Aras Zayan Naveed, reported at press time to be Livingston’s first baby of 2023, has been named the winner of the annual First Baby Contest. The little boy was born Monday, January 2, at 10:52 a.m. at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center to Aaiza Aame and her husband, Naveed Iqbal. He weighed sevenpounds, nine ounces, andjoins a brother, Ay din Aamer Naveed, who is almost two.
The family lives on Laurel Avenue, and recently moved to Livingston from Jersey City, where mom Aame works as a geriatrician. Dad Naveed works as an IT consultant, with a focus on fashion retailers.
The Tribune has welcomed Livingston’s first baby of the year by holding the First Baby Contest for over six decades. The very first winnerwas Jeffrey Frank Thornton, who was born January 1, 1957 to Dr. and Mrs. William A. Thornton of Walnut Street.
Adelynn Luna Adiguzel, bom to Jessica and RustyAdiguzel at 12:16 p.m. on January 5, 2022, was last year’s First Baby Contest winner.
The rules to determine the winner are the same each year: The first baby of2023 must be born in a nearby hospital to parents who currently reside in Livingston. The exact time of the birth must be certified in writing by the attending physician.
Sometimes the winner is born just a few minutes after midnight; in other years, days and even weeks have passed before a first baby was bom.
The gifts that Livingston’s first baby of 2023 will receive include: Bonvini’s Pizza, a $50 gift certificate; Broadway Elite Limousine, a $ 100 gift certificate; Dieci Companies, a spa pedicure in private pedicure lounge for the baby’s mom and dad; The Feathered Fox, a $200 gift certificate; Allan Feid Jr., LLC, a $100 gift card; George Press Jewelers, a $50 gift certificate; Dr. Bernard D. Gorkowitz, orthodontist, a $50 Amazon gift card; Hauptman and Hauptman, PC, $500 discount on any estate planning fee; Jim Johnston’s Steak House, dinner fornewparents (maximum value $75); Just A Dream, a $ 100 gift certificate; The Kiwanis Club of Livingston, a $100 check; Livingston Circle Car Wash, a $33 gift certificate for a full service car wash with interior citrus cleaning; Livingston Family Eyecare, a $50 Visa gift card; Love Letters, a $50 gift certificate; Joseph Magotch, D.D.S., a $50 gift card; Master Pizza, a $50 gift certificate; Nana’s Deli, a $50 gift certificate; Nero’s Grille, a $100 gift certificate; Niyama Yoga, three yoga classes and one sound bath; Northfield Pharmacy, a $35 gift certificate; Regal Bank, a $100 gift card to Just A Dream; Donna Semplenski, Weichert Realtors, a $50 ShopRite gift card; Tony Boys Sandwich House, a $50 gift card; and the West Essex Tribune, a free one-year subscription for the parents of the First Baby.
