Meet Long Island’s First Babies of 2026 Born at Huntington, South Shore Hospitals

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Northwell Health hospitals on Long Island rang in the New Year with some very special arrivals.

Huntington Hospital and South Shore University Hospital each welcomed their first babies of 2026 early Thursday morning, according to Northwell Health.

At Huntington Hospital, newborn Nova Sherred was the first baby born at the facility in 2026. Nova arrived at 3:53 a.m. on Jan. 1, weighing 6 pounds, 1 ounce and measuring 19 inches long, hospital officials said. She was born to Sanari Sherred and Michael Harrison.

Just minutes later, South Shore University Hospital delivered its first baby of the New Year at 4:01 a.m. The baby girl — the second child of Brightwaters residents Leah Fernandes and Andrew Tartaglia — weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces and measured 20 inches long, Northwell Health said.

Northwell Health shared that these early-morning arrivals marked the system’s first newborns of 2026, kicking off the year with celebrations for families and care teams alike.

Northwell Health said that approximately 30,000 babies are born each year at Northwell hospitals.