Douglas County Welcomes New Year with Metro's First Baby

Eliza was born at AdventHealth Castle Rock at 12:21 a.m. on Jan. 1, weighing 7 pounds 1 ounce. Her parents, Anna and Filipe Maia, brought their newborn home into a family already being warmed by sibling love: two-year-old Olivia cradled her new sister in the delivery room. AdventHealth Castle Rock recorded five babies born between 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. on New Year’s Day.

Area hospitals were busy through the early hours of 2026. In the city, Denver Health downtown welcomed its first baby of the year at about 2 a.m., Oulahni Flores. As the hospital’s first-of-year baby, Oulahni’s family received a special gift package through Denver Health’s newborn program, a practice hospital systems use to mark the milestone and offer early support to parents.

The cluster of births in the opening hours of the year illustrates the steady, day-to-day demand for maternity care across the Denver metro region. For Douglas County residents, those deliveries are both a reminder of the continuity of hospital services during holidays and a testament to the staffing, readiness and patient support that maternity units maintain around the clock. Newborn programs and gift packages, like the one Denver Health provided, are part of how hospitals connect families to resources during their first days at home.

Beyond celebration, these births highlight practical considerations for local families. Expectant parents planning winter deliveries should confirm hospital policies, newborn program offerings and visitor guidelines ahead of time. Local clinics and hospitals remain the primary points of contact for immunizations, postpartum support and referrals to community resources.

Eliza’s arrival and the several New Year’s Day births offer a moment of local celebration as Douglas County starts 2026. For the Maia family and others who welcomed newborns, the day marked both a personal milestone and a communal reminder of the healthcare services available in the region.