VW Health welcomes first baby of 2019

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

A young woman staying with her mother in Paulding while the baby’s father was in the military is the mother of the first baby born at Van Wert Health in 2019.

Dulce Vasquez, 20, and the father, Giovanni Basile, 21, were the proud parents of Amora Katalina Vasquez, who was born at 8:23 p.m. Friday, January 4. Amora, who weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces, and was 21 inches long at birth, was born on the same date as 2018’s first baby.

Although Dulce was in labor for 24 hours prior to Amora’s birth, she was up and around, albeit a bit slowly, when interviewed by the Van Wert independent on Saturday afternoon.

Both parents were excited about their new daughter.

Amora’s mother said she had had a fairly easy pregnancy, overall, and was way more excited than nervous following her daughter’s birth Friday evening.

“I was pretty excited; I was a little nervous, but pretty excited,” Dulce said. “I can’t wait until she can grow into her future.”

Giovanni said he was “kind of sick” while watching his daughter be born — not an unusual occurrence for expectant fathers — but was happy with his new baby.

Noting that he had first wanted a son, the new father said he was very pleased to have a daughter, adding that the gender of the baby was not as important as the fact that the baby was healthy.

Possibly even more excited than the baby’s parents was Amora’s grandmother, Alma Basile, who lives near Bowling Green, Kentucky, but came up to Van Wert for the birth of her 14th grandchild.

Asked whether having a new granddaughter wasn’t a little routine after 13 other such births from her other three children, Alma said nothing could be further from the truth.

“I’m very excited,” she said, adding that Giovanni was her youngest child, the baby of the family. “He’s my baby, and now my baby had a baby.”

The two parents met when they were in high school together in Kentucky. Giovanni then enlisted in the U.S. Army and just returned to Kentucky from a deployment in Alaska. The new parents plan to return to Kentucky when Dulce is released from the hospital, which they hoped would happen on Sunday.

To help Dulce and Giovanni with their newborn, Van Wert Health provides a number of items to the first baby born in 2019. Those items include a huge box of diapers and wipes, a stroller organizer, books, a teething necklace (for the mother), burp cloths, and hygiene items. The couple also received gift cards from a number of businesses, including Walmart, Pizza Hut, and Brewed Expressions.

Ellen Rager, Van Wert Health patient/community coordinator, said the total package was valued at $275.