Welcome, Raquel Watha – Troy Beaumont's First Baby of 2012

Vonda Watha and husband Ray Watha, who are both originally from Telkif, Iraq, had just finished a late New Year's Eve dinner of traditional Iraqi food with family when Vonda, barely 38 weeks pregnant with her first child, said her stomach started to hurt.

"It was spicy food!" Vonda said.

"I didn't think it was spicy, but she did," Ray joked. "As soon as she finished, she went and sat down and was crying and saying she had a lot of pain."

After calling Vonda's doctor, it seemed Vonda's pain may not be indigestion from the spicy food, but something else entirely.

At 11 p.m. – barely an hour after finishing dinner – Vonda and Ray arrived at Beaumont Hospital in Troy at the insistence of Vonda's obstetrician, who thought she might be going into labor. Upon arriving, doctors discovered Vonda was already 3cm dilated.

"I wanted to get up and use the bathroom, but the nurse told me no, you have to have a baby," Vonda said.

So instead of watching the ball drop at midnight, the Wathas prepared for an emergency cesarean section to deliver the breech baby girl who wasn't supposed to make an appearance until next week, when Vonda's doctor had scheduled a cesarean section.

"It was a surprise," Vonda said.

At 1:18 a.m., Vonda and Ray became proud first-time parents to a beautiful, healthy little girl. Weighing in at 6 pounds, 6 ounces and measuring 19.5 inches long, Raquel Watha is Beaumont Hospital's first baby of 2012.

"We're lucky," Ray said.

Even though Raquel is not yet three days old, Vonda and Ray – who both have six siblings each – say they already know they want more children.

"I definitely want to have more babies," Ray said. "Maybe three, four."

"I wanted twins," Vonda said.

As for Raquel's name, neither Ray nor Vonda said they picked it out.

"When she was born, she was nameless, and we were still debating," Ray said. "Then my sister said, 'Well, I've been telling everybody her name's Raquel.' "

The name stuck, though the couple still hadn't picked out a middle name as of Tuesday afternoon.

"I don't know too many people who have that name, and I liked it," he said.

The Wathas, who are scheduled to be discharged on Wednesday, said they are excited to go home.

"I'm just looking forward to spending time with the baby, making sure she's taken care of and is healthy," Ray said. "That's all I really want."

"Same here," Vonda agreed.