in at 9.1 pounds and is 22 inches long — a good sized baby.

“It is big,” Dalessandro said, “because neither my wife or I are very large people. We’re both very average sized.”

Their other son was almost as long, but not as heavy, and he is still tall, the dad shared.

One of the perks that Theodore can look forward to is the big celebration that’s held every year on his birth date.

“Because he was born exactly one minute after midnight, we can tell him every year that New Year’s is a celebration for him — it’s all a party just for him,” Dalessandro said.

Switching to a more serious tone, he added, “It’s a great way to start off the year: a new life — beginnings. It’s a great celebration for the next year.”