Fathers’ second child is USC Verdugo Hills Hospital’s first of 2017
Some gifts are unexpected, while others come exactly when they’re supposed to.
The latter was true for Los Angeles residents Felipe Osorno and Ian Holloway, who welcomed adopted daughter Lucia into the world at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital at 1:03 p.m. on New Year’s Day.
Hoping she might be named the hospital’s first baby of 2017, the couple and the infant’s birth mother agreed to schedule her delivery by cesarean section for midday, and everything went off without a hitch, Osorno said.
“We thought it would be nice if she could be the first baby, so we planned for that day,” the new father said Tuesday afternoon, having returned from the hospital minutes earlier with Lucia in tow. “The first (of January) is a pretty special day to be born.”
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Osorno, associate administrator of performance management for USC’s Keck Medicine, said he and his husband specifically chose to have the delivery take place at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital after taking a tour and being impressed by the staff and facility.
On Jan. 1, they arrived at the hospital well before the surgery and were in the delivery room with the baby’s birth mother. Together they cut the cord and later introduced baby Lucia to 2-year-old sister Sofia, whom the pair, married in 2013, had also adopted at birth.
The event was made more special by hospital staff, who presented the first parents of 2017 with a special gift basket full of supplies and gift certificates. For the first time ever, area residents got to join in on the fun, taking part in a contest to guess the New Year’s baby’s time of birth and birth weight.
A $100 gift certificate courtesy of Los Gringos Locos would go to whomever most closely guessed the new baby’s time of birth, while a $100 grocery gift card for the Tujunga Albertsons was offered for the most accurately guessed weight.
USC special projects manager and La Cañada resident Deborah Weirick helped pull together the gift basket and organize the contest. She said the hospital wanted to involve the community in something that is always a special occasion at the local facility.
“By donating meals, services and products to the family, local businesses were able to connect,” Weirick said. “And by guessing the baby’s time of birth and weight, individuals in the community could share in the joy, as well.”
Contestant Torie Christine O’Keeffe guessed the closest time, being off by just one minute with a guess of 1:02 p.m., and John Kruse guessed Lucia’s newborn weight — 7 pounds, 7 ounces — exactly.
But Osorno and Holloway went home with the real prize. On Tuesday’s trip home, it was time for the new arrival to meet the family dogs, rescues Sherry and Rocco.
“They sniffed her when we got home and one of them went for a lick, so we’re good,” Osorno said.
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
