Glendale hospitals welcome new year’s newborns
Glendale hospitals on New Year’s Day each welcomed their first babies of 2018 slightly earlier than expected.
At Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital, Evelyn Rivera and Derek Thompson welcomed their son, Sebastian, at 12:29 a.m. He weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces and was 20 inches long.
The couple lives in Lancaster and were visiting family in Burbank over the New Year’s weekend. While considering a move to Burbank, they saw the trip as a way to visit a few houses for sale in the area.
On their way to a house viewing on Sunday, Thompson said his wife began to feel a little pain and instead decided to drive to Glendale Memorial just to be safe.
At first, a doctor wanted to send them home because Rivera was not dilated, but Thompson said that as soon as the doctor left the examination room, his wife’s water broke.
“I don’t think it hit me that I was having another child until his head popped out, and it was just overwhelming,” Thompson said. “It was the first of the year and whether [Sebastian] knows it or not yet, the whole world was partying with him on his birthday.”
The couple’s 2-year-old daughter was also born at Glendale Memorial as were Rivera and Rivera’s sister.
At Adventist Health Glendale, Los Angeles residents Domeruethai Payagkaratchasak and Ponlert Lertmaneesakoonchai brought their son, Harris, into the world at 4:19 a.m. The newborn weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces and was 20 inches long.
The couple were expecting the birth on Jan. 6 and were at home on Saturday expecting to celebrate New Year’s Eve when Payagkaratchasak’s water broke and they rushed to the hospital.
“We figured it would happen soon, but I was still surprised,” Lertmaneesakoonchai said. “The first couple of minutes [when Harris was born] were stunning. When I got to see him, I was very excited and shaking.”
Harris is the couple’s first child.
USC Verdugo Hills Hospital has yet to release information about its first baby of the new year.
Twitter: @JeffLanda
