It appears Grant Samuel James Cowan may have inherited his father’s lucky gene. Grant was born Jan. 11, 2015, at Shawnee Mission Medical Center. That may seem to be a little late in the month to be a first baby of the year, but that’s exactly what he was. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}Mother Cara Cowan explains that Grant’s father and her husband, Douglas Cowan, has a knack of always winning things.
“Dad wins. Now mini-me wins, too,” jokes the new mother while the baby slept soundly in her arms in the family’s cozy home.
With her due date the 10th of January, Cara said she really didn’t think she would give birth to the Jewish community’s first baby of 2015.
“The 11th seems kind of far off to be the first,” she said. “My brother mentioned something to my family and I said, ‘Oh no, there’s no way, it’s already the 11th.’ We called on the 12th and were surprised to learn that we were the first.”
The little tyke has a big name to grow into. His mother explained that all the males on the paternal side of Grant’s family have two middle names, so they chose to follow that family tradition.
“We don’t know how far back it goes,” said Cara, noting all three of his names are were chosen to honor beloved family members.
The Cowans have been married six years. While Grant may be their first child, the couple does have a large English Mastiff who has shared the house with them the past five years.
“He’s almost a 200-pound animal but he just loves the baby and is very sweet and gentle with him,” she said.
In addition to the lucky gene, the baby’s mother describes him as “a clone of his father in almost every way.”
Grant weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces at birth and was 20 ½ inches long. He has lots of dark brown hair and his eyes “are a little ambiguous right now, looking a little hazel.”
He arrived on the scene one day late.
“That was perfect. I was antsy to meet him,” Cara said.
The couple chose not to learn the baby’s sex in advance of the birth.
“We didn’t know he was a boy and I suspected the whole pregnancy that I was having a girl. I had dreams about it and everything. I was completely shocked and thrilled when he was born.”
Daddy Doug is a doctor specializing in ear, nose and throat based in Lee’s Summit at ENT Associates of Greater Kansas City. Cara recently left her job at Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired where she was a teacher for the visually impaired and orientation mobility specialist. While Cara will concentrate on being a mom for at least a while, she said she loved what she did and “wants to get back into it at some point in some capacity.”
“But this is pretty amazing right now,” she said.
Cara said being a mother is “everything I expected and so, so much more.
Cara’s parents, Trudi and Milton Grin, belong to Congregation Beth Torah. Cara received her religious education at the Reform congregation, but became a Bat Mitzvah in Israel. Doug, the son of Marilyn Cowan and Alister Cowan, grew up a member of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, where he became a Bar Mitzvah.
A family celebration at the Cowan home was slated to help the newborn welcome his first Shabbat.
“We are excited to celebrate,” Cara said.
Grant and his parents received gifts from the following advertisers in honor of being the First Jewish Baby of 2015:
• Personalized, ceramic mounted wall fixture from Absolute Awards
• Baby rug from Big Bob’s Outlet
• Coupon from Burger Fi
• It’s a Boy cigars from Cigar and Tabac, Ltd.
• $25 gift certificate from Cosentino’s Price Chopper
• Bouquet from Craig Sole Designs
• A new pair of sunglasses from Eyestyle Optics
• $25 gift certificate from Gates Bar-B-Q
• One night stay at the Hilton Garden Inn Corporate Woods
• $500 gift certificate toward kindergarten tuition at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy
• Reed & Barton sterling silver baby cup from Irish Crystal Co.
• Two tickets to any one show of the Johnson County Community College Performing Arts Series 2015
• Bundt cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes
• Bocce for life from Pinstripes
• 25 gift certificate from Rileys Phillips 66
• $25 gift certificate from the Tasteful Olive
• $25 gift card from Urban Table{/mprestriction}