thedrifter
12-21-06, 07:00 AM
12-21-2006
No distance too great for father, infant son
By Amy L. Ashbridge
Staff Writer
Staff Sgt. Michael Judd Sr. got to hear his newborn son cry when he was born Dec. 5 and talked to him to help calm the child.
The difference between Judd, however, and other fathers is that Judd is serving with the U.S. Marines in Fallujah, Iraq.
Michael Patrick Judd Jr. was born at A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital in Oneonta two weeks ago. The hospital installed a speakerphone, took pictures and e-mailed the father so he could know what was happening with his wife, Jessie, and new baby.
"It was pretty incredible," Michael Judd said Wednesday from Iraq. "I could actually hear my baby cry right after."
Jessie Judd, 36, said the idea of having her husband "there" while she was having their child came about after a prenatal class she took with Fox instructor Marietta Maben. Judd said participants were asked to tell a little bit about themselves, and she mentioned having a husband overseas.
That started the plans to have a dedicated phone available for Judd so he could experience and hear all that was happening.
"It was really nice to be able to talk to him," Jessie Judd said. "They kept him informed with how I was doing."
Michael Judd, 37, is a graduate of the class of 1988 at Oneonta High School. He is with Battery G in the 3rd Battalion of the 14th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division.
Jessie Judd is not originally from the area but moved here after her husband was deployed in September. She is living with her mother, Adele Morse, of Schenevus.
Even though the couple were apart on their first anniversary, this was a way Michael Judd could be there for the birth of his child.
"It felt like he was a part of the whole thing," his wife said.
Michael Judd was deployed Sept. 1 and said he thinks his unit may be home by spring.
He said it helped him to know that he could talk to his wife when she was in labor. This is his first child.
Judd said Jessie had been nervous about giving birth without him there.
"Once I got to talk to my wife, she calmed down and was able to relax," he said.
Plans had been set for Jessie Judd to go to Fox and then for Fox to contact her husband.
Fox spokeswoman Maggie Barnes said Michael Judd was going to call the hospital and then get "patched through" to labor and delivery.
"We had the chain pretty much set up," Barnes said Tuesday.
Plans changed, however, when Jessie Judd’s obstetrician, Dr. Diane Georgeson, discovered that the baby had turned breech and that Judd needed a Caesarean section.
Judd went to the hospital Dec. 5, leaving a message on her mobile phone for her husband to hear when he called.
The two talked before she went to the operating room.
It was still possible, however, for Judd to see and hear his son.
"I took pictures with our digital camera," Barnes said.
Michael Judd said that was one of the most amazing things about the day.
"It was great," he said. "He was still dirty and everything."
He was also able to talk to his son. That was something he had been doing throughout the pregnancy; when he would call from Iraq, he said, his wife would put the phone to her womb.
"He calmed down to my voice," Judd said. "He heard my voice and calmed down."
Morse said she was there for her grandson’s birth and even went into the operating room with her daughter.
"If Michael couldn’t be there, I wanted my mom," Judd said.
Mom and baby are doing well; Michael Patrick was born at 9:23 p.m. Dec. 5 and weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces. He was 20 inches long.
"We will do just about anything that our families want us to do," Barnes said. "If it comes up again, we’re ready."
Karen Huxtable, spokeswoman for Bassett Healthcare in Cooperstown, said Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital’s birthing center hadn’t yet received a request for such a hook-up.
"We would accommodate that request and would love to accommodate that request if (the family) needed it," Huxtable said Wednesday.
Michael Judd said more people in the military should research these services and take advantage of them.
Michael Patrick had perfect timing, Jessie Judd said. Telephone and Internet lines were down Dec. 6 in Iraq, Jessie Judd said.
"The 5th was his day," she said. If her son had been born the next day, her husband "would never known that he had a son until the 7th."
Judd continued, "He just knew when he had to be born."
Ellie
No distance too great for father, infant son
By Amy L. Ashbridge
Staff Writer
Staff Sgt. Michael Judd Sr. got to hear his newborn son cry when he was born Dec. 5 and talked to him to help calm the child.
The difference between Judd, however, and other fathers is that Judd is serving with the U.S. Marines in Fallujah, Iraq.
Michael Patrick Judd Jr. was born at A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital in Oneonta two weeks ago. The hospital installed a speakerphone, took pictures and e-mailed the father so he could know what was happening with his wife, Jessie, and new baby.
"It was pretty incredible," Michael Judd said Wednesday from Iraq. "I could actually hear my baby cry right after."
Jessie Judd, 36, said the idea of having her husband "there" while she was having their child came about after a prenatal class she took with Fox instructor Marietta Maben. Judd said participants were asked to tell a little bit about themselves, and she mentioned having a husband overseas.
That started the plans to have a dedicated phone available for Judd so he could experience and hear all that was happening.
"It was really nice to be able to talk to him," Jessie Judd said. "They kept him informed with how I was doing."
Michael Judd, 37, is a graduate of the class of 1988 at Oneonta High School. He is with Battery G in the 3rd Battalion of the 14th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division.
Jessie Judd is not originally from the area but moved here after her husband was deployed in September. She is living with her mother, Adele Morse, of Schenevus.
Even though the couple were apart on their first anniversary, this was a way Michael Judd could be there for the birth of his child.
"It felt like he was a part of the whole thing," his wife said.
Michael Judd was deployed Sept. 1 and said he thinks his unit may be home by spring.
He said it helped him to know that he could talk to his wife when she was in labor. This is his first child.
Judd said Jessie had been nervous about giving birth without him there.
"Once I got to talk to my wife, she calmed down and was able to relax," he said.
Plans had been set for Jessie Judd to go to Fox and then for Fox to contact her husband.
Fox spokeswoman Maggie Barnes said Michael Judd was going to call the hospital and then get "patched through" to labor and delivery.
"We had the chain pretty much set up," Barnes said Tuesday.
Plans changed, however, when Jessie Judd’s obstetrician, Dr. Diane Georgeson, discovered that the baby had turned breech and that Judd needed a Caesarean section.
Judd went to the hospital Dec. 5, leaving a message on her mobile phone for her husband to hear when he called.
The two talked before she went to the operating room.
It was still possible, however, for Judd to see and hear his son.
"I took pictures with our digital camera," Barnes said.
Michael Judd said that was one of the most amazing things about the day.
"It was great," he said. "He was still dirty and everything."
He was also able to talk to his son. That was something he had been doing throughout the pregnancy; when he would call from Iraq, he said, his wife would put the phone to her womb.
"He calmed down to my voice," Judd said. "He heard my voice and calmed down."
Morse said she was there for her grandson’s birth and even went into the operating room with her daughter.
"If Michael couldn’t be there, I wanted my mom," Judd said.
Mom and baby are doing well; Michael Patrick was born at 9:23 p.m. Dec. 5 and weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces. He was 20 inches long.
"We will do just about anything that our families want us to do," Barnes said. "If it comes up again, we’re ready."
Karen Huxtable, spokeswoman for Bassett Healthcare in Cooperstown, said Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital’s birthing center hadn’t yet received a request for such a hook-up.
"We would accommodate that request and would love to accommodate that request if (the family) needed it," Huxtable said Wednesday.
Michael Judd said more people in the military should research these services and take advantage of them.
Michael Patrick had perfect timing, Jessie Judd said. Telephone and Internet lines were down Dec. 6 in Iraq, Jessie Judd said.
"The 5th was his day," she said. If her son had been born the next day, her husband "would never known that he had a son until the 7th."
Judd continued, "He just knew when he had to be born."
Ellie