Newtown’s First Baby Arrives On

January 3 Like A ‘Rocket’

By Steve Bigham

They are calling The Newtown Bee’s First Baby Contest winner “The Rocket.” Born January 3, Sara Maria Matté entered this world after just a 90-minute labor. She was born at 2:44 am, three minutes after her parents, Brian and Kristin Matté, arrived at Danbury Hospital.

“We barely made it to the hospital. It was a big surprise,” Brian, 32, explained earlier this week. “We literally walked in the door, laid her on the bed, and out came the baby.”

Sara Maria Matté weighed six pounds, 12 ounces and was 20 inches in length at the time of her birth. This week, she appeared well rested from her busy first couple of days. During a photo session Monday, she was dressed in a pink outfit adorned with the number 2000 across the front.

“It’s nice to have a 2000 baby,” said Kristin, 29, a native of Norway, who moved to the United States in 1991. “We’re calling her The Rocket because she arrived so quickly.”

Sara was due to arrive December 31, so she was running a little late. But she made short work of things when she did finally arrive.

The other member of the Matté family is two-year-old Devin, who seems tickled pink over the arrival of his new sister. Devin took a little longer to arrive, arriving 12 hours after the first contractions hit. Everything happened much quicker this time around.

Like you see it in the movies, the Matté couple sped to the hospital, then realized they had gone to a door that had been locked. Just seconds away from giving birth, Kristin had to walk about 50 yards to another door in order to get inside. Certified Nurse Midwife Catherine Parisi performed the birth, but a doctor was supposed to be on hand, just in case.

“The midwife said, ‘I’m required to call her, but she’s not going to make it in time,’” the couple explained.

Sara arrived seconds later.

The Mattés say they plan to make Newtown their home for a long time to come, although that was not the original plan. “We bought the house [at 27 Taunton Lake Drive] just to fix it up, but we ended up liking the area so much that we decided to stay here,” Brian explained.

The area off Mount Pleasant Road is a great place to raise a family, according to the Mattés, who have been blessed by the generosity of neighbors this week.

“We haven’t had to cook dinner once. Everyone has been so helpful,” Kristen said.

Brian and Kristen were married in 1992 and moved to Newtown in 1995. While Kristen grew up in Scandinavia, Brian spent his early years in Redding. Both are avid soccer fans and played during their high school days. Today, they are focused on raising their family and on running Brian’s business, “The Yankee Handyman,” a remodeling company, whose name speaks for itself.

As winners of the First Baby Contest, the Matté family will receive many gifts from Newtown merchants, including restaurant meals, gift certificates, a manicure, flowers, a savings account, and a one year free subscription to The Bee.