Pontiac couple's 'miracle baby' is first Beaumont baby born in 2018

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The first baby of 2018 born at Beaumont Hospitals has a very special story behind her birth. 

Gabriella Una Gonzales was born at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, at 1:17 a.m., Jan. 1, 2018. She weighed only 4 lbs. 2.5 oz. and is in the neonatal intensive care unit right now. 

The baby's original due date wasn't until February 11, 2018. But on New Year's Eve, doctors had to induce labor for 30-year-old Amanda Gonzales of Pontiac because the tiny baby wasn't getting the nutrients she needed to grow. Not long after, doctors decided to deliver by C-section. 

"They decided it was better for her to live if they took her out of me right away rather than keep her in there because she wasn't going to make it," Amanda says. 

It was a scary moment for Amanda, who has several health conditions. At just 12 years old, she was even told she couldn't have children.

"She's my rainbow child. She's my rainbow after the storm."

Amanda says when she learned she was pregnant, she knew she was going to have a girl. She named her little miracle Gabriella -- with a very special middle name.

"My late grandmother passed away in 2014. Gabriella now has her middle name, which is Una. And in Greek it means 'precious gift,'" explains Amanda.

Gabriella is in the neonatal intensive care unit this New Year's Day, but is doing well. Amanda and Andres don't get to see their daughter until Tuesday, but they are already imagining what she'll be like.

"I think she's gonna be stubborn like me; I think she's going to be active like her father. She's gonna be a good person," she says. "The curly hair is from me, but she's got dark hair like him. She's gonna have his ears."

"I'm so glad we got to experience this finally and I can't wait for us to hold our daughter and start a new life," says Andres Gonzalez, the proud father. "It's gonna be an awesome year."