Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital welcomed the first Grand Rapids baby of 2022. It's a boy! Arriving a week before his due date, Lorenzo Pettis was born only 22 minutes into the new year early Saturday morning.

Lorenzo's parents are Dennis Pettis and Carlie Colantuono. He is joining his siblings, a brother Legend and sister Luna. Lorenzo weighed 7 pounds and 9 ounces.

Perhaps, creating his own list, "Lorenzo" was not on the popular baby names list for 2021. Holland Hospital released its list of top baby names for 2021, with Everlee and Benjamin being the most popular names followed by Emilia and Henry.

At the University of Michigan Health-West in Wyoming, four babies were born in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, a hospital spokesperson said.

Mercy Health Saint Mary’s in Grand Rapids is not releasing first birth information due to privacy concerns.

Experts were certain we'd see a baby boom during the COVID-19 pandemic, but birth rates were down. However, there are some early signs that the baby boom we were expecting could happen this year or next.

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Are We Ready For A Baby Boom In 2022?

Analysts at Bank of America say there's one telltale sign to expect more babies next year: Pregnancy test sales are going way up. They say sales have grown by an average of 13% year over year since 2020.

Researchers say births increased by 3% this June. That's the biggest growth since 2013. Worldpopulationreview.com states, Michigan had a total of 118,760 birth last year.

It may be time for the millennial baby boom. Members of that generation are getting older and gaining more financial security. Many in the baby-having age group might have been delayed due to the pandemic.

The Center for Retirement Research says pregnancies that were delayed from 2020 to 2022 may be deferred to 2024 to 2026.