Little Lennox arrived just 34 seconds after midnight on January 1, 2026, at Centralsjukhuset in Karlstad, likely making him Sweden's first baby of the year. Parents Emma Hedlund and Christian Johansson describe the moment as fantastic. However, a hospital in Örebro reports a boy named Charlie born shortly after the turn of the year.
The new year 2026 began with joyful news at Centralsjukhuset in Karlstad. At 00:00:34, Lennox was born to Emma Hedlund and Christian Johansson. The baby weighed 3,555 grams and measured 49.5 centimeters. According to hospital staff, he is not only the first from Värmland but likely Sweden's first newborn of 2026.
The parents arrived at the hospital on Tuesday, but labor started in earnest around 6 p.m. on New Year's Eve. "It was around six o'clock that it really got going. We were in the thick of it around midnight. So we lost track of time a bit," Christian Johansson recounts. They only realized the exact timing afterward, when staff announced he was Värmland's first of the year.
"It's fantastic," Christian says. "He probably felt very ready." Lennox is the couple's first child together; Christian has an 8-year-old daughter Molly, and Emma has a 4-year-old son Ozzian. The family left the hospital on New Year's Day. "It feels magical."
Meanwhile, Universitetssjukhuset in Örebro reports another newborn: Charlie, son of Lovisa Ring and Robin Brunzell. He was born as New Year's revelers headed home from nightclubs and is described as the oldest in the county's 2026 cohort. It remains unclear who holds the national title, but sources point to Lennox as Sweden's earliest.
