Baby New Year Arrives in Putnam
It was a touchdown of a very special kind for Clara Hooper and her fiancée, Michael Mallon.
The couple welcomed their first baby, Peyton Mallon, at 5:13 p.m. Jan. 1 at Putnam Hospital Center in Carmel. The New Year’s Day baby – the first born in Putnam County in 2020 – was named after football legend Peyton Manning, said Hooper, a Carmel resident.
“I’m not into football but his father is, so I let him name the baby,” she said, explaining that her son is named after the retired quarterback who played for the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos.
Little Peyton came a few weeks early, weighing in at 5 pounds, 4 ounces, and measuring 18 inches long.
The newborn’s due date was Jan. 28, but after visiting the doctor Jan. 1, Hooper said she was told she had to have the baby that day.
“I’m kind of surprised,” she said. “I didn’t think it was going to happen on New Year’s Day.”
As is tradition, the Putnam Hospital Center Auxiliary gifted mom and baby with a teddy bear and other items for being the first baby born in the new year.
