BOSTON (AP) -- If there's something to be said for good timing, Noelle Joy Klinker already has a head start in life.

The newborn's parents welcomed her into the world at 12:12 p.m. on 12-12-12 after her mother was in labor for about 12 hours.

Weighing 9 pounds and one ounce and at 21.5 inches long, Noelle arrived Wednesday at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston to parents Colleen and Joe Klinker.

Her proud papa, a Coast Guard lieutenant, says that at 12:11 a.m. his wife saved the final push until the clock ticked to a minute later.

The couple says the baby's birth comes as a special blessing after their late daughter Melody never took a breath after her birth last year.

Colleen Klinker says spirits were high and she was laughing as Noelle was born.