LAPLACE – River Parishes Hospital welcomed its first baby of 2011 on Jan. 4 at 8:26 a.m. The new arrival was a baby boy named Brandon Michael Cook Jr. He weighed 6 pounds, 9 ounces and was 19 inches long. His parents are Brandon Cook Sr. and Kimberly Francois of Reserve.

Francois arrived at the hospital at approximately 7 p.m. the night before her delivery for a scheduled induction of labor. Her labor started slowly throughout the night but progressed rapidly the next morning. Dr. John McCrossen, Francois’ OB/GYN physician, checked her early in the morning, and she was still only 6 to 7 centimeters dialed. However, she quickly dialed to 10 and delivered shortly thereafter.

“Kimberly was a great patient and did a wonderful job during the labor process,” said McCrossen. “I was pleased to tell her that Brandon was the hospital’s first baby of the New Year.”

Francois has one daughter, and Cook has two daughters. When asked how they felt about having a son, Cook smiled and said, “It feels great!”

To make the arrival a special event, McCrossen and Katie Calcagno, a registered nurse at the hospital who assisted in the delivery, presented the parents with a gift basket filled with merchandise and gift certificates from River Parishes Hospital and area businesses. The basket contained a Wal-Mart gift card from the hospital as well as baby items from the hospital’s gift shop, a gift certificate from Wayne Jacob’s Smokehouse, a gift certificate from the Original Italian Pie, a gift certificate from Roussel’s Antiques, a Visa gift card from Louisiana Federal Credit Union and a portrait package from Portraits By Susie.

“We had several patients whose due dates were right around the New Year,” said Joyce Neville, River Parishes Hospital’s chief nursing officer. “Three babies were born on Dec. 30 and two on the 31st. Then we eagerly awaited the birth of our first baby of 2011.”