In With the New

Arriving just 37 minutes apart, babies born just before and after midnight marked the end of the 20th century and the start of a millennium.

Paul Rihani, at 21 1/2 inches and a strapping 9 pounds, 7 ounces, became the last Orange County child born in 2000 at 11:24 p.m. New Year’s Eve at Kaiser Permanente Anaheim Medical Center.

Emily Diane Garcia rang in the 21st century at 12:01 a.m. New Year’s Day at Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center. She barely edged out Kelly Hong, who wriggled her way into the world at 12:02 a.m. at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center.

The trio also reflects the increasing diversity of the region. They are Arabic, Latino and Vietnamese.

“I feel so happy that God let me have a beautiful and healthy baby girl,” Juliana Garcia, 22, said of Emily, who made her grand entrance at 5 pounds, 11 ounces, and two weeks ahead of her Jan. 15 expected arrival.

Juliana and Juan Garcia of Anaheim took turns holding their daughter Monday afternoon and then put her in a basinet near her mom’s hospital bed for a nap, bundled in a tiny blanket and white cap knitted by an aunt.

A stay-at-home mother with a 2-year-old son, Eloy, Juliana was grateful that her husband, who is on disability leave from a construction job, will be able to help her with the children for awhile.

Drinking apple juice and eating a small salad, Juliana said she and her husband had been expected at a New Year’s Eve party held by her mother, Flora Conde of Long Beach. They never arrived.

“I had a good excuse,” she said.

They had intended to go, but Juliana felt too nauseated, and they ended up at the hospital, where she was admitted at 10:15 p.m. shortly after her water broke in an examination room.

“I felt like a balloon exploded inside me,” she said. “I was a little bit nervous.”

But after only an hour and 46 minutes of labor, her 18-inch-long daughter became the first Orange County baby of 2001.

A minute later, Nga Nguyen, 27, and Simon Hong, 28, of Garden Grove greeted 7 pound, 12 ounce Kelly, who stretched 20 3/4 inches. They were still considering whether her Vietnamese name would be Thanh Nhan, chosen by her paternal grandparents.

But her father was quite certain of her American name, a tribute to Kelly Temporary Services of Irvine, where Simon Hong got his first steady job since he fled Vietnam in 1993. He’d had previous jobs, but frequently was laid off. He has kept the telescope company job the agency found him for two years now.

“I feel like I owe something to them,” said Hong, who sponsored his wife and 8-year-old daughter after he qualified for citizenship.

“If I couldn’t make money, I wouldn’t be able to have a baby,” Hong said.

Cuddled under a yellow blanket and a pom-pom hat, the baby’s mouth puckered before she gave a loud cry. Nguyen touched her forehead then played with her chin.

“I’m so happy,” the young mother said. “This is memorable because this is the first time I had a baby in America and all this media attention to share in my happiness.”

Simon Hong works two jobs while his wife stays home to care for their children. He and his wife wanted their baby to be born before February, while it is still the Year of the Dragon, which is seen by many Asians as bringing good luck.

Hospital officials say it’s a big deal among competing hospitals to have the first baby of the year. But there was no accompanying rush to be either the last of the 20th or the first of the 21st century.

But Donna Almand, vice president for business development at the Garden Grove hospital, said last February, however, was a different story when the hospital had 16 births on the first day of the Chinese New Year.

“They all wanted to wait for the Year of the Dragon,” Almand said. “We were mobbed. It was a zoo.”

Meanwhile, the last baby born in Orange County in 2000 was Paul Rihani, who was delivered by caesarean section 12 hours after labor began.

His proud mother, Najla Batarseh, 41, is temporarily living with a brother in Fullerton until her husband, Bassam Rihani, returns from Jordan, where he has worked as a dentist.

Batarseh is a Christian and named her baby for Pope John Paul. Since her husband couldn’t be with her, she was surrounded by some of her nine brothers and sisters for Paul’s birth.

“I wanted a boy,” she said. “Back home, it’s good omen to have a boy. It’s good luck.”

Through a translator, she said she didn’t care at all about what year--let alone millennium--she gave birth in. All she prayed for in the New Year is good health for her son.