First Baby: Natalia Johnson

Natalia Capri Johnson, born at 6:24 p.m. on January 7, must have known there was a contest to win, so she arrived early ‘ just in time to become the First Baby of the Year in Pacific Palisades. Her mother, Natasha, said Natalia’s due date was January 16, and the doctor kept saying the baby would be born around that date. Natasha, however, thought otherwise. ‘I guess it was a woman’s intuition,’ Natasha said. ‘Also, I felt very big near the end, and that there was no more room.’ Natalia’s early arrival means that her father, David Johnson, and Natasha will receive 25 gifts, services and certificates from a cross-section of merchants, restaurants and banks in the community. The Palisadian-Post has sponsored the First Baby contest since 1954. At 22.75 inches in length and weighing 7 pounds, 8 ounces, Natalia is David and Natasha’s first child. The couple has lived on Lachman Lane for the past 18 months. On the day of the birth, Natasha described her daughter as having impeccable timing. Natasha was worried that she would go into labor while David, an entrepreneur in the healthcare industry, was at work in Orange County. But she woke up at 6 a.m. with contractions, and he was able to take her to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.   ’It was an amazing experience,’ Natasha said of the birth. ‘It was a lot easier than I expected.’   David, who grew up in Orange County, agreed that the labor went smoothly. ‘I was very anxious to hold [the baby] and meet her after feeling her kick for so long,’ he said. They chose the name Natalia because David is part Italian. They decided to give her the middle name of Capri because that is their favorite island in Italy. ‘Capri is just a special place to us,’ Natasha said, adding that they have visited the island twice. Natasha and David met in 2007 through a mutual friend. She is originally from Oahu, Hawaii, and moved with her family to the Los Angeles area in 1990 to live near extended family. She is currently a homemaker, but she worked in marketing and sales at Procter & Gamble for nine years. Natasha said she loved being pregnant, from the fetal movements to seeing her body change. ‘It was really beautiful,’ Natasha said. ‘There are no words to describe holding a child inside.’ Natasha is excited to watch her daughter grow, while David said, ‘I am looking forward to her first laugh, and hearing her say ‘Dad,’ and our entire life together.’ Natalia was born with long eyelashes and a full head of hair. ‘I think she looks like both of us, but everyone says she looks like me,’ Natasha said, laughing. To David, “[Natalia] is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”