A Blakely couple who had a rough 2025, welcomed the new year in one of the best ways possible — with a brand new healthy baby boy.
Concise Midnight Tahji made his appearance at Geisinger Community Medical Center at 2:17 a.m. on Jan. 1, the first baby of the year to be born at the health care facility.
Just over a month ago, Cashay Clarke and Christian Tahji, now of Blakely, saw their house on Myrtle Street in Scranton destroyed by fire and faced the prospect of moving to a new house while Clarke was more than eight months pregnant.
Cashay Clarke and Christian Tahji welcomed their new baby boy Concise Midnight Tahji just after 2 a.m. on New Year’s Day. (SUBMITTED)
But, the couple pushed through, grateful for their healthy family, which includes their two-year-old son Creation Jinsei.
So, when Clarke’s Dec. 26 due date came and went, she was aware that she could have the baby on the first day of the year.
That was fine with her. But she was concerned about another issue of timing.
Her son Creation Jinsei’s birthday is on Jan. 2.
So, when she went into labor at about 1 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, she absolutely didn’t want to be in labor more than one day.
“I just didn’t want him to be born on his brother’s birthday,” she said. “Everybody needs their own day.”
The couple waited until about 6 p.m. to head to the hospital, where they began the wait for their new son.
Clarke noted that she stopped to eat before getting there, because often mothers are not allowed to eat immediately before giving birth.
After arriving at the hospital, they took to social media updating their friends and family with the progress of labor and their activities as they waited.
Those watching the posts guessed when the baby would be born and shared words of encouragement.
The one thing the couple did do before the birth, was watch the ball drop at Time Square.
As they counted down, they were also counting down to the birth of their son, they said.
Clarke was determined to have her baby naturally and succeeded in that goal, even though the birth process was “a lot” she said.
“We got through it,” she said. “At one point I went from six centimeters to nine centimeters in 30 minutes.”
Throughout the process, she said, her husband was her rock.
Moses Taylor welcomes first baby
Across the city at Moses Taylor, the first baby of the year for that health care facility arrived just before 1 a.m.
Destiny and James named their 6.7 pound boy Luis. He measured 20 inches in length.
Luis came into the world at Moses Taylor hospital just before 1 a.m. on New Year’s Day. The baby boy was born to proud parents Destiny and James of Scranton, marking a joyful start to the New Year for their family and the hospital care team. (SUBMITTED)
The hospital facility noted that the birth marked “a joyful start to the New Year for their family and the hospital care team.”
The facility doesn’t release last names of juveniles because of safety and privacy concerns.