Las Vegas parents ‘thrilled’ with New Year’s baby
Little Marquis Johnson Jr.’s timing couldn’t have been better.
The 6-pound, 19-inch boy was brought into this world at 37 seconds after midnight Wednesday — New Year’s Day — at Sunrise Children’s Hospital. This means little Marquis is believed to be the first baby born in Las Vegas not just in 2020, but also in the new decade.
“They were like, ‘It’s 12!’ ” Marquis’ mother, Latasha Atkinson, said from her hospital room. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’ We were thinking it already because were were like it would be so cool if we had a New Year’s baby. … We didn’t think it was really going to happen.’ ”
Marquis’ father, Marquis Johnson Sr., was, of course, thrilled to have a brand-new son — and to also know that the baby made history in Las Vegas.
“She was like, ‘Maybe, maybe,’ and so she probably spoke it into existence,” Marquis Johnson Sr. said of the timing of his son’s birth.
Atkinson said she can’t wait to tell her son about his arrival time into this world as he gets older.
“It is cool … really cool,” she said. “That’s something like, when he grows up, we are going to tell him.”
“‘You were the first decade baby!’ ” Johnson Sr. chimed in. “That’s going to be an amazing thing. He’s going to have all the bragging rights … ‘I’m a superstar!’ ”
Cyndi Lundeberg, spokeswoman for the hospital, said doctors and staffers were excited for the family as well.
“It is super exciting any time we have a new baby at the hospital. Everyone we have, our doctors, our staff are extremely excited,” she said. “But to have the first baby of the decade at Sunrise is truly amazing, and we could not be happier for our lovely parents.”
The Las Vegas couple said they can’t wait to get Marquis Jr. home to meet his two siblings.
“Nothing but happiness,” Atkinson said.
To celebrate the birth, the family received a baby stroller “full of goodies,” including baby supplies and onesies, Lundeberg said in a later email.
A second baby was born 21 seconds after Marquis Jr. at MountainView Hospital, according to Lundeberg, who is director of marketing and communications for Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center.
That baby, Roman Black, was born 58 seconds after midnight. He weighs 5 pounds, 4 ounces and is 19 inches long. His parents are Marie Buckley and Lorenzo Black.
Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0390. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
