Kamloops couple delivers B.C.'s first baby of 2025

Interior Health shared photos of Jordan (Forrest-Drezet) Hill and partner Elijah Hill, with their newborn baby Emerson. (Interior Health)

B.C.'s first baby of 2025 was born just after midnight at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.

Jordan (Forrest-Drezet) Hill gave birth to baby Emerson at 12:02 a.m., according to Interior Health, which shared photos of Jordan and partner Elijah Hill with the newborn Wednesday morning.

Weighing in at seven pounds, 10 ounces, the male child is the Kamloops couple's first.

Royal Inland Hospital was far from the betting favourite to host the province's first birth of the year.

Odds published by the B.C. Lottery Corporation earlier this week showed Royal Inland at 26.00, meaning a $10 bet would pay out $260.

The betting favourite was BC Women's Hospital, with odds of 3.50.

BC Women's was the site of the province's first birth of 2021. Last year, the first baby of 2024 was born in New Westminster at Royal Columbian Hospital. That was also the site of the first births of 2019 and 2020.

The first babies of 2023 and 2022 were born at Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre and Victoria General Hospital, respectively.