Waikato Hospital welcomes first baby of 2024

Waikato residents Danielle Zowacki and Connor Williams are the proud parents of likely the country's first baby of 2024.

As the clock struck midnight on December 31, one couple’s countdown was a little more tense than most.

That’s because Danielle Nowacki and Connor Williams rang in the new year in the surgical theatre at Waikato Hospital.

At 12am, they were one minute away from welcoming their baby into the world; both their first child and likely New Zealand’s first baby of 2024.

Baby girl Harlee Jean Patricia Williams made her appearance at 12.01am on January 1, weighing seven pounds and three ounces (3.26kg).

It meant that crying was the first thing the couple heard in 2024, but it was a magical sound, said Nowacki.

“Hearing her cry for the first time was the most surreal feeling, I just couldn’t believe how gorgeous she is and it was just an immense feeling of accomplishment.”

Little Harlee’s birth came earlier than her expected due date of January 8, marking the end of an at-times challenging pregnancy and labour for Nowacki.

“Pregnancy was a real rollercoaster with immense morning sickness in the first trimester.

“The second trimester flew by and once we got to the third, it felt like I’d been pregnant forever.

“I continued working fulltime - 40 hours per week - until I was 36 weeks pregnant, so that definitely made things challenging in the end, but we wanted to save as much money as possible.

“Harlee was due on January 8, but we had a planned C-section booked on January 2 because she was in breach.

“Throughout New Year’s Eve, I kept having what I thought were Braxton-Hicks [contractions, sometimes called ‘false contractions’] but as it got closer to the evening they became a lot stronger and closer together, so I called the hospital around 8pm when my pains were roughly 7-10 minutes apart.

“We arrived at the hospital at 8.30pm [and I was told] I was already 2cm dilated, and I was still very much in denial that I was in labour!”

After receiving pain relief for closer contractions, she was wheeled into theatre at 11.45pm, December 31.

“We rang in the New Year at 12.01am with the birth of our baby girl, and there really aren’t words to describe it, it just really is the best feeling in the world,” Nowacki said.

Harlee is the couple’s first baby and Nowacki said they’re appreciating every minute and second with her.

“It still doesn’t feel real, we both spent the first few hours just staring at her and watching her sleep, she is so beautiful!”

Mum, dad, and baby Harlee are all recovering well, and Nowacki said they’re looking forward to building more memories with their little girl and watching her go from strength to strength.

Malisha Kumar is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined the Waikato Herald in 2023 after working for Radio 1XX in Whakatāne.

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