When Alyssa and John Kritzman submitted the birth announcement information for their daughter, they thought they were simply introducing the world to the newest resident of Sandy Hook.

“We were far from the first of the year at the hospital,” John said. “The first baby was at least an hour earlier, so we figured we were out of the running. I figured I’d still take care of the birth announcement for the paper though.”

They quickly learned, however, that the announcement heralding the arrival of Rosalina Marie Kritzman was so much more than a perfunctory press advisory.

Shortly after submitting the announcement — less than an hour before the deadline of noon Tuesday, January 3 — the Kritzmans learned it qualified their Rosalina as The 2023 Newtown Bee First Baby of Newtown.

Alyssa and John’s first child was born mid-afternoon Monday, January 2, at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington. She weighed 6 pounds 15 ounces and was 19.5 inches tall at the time of her birth.

“My doctor is in New Milford, so I stuck with who I was already familiar with,” Alyssa said. “They consider themselves a community hospital, so we were paired with the same nurses every day, each shift. There was nothing surprising. It was really nice.”

It was a relatively easy delivery for Alyssa, who enjoyed “a great, amazing meal at home on New Year’s Eve,” she said. After that meal, however, she didn’t feel very good.

“I suddenly got sick after eating it and I remember saying, ‘I think things are happening,’” Alyssa said. Rosalina’s due date was January 1. Alyssa kept very active during her pregnancy, she said, including a lot of walking with the couple’s dog Vinny.

“I took our dog for a walk right up until the day before Rosalina’s birth,” said Alyssa. “We actually went walking in downtown Sandy Hook once I started having contractions on New Year’s Day.”

January 2 started off as a grey, overcast morning. As Rosalina “made her debut at 2:53 pm,” her mother shared, “the sun actually came out and gleamed through the delivery room which just felt really special.”

The same happened two days later when it was time for the young family to head home. Wednesday, January 4, was 60 degrees and foggy for much of the morning, “until we headed out,” said Alyssa. “Then the sun came out again.”

Generational Names

During their interview, the couple shared that Rosalina came very close to having a different name.

“We technically had another name picked out, but we changed our minds about a week ago,” John said. “We just didn’t love it.”

They wanted a name with a lot of nickname possibilities, Alyssa said.

“We love Rosalina,” John agreed.

“There are a lot of possibilities there, and with both of us being at least part Italian, it’s a great Italian name,” Alyssa said. Seated next to her, John was rattling off variations of his daughter’s name.

“She can transform however she wants and have fun with it,” Alyssa added. Rosalina’s middle name is a nod to her paternal ancestors.

“My mom’s mom’s name was Grace Marie, so that’s where that came from,” said John. “My family likes to reuse names a lot. We like generational names.”

Rosalina’s maternal grandparents are Betty and Ghassan Najm of New Milford, and her maternal great-grandmother is Josephine Najm of Beirut, Lebanon.

Her paternal grandmother is Mary Jane Kritzman of Watertown, and her paternal great-grandmother is Alice Cavallo of Watertown.

The Prize Package

The Kritzmans have known since last summer about the First Baby Contest.

“We met some people last year, now friends, who are also members of the Coaster Club at Reverie,” Alyssa said. “When we first started talking we learned that they were also expecting a baby, about two weeks later than us. They were the ones who mentioned the contest to us.”

The Kritzmans are looking forward to taking Rosalina out to visit the local businesses who donated prizes for the 2023 First Baby prize package. When they were presented with a list of their prizes and their certificates on January 10, Alyssa and John began looking at their gifts. They found themselves pointing out familiar and unfamiliar names within the stack.

“This is amazing,” Alyssa said. “Thank you to everyone who did this. We like a lot of these places already, and can’t wait to go to some new ones too.”

As has been the case since 1959, local merchants have donated prizes to be awarded to the family of the First Baby of Newtown.

This year’s package includes $100 off trash service or $100 off a dumpster rental from Associated Refuse; a $30 gift certificate from Barnwood Grill; a $50 gift card from BD Provisions; a $25 gift certificate for Carminuccio’s Pizza & Subs; dinner for two at Blue Colony Diner; a $20 gift certificate to Burgerittoville; a $50 gift card to Dodgingtown Craft & Spirits; a $50 gift card to Dodgingtown Market & Deli; a pair of tickets to the 2023 Edmond Town Hall Theatre Spring Concert Music Series; and a $25 gift certificate from Hero For Men Barbering.

There’s also a $25 gift certificate for Ricci’s-TIGI In Crowd Salon; a $25 gift card from Fusion 25 Hibachi Fushion Sushi Lounge; a one-hour personal training session at Joanne’s Fitness Studio; a $100 gift card from Jewel of Himalaya Restaurant; and a large cheese pizza from Lions Bleeker Street Pizza.

In addition, the package contains a one-year subscription or extension to The Newtown Bee; a $100 gift card from Newtown Hardware; a gift from Newtown Savings Bank; a $25 gift card to Newtown Mobil Touchless Car Wash; a $25 gift certificate from Nick’s Catering; a large cheese pizza from Papa Al’s Pizza-Pasta-Subs; and a $50 gift certificate from Ricci’s Salon.

A $25 gift certificate from Stony Hill Hardware; a $50 gift card from Tambascio’s Italian Grill; a $50 gift card to The Toy Tree; a $50 gift certificate from UK Gourmet; and a $15 gift card to Uncle Matt’s Bakery & Café round out the gifts from local business owners.

Managing Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.