On New Year's Eve, the nurses at the Women's Pavilion and Birth Center at WakeMed Cary Hospital engaged in some competitive banter about which Triangle hospital would deliver the first newborn of 2009.

Among their ranks was Amanda Ponce of Apex, a nurse in the Women’s Pavilion for the last two years. Little did she know at that time that her then-unborn daughter, Gabriella Mia Ponce, seemed more than prepared to play their game.

Although she didn’t “win,” Ponce proved a worthy competitor. Birthed at 3:08 a.m. on Jan. 1, Gabriella arrived a week ahead of schedule to place third among the first local newborns to arrive this year. She followed closely behind Dayana Williams of Durham, daughter of Theleshua Williams, born at 1:05 a.m. at Duke Hospital; and Camrin Pugh, son of Jacqueline Pugh, born at 2:28 a.m. at WakeMed Raleigh’s campus.

Ponce weighed in at 6 pounds, 9 ounces. She extends her family to five members, including her parents, Amanda and Michael Ponce, and her two siblings — Christiana, 4, and Nicolas, 17 months.

“She was scheduled for induction on Jan. 8, but I guess she just didn’t want to wait,” Amanda Ponce said with a laugh.

For Ponce — a nurse at the Women’s Pavilion — the birth of her third child came quickly. She had just finished working a 12-hour shift on Dec. 31. Soon after arriving at home, Ponce went into labor.

“I was supposed to work the next day, too,” she said. “But my supervisor got me out of it.”

Gabriella’s arrival followed what the Ponces, former high school sweethearts at Cary High who married five years ago, described as an emotionally and mentally taxing pregnancy. Atop their concerns, especially for Amanda, was keeping pace with their son.

“It could be a lot harder, but because he is still so small, you naturally have to do more for him,” Amanda Ponce said.

Michael Ponce said he and his wife worried that Nicolas might experience some anxiety over being displaced as the youngest in the family. “We worried that he might be jealous that his spot was being taken over,” he said.

But much to the Ponces’ surprise, their children both seemed to fall instantly in love with their newest sibling. Amanda Ponce described her son’s initial reaction to seeing his baby sister.

“As soon as he saw her, he lit up and said ‘Baby, baby’ and tried to kiss her,” she said.

Christiana Ponce had similar reactions. During a visitation on Jan. 2, Christiana swooned over her sister, at times jumping up and down with excitement.

“I’m so excited about my baby sister!” she exclaimed.

The soon-to-be 5-year-old — Christiana’s birthday is in February — also beamed as she proclaimed her readiness to accept some responsibility for her sister’s care. “I know how to support her,” she said of Gabriella, referring to her own knowledge of how to hold a baby in her arms.

Her parents smiled as the family gathered around Gabriella and Nicolas leaned in to kiss his sister on the forehead. “The kids have been good so far,” Amanda Ponce said. “It’s been great.”