Youngest Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital patients celebrate the solar eclipse in style

HUNTLEY — April 8 marked a momentous occasion for Illinois residents as many gathered to witness the rare celestial event known as the 2024 total solar eclipse. What makes this particular eclipse so noteworthy is the path of totality, which covered a wide area of the U.S. spanning from Texas across the Midwest and up into Canada.

The next total solar eclipse across the United States won’t occur until 2045. Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital made sure to make this day extra special for some of its youngest patients by providing a pair of sunglasses for all babies currently at the hospital.

For one family, however, April 8, 2024, not only offered a rare celestial spectacle but was also the day they expanded their family by one.

The proud parents welcomed their baby boy, Benjamin, on the morning of April 8. He weighed eight pounds and seven ounces and was 19 inches long.

According to Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital, Benjamin’s parents didn’t realize that he would be born on the day of the eclipse until his mother’s coworkers mentioned it to her while she was at work.

Benjamin’s parents further expressed that the eclipse makes the day even more special for them and are taking it as a positive sign of things to come with their new bundle of joy. Benjamin has two older sisters, Melanie and Emily.