Meet 2 of Long Island's first babies of 2026: Rocky Cocchiarella and Liam Ramirez-Enriquez
Rocky Cocchiarella, left, was born at 1:55 a.m. on Jan. 1 at North Shore University Hospital. Liam Ramirez-Enriquez was born at 8:23 a.m. at Stony Brook University Hospital. Credit: Northwell Health; Stony Brook Medicine
Rocky Cocchiarella may share a first name with an iconic movie character, but in the hours after she was crowned Baby New Year for Northwell Health in 2026, the opening scene of a different film was on the mind of a mom basking in the glow of her first child.
"I was waiting for my ‘Lion King’ moment," Rocky’s mom, Bailey Perry, told officials at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, where she gave birth to her 6-pound, 13-ounce daughter at 1:55 a.m. "The Lion King is all about the circle of life, and I was born at North Shore. So it was just really amazing and incredible on New Year’s to have that full-circle moment."
Mom, and dad Dante Cocchiarella, of Sea Cliff, said they waited until birth to learn the gender of their 20-inch "New Year miracle."
The couple had the name Rocky picked out — boy or girl — and Perry said it was a fitting name with how "sassy" the newborn was as labor stretched from one calendar year to the next.
"I thought it was so special," Perry told the hospital’s communications team in an exchange shared with Newsday. "It’s just surreal to have [the baby] New Year’s Day. I would have never thought."
Mom reported feeling well in the morning from her room at North Shore, one of more than two dozen Northwell hospitals, about half of which are in Nassau and Suffolk counties.
"This is the start of a new journey," Perry said, adding that both parents had a scheduled day off from work to open 2026. "This was a grand New Year’s for us."
That sentiment was echoed by Mariela Enriquez Flores and Jose Ramirez, of Riverhead, whose son, Liam Ramirez-Enriquez, was welcomed in as Baby New Year for Stony Brook University Hospital.
The parents described hearing their first child's heartbeat as "the purest love," the hospital reported. He was born at 8:23 a.m. Thursday, entering the world at 6 pounds, 15 ounces, according to the hospital.
Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.
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