Verdugo Hills Hospital welcomes its first baby of year

Born at 5:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day, Joshua Alonzo Alcantara was the first baby born in the La Canada Flintridge area in 2011.

Joshua, born at Verdugo Hills Hospital, weighed 7.9 pounds and measured 20.5 inches long. His parents are Pasadena residents Fatima and Jose Alcantara. Joshua arrived following 17 hours of labor.

“It’s a big baby for her [mother’s] size,” said Jose Alcantara. He said his wife of three years stands just 4’11.”

The service provided by the doctors and nurses of Verdugo Hills Hospital more than made up for the lengthy labor, Fatima Alcantara said. And she’s equally happy with her newborn.

“I’ve known Joshua was such a special person ever since he was inside of me,” she said. “It was just a coincidence he was the first baby of 2011.”