Quebec welcomed its first bouncing baby of the New Year just two minutes past the stroke of midnight.

Little Mariella Lachaine was born at 12:02 a.m., weighing 8 lbs, 14.9 oz. She was delivered by a team from the Royal Victoria Hospital Birthing Centre at the MUHC. 

Parents Olimpia and Martin Lachaine - both Montrealers - are reportedly doing well and in good spirits. 

However, the Lachaines were hoping for a different outcome: they expected Mariella to be born on the 31st, as the last baby of 2018.

"We wanted it to be on that day, just because we felt it was a nice day - New Year's Eve, it's a day where people party, celebrate," Martin explained. "Then the clock turned and we were like 'no, the clock turned!'"

"But then we realized, you know, this is actually a great thing," he added. "It'll be a story she'll remember and be able to tell all her friends."

"It'll be a double party now, two nights in a row," Olimpia said. 

According to a statement from the MUHC, the Lachaines decided to donate the umbilical cord blood to Hema Quebec, where the stem cells will be used to develop a new transplant technique. 

About six hours later, the Jewish General welcomed its first baby of 2019 - baby Lucas was born at 6:18 a.m. to parents Alexandra Buthiaux and Ludovic Oliver. 

At the Centre Hospitalier de l'Universite de Montreal (CHUM), the year's first baby arrived at 12:14 a.m., according to a press release.

The first babies of the year born in Quebec City - twins, a boy and a girl - came into the world at the CHU Quebec-Universite Laval at 5:08 and 5:10 a.m. respectively. 

Roughly 1,000 children who will be born in Canada on New Year's Day, according to UNICEF. 

The most popular baby names projected for the year are Logan, Noah, William, Olivia, Emma, and Charlotte.

With files from The Canadian Press.