By Emily Stonehouse

January 1 is a date that brings fresh starts, new beginnings, and the start of a brand new chapter.

For one Harcourt family, January 1 will symbolize something a little extra special.

On New Year’s Day, Noella Floyd-Foulds and her husband, Harley, welcomed their fourth child, Teresa Mae Floyd Foulds, born at their home with the help of the Haliburton-Bancroft Midwives.

Teresa was the first midwives-recorded baby in Haliburton County for 2026.

“My last pregnancy was three weeks early,” said Noella, “so I was definitely planning for a 2026 baby.” With a due date of Jan. 10, Noella and Harley knew that they may be having a Christmas baby, “but that’s not what I wanted,” Noella laughed. “I wanted to make it to the new year.”

She began having contractions on New Year’s Eve, but noted that she didn’t believe she was quite ready yet. By the next day, the contractions were coming on stronger, but Noella had a scheduled appointment with the midwives that afternoon. The first midwife arrived at their home at 3:30 for their appointment, but by 4:41, Teresa had arrived. “It happened pretty quickly,” chuckled Noella, “but everything went really well.”

All of Teresa’s siblings were born with the support of the Haliburton-Bancroft midwives as well, with the eldest being born in Peterborough, and the next two born at home in Harcourt.

Noella and Harley met while attending Algonquin College for architectural engineering in Ottawa. Harley originally hails from Haliburton County, so a few years ago, the couple returned to the community to start their family. “I’ve really come to like living up here,” said Noella, “The city is too busy for me now.”

And now that the couple have had their children in their Haliburton home, it makes the space that much more special. “I’m really glad I had Harley right next to me, encouraging and supporting me through each contraction,” said Noella, “and the calmness from the midwives reassuring me that I had been in this position before, and I would be holding Teresa very soon.”

As a family of six now, Noella shared that the big siblings, now ages six, five, and three, are really rising to the occasion of supporting their new baby sister. “We really do feel complete now,” she said.

As Teresa kickstarts the busy year ahead for the Haliburton-Bancroft Midwives, the family is settling into their new routine, in their new chapter together. “I never thought we’d have the first baby in the county, on the first day of the new year,” said Noella, “nut now her birth story is that much more special.”