• Allison Miles •
• Originally published January 1, 2009 at 11:44 p.m., updated January 1, 2009 at 11:44 p.m.

While the rest of the world spent Wednesday night waiting to ring in the new year, April Rubio and Andrew Arriaga waited on a different sort of celebration: The arrival of their first child.

Sara Elizabeth Arriaga bounced into the world Thursday at 12:08 a.m. at Citizens Medical Center, making herself Victoria's first baby of the new year.

The 6-pound, 2-ounce baby girl measures at 19-and-a-half inches long and was born with a head of dark hair.

Her name is a tribute to Rubio's late mother, Diane Rubio.

"She always called everybody 'Baby Sara,'" Rubio, 21, said. "Now she has her Baby Sara."

Rubio's water broke at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and, once they reached the hospital, the major topic of discussion was whether she would hold out until midnight.

"We had kind of hoped (she'd wait)," 19-year-old Arriaga said, rocking the blanketed bundle in his arms. "Another baby was born about a half hour after us."

And, although they kept things lighthearted in the delivery room - Rubio said they joked around more than anything - childbirth wasn't exactly Arriaga's cup of tea.

"Witnessing a miracle isn't always a good thing," he said, explaining the nurses had a wager going as to whether or not he would pass out.

But queasy or not, he stuck it out and even cut the umbilical cord.

Sara's birth put an end to an ongoing argument between Rubio and her father, Juan Rubio.

April's due date was Jan. 15 - Juan's birthday - and he hoped to share a birthday with his granddaughter. Rubio, however, claimed she would wait for 2009.

"I told him so," she said with a smile over at her father. "I won that one."

New Year's babies get the same gift bundles other babies get, said Shannon Spree, Citizens' marketing coordinator. That includes a carseat if the family doesn't have one, a diaper bag, pacifiers and other baby goodies.

Special gifts don't go out for the first babies of the year, she said, partly because the hospital never knows whether baby No. 1 will be born at Citizens or DeTar.

The Ganado residents agree it will be an interesting experience raising their first baby, but they think they're up to the task.

And if Thursday afternoon was any indicator, they'll have lots of help on hand if they need it.

"We've had people in and out all day," Arriaga said. "When one group leaves another one shows up."

• The first baby of the year:

  Name: Sara Elizabeth Arriaga

  Weight: 6 pounds, 2 ounces

  Length: 19.5 inches

  Time: 12:08 a.m. Thursday

  Hospital: Citizens Medical Center

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