Bringing in the New Year's baby

It was a race to the finish on New Year's Day as two women were in labor at the same time at Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center.

But Landon Mathew Castro wasn't going to let some other baby steal his crown.

At 6:52 p.m., more than 24 hours after doctors induced labor, the first child of Sarah Stokes-Castro and Shane Castro came into the world via C-section, becoming the city's first baby of the new year - and of the decade.

Three hours before the life-changing moment, Shane Castro was anxious.

"It's a great feeling. I just can't wait until he's actually here," he said.

On Thursday night, doctors induced Sarah, and the young Carson City couple, married 16 months, spent their New Year's Eve waiting to meet their son.

"Everybody was hanging out. We just stayed up and walked around with Sarah's IV and tried to get her further along in the process," said Shane.

For the better part of the day, Sarah, 20, was the only woman in labor. Victory seemed certain.

But somewhere between

3 and 4 p.m., Sheena Garcia and her boyfriend Austin Sims arrived at the hospital ready to cross the finish line.

It looked like little Kenneth Gordon Sims would snatch the crown from Landon.

"It's close," said Austin's father, Jerry Sims, as he and his other son Aaron paced in the hallway. "But it looks like the other girl's gonna win."

Grandmother Jo Stokes said her daughter made all the difference.

"The doctor's said it was all her," said Jo.

So with an anxious family in the waiting room, and Shane looking sick and excited simultaneously, Jo accompanied her daughter into surgery.

After 30 minutes, the family crowded around the nursery windows and with a sweep of the Venetian blinds there stood a teary-eyed Jo clutching her first grandbaby.

"Amazing," is all Shane's mother Marty Castro could muster as she photographed her own first grandchild through the nursery window.

Shane's father Mike Castro and Sarah's father Todd Stokes congratulated each other in the hall as Shane raced into the nursery.

Once inside, he got right up into his baby's face and whispered, "Hi, baby boy."

As for baby Sims, he still had not made his appearance as of the Nevada Appeal's press time.