SINGAPORE - Just as the clock struck midnight on Wednesday (Jan 1) to welcome the new year, a couple were welcoming a new baby into their lives.

This year's first New Year's Day baby, Christie Lim, was born at exactly midnight in Mount Alvernia Hospital to Ms Amanda Lek, 27, and Mr Benjamin Lim, 30, both teachers.

The first-time parents told The Straits Times that although the due date was New Year's Day, they "weren't really hoping or expecting her to be the first baby of the new year".

The couple went to the hospital on New Year's Eve at about 3pm and Ms Lek went into labour at 5.46pm.

On selecting the baby's name, Mr Lim said: "My wife's name is Amanda and mine is Benjamin, so we figured we would go in alphabetical order and choose a name that began with 'C'."

Christie is the first of three babies who were born in the first three seconds of the new year in Singapore.

The second baby was Vidhyut Jeganathan who was born just a second past midnight at National University Hospital to Mr Babu Jeganathan, 29, a design engineer, and Madam Vishnu Priya, 25, a housewife.

The couple have another child, a boy, who is two.

And just a second after Vidhyut was born, Nathan Hee was born in the same hospital.

The boy's parents are Mr Hee Thung Han, 33, an engineer, and Ms Kok Li-en, 30, a teacher. The couple have an 18-month-old daughter.