Yes, Alexis Rass and Émile Lebreux are the first two babies to have appeared this year in the territory covered by The Voice of the East.
At 53.5 centimeters tall, Alexis was born on January 1, at exactly 10:18 a.m., at the Brome-Missisquoi-Perkins (BMP) hospital in Cowansville.
Quick!
“The push was really fast, it only lasted 13 minutes!” says his mother, Granby resident Annabelle Grégoire-Fillion, aged 29.
Alexis Rass is the first baby to be born in Haute-Yamaska and Brome-Missisquoi in 2025. (Stéphane Champagne/La Voix de l’Est)
Barely time to see the Bye bye that she and her lover — François Rass — were leaving in the direction of the BMP hospital.
A little over six hours of labor and an epidural later, Alexis was born.
The little guy weighed 2,793 kilograms.
The parents — she is an administrative assistant, he is a construction contractor — looked particularly dashing when the photographer and journalist from The Voice of the East.
Smiling, affable, they exuded happiness… and tranquility.
It must be said that this is not their first birth, since a little two-year-old Marguerite was waiting for them with Grandpa at home.
For François, 34, the prospect of paternity leave of almost two months perhaps also contributed to this feeling of well-being.
“Quite an adventure”
The parental adventure is not easy. Émile, for his part, wanted to let his parents know straight away.
Little Émile Lebreux and his parents Gabrielle Demers and Jonathan Lebreux, in their room at Granby hospital (Stéphane Champagne/La Voix de l’Est)
“The work [contractions régulières] lasted more than 24 hours,” said his mother, Gabrielle Demers, for whom this is the first baby.
The flare-up, after the epidural, lasted in his case more than four hours… before Émile arrived in the world, on January 1 at 3:30 p.m., at Granby hospital.
“It was quite an adventure,” says Ms. Demers, 33 years old and financial director at a car dealership.
If Émile concedes three centimeters (50 cm) to Alexis, he nevertheless raises the needle of the scale to 3,520 kilograms.
“A fantastic team”
Gabrielle Demers and her Émile were beginning to regain their strength — “he was also very tired” — when we spoke with the parents, this time by telephone.
The nurses who accompanied Ms. Demers during the birth were also particularly in demand.
Émile’s mother would like to salute the “fantastic” work of the nurses and the entire team who accompanied her at the Granby hospital.
“I really felt that the nurses were there by my side, they were with me.”
A few hours later, calm and energy returned.
“I am very, very happy,” adds Émile’s mother. Everything is fine, the baby is in great shape.”
“I feel a bit like I’m in a dream, these are really beautiful moments.”
— Gabrielle Demers, mother of Émile Lebreux
“2025 is off to a good start!” to note Gabrielle Demers.
Émile will soon find Elliot, his 6-year-old big brother. They will soon be able to play cars together… which should not be missing in the family.
Indeed, their father Jonathan Lebreux, 31, is the head of a used vehicle fleet.
The first baby in Estrie — Mazikeen Tougas, a girl — was born at Fleurimont Hospital in Sherbrooke, on the night of January 1st.
