Mario Lopez and his girlfriend Courtney Mazza welcomed their daughter, Gia Francesca, into the world on September 11, but the ‘Extra’ host nearly missed it, USMagazine.com is reporting. The actor said when Mazza called him and told him he was in labor, “I thought it was a practical joke,” he told the entertainment show. Lopez was in Las Vegas when he received the call, and Mazza was in Burbank.

The former ‘Saved by the Bell’ star said his mother and sister also started calling him and telling him Mazza really was going into labor. Lopez was able to catch the last flight back to California, and made it in time to watch the birth.

Gia, who weighted in at 6 lbs., 4 oz., is the first child for both Lopez and Mazza. He also said that Mazza was tough throughout the entire birth, and “The whole thing is so surreal, and it happened so quick.”

Written by: Karen Benardello