Daughter born at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital
By Shirley Hawkins
OW Staff Writer
Los Angeles, CA – Tita Newsom still remembers the strange man who approached her and her husband, Tyreese near a grocery store a year ago.
He came up to us and said, You two make a really nice couple. When you have a child, that kid is going to be special, Tita recalled.
According to Tita, 23, it seems that the mans prediction came true. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Tita gave birth to the first baby born in the New Year in Los Angeles County.
She was due on Christmas, but she was a week overdue, she said. My doctor had scheduled my date and time for Dec. 31st at 9 a.m., she recalls Tita.
Tita said it wasnt an easy birth. I was in a lot of pain, it was horrible, she recalled. Finally, the doctors gave me an epidural and I fell asleep. When I awoke, I looked up at the clock and it was 11:40 p.m. Then my doctor, Dr. David Kim, announced that the babys head was coming out, said Tita, who said she started pushing at 11:57 p.m. When she came finally came out, it was 12 a.m. on the dot. recalls Tita, who said the baby arrived five minutes after she began pushing and cried for a few minutes after it was born.
Father Tyreese Newsom, 23, said he is still in awe after watching his child being born. When the baby came out, I was scared to cut the umbilical cord, he said. I was nervous because I didnt want to hurt the baby, said the Compton High School graduate. But when she finally came out, she was beautiful.
The couple named their 7 lb. 2 ounce baby girl Gilan Tamary Marje Newsom.
All the nurses were smiling and taking pictures with their camera phones, said Tita, who will enroll in social worker courses in Southwest Community College this spring. They started congratulating me and my husband, she recalled, adding that ABC Channel 7 news interviewed the couple about the New Years birth. Most of my family is in St. Louis, but they have been calling me constantly since the baby was born, she said. They keep asking me to send pictures.
Asked who the baby most resembles, Tyreese, who is training to become an environmental steward, said proudly, She has my forehead and ears, but she looks like her mom.
The couple said they were surprised that after the birth, hospital personnel escorted them into the VIP recovery room. They gave us tons of food and complimentary items and treated us like we were rich, said Tita.
Tita said that her newborn child was born a wise old soul. When I hold her, its as if her eyes look right through youlike she knows what youre thinking.
