With a Little Help From Mom, Baby Is 2003’s First

David Israel Sanchez, the first baby born in Orange County in 2003, almost arrived last year.

The first child of Myriam and Salvador Sanchez of Anaheim made his debut at Western Medical Center-Anaheim one minute after the new year began, to the delight of hospital staffers.

The infant boy and his 25-year-old mother, who were released by early afternoon, were recovering Wednesday evening at a cousin’s house in Santa Ana. She said her 45-year-old husband was working in Mexico when David was born.

But her labors did not go unnoticed.

“It is such a happy day,” said Sanchez, who went to the hospital at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

“It was an easy birth, but I kind of held off near the end when I saw midnight was getting close. My baby would be special no matter what, but all the attention was nice.”