Special New Year’s deliveries: Hawaii welcomes first babies of 2025

Local hospitals reported the first arrivals of 2025, including a set of twins. At Adventist Health Castle, first-time parents Ciara and Esteban Torres were overjoyed to welcome 7-pound, 3-ounce Aurelio Esteban Torres at 12:08 a.m. New Year’s Day. Not too long after, at 1:15 a.m., Jackie Kongphan and James-Joel Mariano greeted son Jayden-James, weighing 4 pounds, 7 ounces, at The Queen’s Medical Center’s Punchbowl hospital. Meanwhile, at Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center, Athena and Tagiilima Esene greeted baby boy Thaddeus, who weighed in at 6 pounds, 9 ounces, at 1:38 a.m. Twin sister Alvena arrived nine minutes later, at 1:47 a.m., at a healthy 7 pounds, 6 ounces. The Esene family now has eight children.