Ali and Matt Stowell of Winona spent New Year’s Eve having dinner and playing board games at Ali’s parents’ house. After her December 29 due date passed with no new baby, family and friends started to speculate about whether they might have a New Year’s baby.
They returned home from her parents’ around 11 p.m., and, as they got ready for bed, Ali commented to Matt that things were starting to feel a little different. She woke around 5 a.m., on New Year’s Day, and a little before 7 a.m., she knew it was time to head to Winona Health.
Ali and Matt had just gotten comfortably settled into their Family Birth Center room when their midwife, Katie Duerr, CNM, came in to check on them. This is the Stowell’s third child, so they both pretty much knew what to expect, but they didn’t expect it to happen quite so quickly! By 10:40 a.m. Harlan Brooks had arrived, weighing in at 8 pounds, 8 ounces and measuring 20-1/4 inches.
Matt got to glove up and help deliver his son, which he said was “pretty awesome.” He also shared that Harlan is a combination of his grandparents’ names. “I spent a lot of time with them as a child. They were wonderful people and very influential in my life.”
Ali and Matt said that having Harlan in January felt like an extra blessing and a full-circle moment. They shared that last January, they experienced a miscarriage, so Harlan’s arrival was an especially happy way to begin the new year.
Harlan joins brothers Brenton, 8, and Marvin, 3, who are very excited to have a new little brother.
Welcome to Winona, Harlan! And congratulations to Ali and Matt!
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