lakelandfirstbaby19

Spectrum Health Lakeland Welcomes First Baby of the Year With a Giant Teddy Bear

lakelandfirstbaby19

It’s a “sweepstakes” often won in the very early morning hours of the first day of the New Year, but the honor of being the First Baby of 2019 at Spectrum Health Lakeland didn’t punch in until almost 9 O’clock New Year’s night. Nevertheless Isai Balcazar earns that distinction and in the process is now the proud possessor of a mega Teddy Bear that nearly dwarfs his own mother.

The BirthPlace at Spectrum Health Lakeland’s Medical Center in St. Joseph, welcomed southwest Michigan’s first baby of 2019 at 8:58 pm last night, Monday, January 1st. He is the newborn son of Enrique and Itzel Balcazar of Hartford, Michigan.  Baby Isai weighed in at 8 pounds, 5 ounces, and measured 18 ¾ inches long. In keeping with their annual tradition of celebrating the first baby of the year, the Lakeland Auxiliary provided the family with a gift basket full of baby items valued at $100, and the newer tradition of the largest Teddy Bear from the most recent crop delivered recently from the Bears in the Air Campaign at South Bend International Airport.

The Spectrum Health Lakeland system has delivered generations of southwest Michigan residents, with 1,630 babies born in the St. Joseph and Niles hospitals within the last fiscal year. Lakeland is served by a team of 26 obstetrics and gynecology providers, including physicians, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse midwives.

For more information about the BirthPlace, you can visit online at www.lakelandhealth.org/birthplace.

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Spectrum Health Lakeland is a non-profit, community-owned health system serving southwest Michigan and northern Indiana, offering a full continuum of care and wellness services including three hospitals, an outpatient surgery center, a cancer center, and 41 physician practices.

Lakeland is a division of Spectrum Health with 30,000 compassionate professionals, 4,100 medical staff experts, 3,200 committed volunteers and a health plan serving 1 million members. Lakeland has been recognized as one of the nation’s 15 Top Health Systems by Truven Health Analytics, part of IBM Watson Health.

The photo of Isai, his mother, and his new Teddy Bear is courtesy of Spectrum Health Lakeland.