Manitoba's New Year's baby is a healthy baby girl.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) said that baby Willow Wiens arrived just thirty minutes after midnight, and is Manitoba's official first baby of 2018.

She was born at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg at 12:33 a.m., weighed seven pounds 13 ounces and was just shy of 21 inches.

Mom and dad, Kathy and Sheldon Wiens, of Steinbach, Manitoba said they were both surprised to find out that their baby girl was the first born in Manitoba in 2018. "[We were told] about half an hour after she was born," Sheldon says about the special news.

"It was kind of a surprise. We weren't even thinking about that at the time. We were just happy that baby was healthy and here."

In fact, Willow showed up 10 days early.

Due to some health concerns, doctors decided that induction and an earlier delivery would be best. The Wiens said that they had hoped to be a day or two before New Year's, but had to wait.

For Kathy, it was a bit of a different New Year's Eve than she's experienced in the past. She says the labour went well, starting around 2:00 p.m., though it started somewhat slow. "From two o'clock until about ten. And then it went very, very quick."

As far as New Year's resolutions for 2018, mom says that ones pretty simple. "Just enjoy every day that we have." Willow is now the youngest of four siblings; she has an older brother and two older sisters.

The Wiens expect to be able to go back home to Steinbach on Tuesday morning.