A special delivery: Henderson’s first baby of 2009

By Becky Bosshart

Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009 | 9:17 p.m.

It was with great apprehension that Jennifer Judd walked the Seven Hills Loop on New Year’s Eve. She was carrying an extra 7 pounds, 2 ounces.

Judd, 33, was a woman on a mission.

She was walking to start her labor. Judd was going for the 2008 child tax break. She missed it by two hours and 35 minutes. But they’ll have it for 2009.

Khloe Noelle Judd arrived at 2:35 a.m. at St. Rose Dominican Hospital Siena Campus as the first baby of the year born in Henderson.

It’s a good time to be born, said father Jeffrey Judd, a pharmacy sales representative.

He said the couple were ecstatic that Khloe was the first. And they were happy to get a giant gift basket from the hospital.

Jeffrey Judd’s day was filled with text messages to family and friends. He alerted them to one of the most important decisions a parent will make about their new baby: the name.

Until that New Year’s afternoon, they hadn’t really decided.

Their dilemma was written on a white-erase board on the wall of hospital room 313. Written there were the names of their sons Parker, 13, and Preston, 9, and their daughter Kennedy, 8. Then there was a blank space.

They really liked the name Chloe, but wanted a name that started with a K, said Jennifer Judd, a stay-at-home mom and part-time dance instructor. So a slight change was made to the name, and it was written on the board: Khloe.

“When she was born we decided that she looked like a Khloe,” said Jeffrey Judd, 36.

Noelle was chosen because the baby is their Christmas surprise.

“She wasn’t planned,” Jeffrey Judd said. “She’s not a mistake. She’s a gift -- surprise!”

It’s been eight years since the Judds’ last baby, which is another reason why she was feeling apprehensive. The couple bought the baby stuff again.

They turned the upstairs workout room in their Henderson home into a pink princess nursery. They prepared themselves mentally to start all over again.

“I feel like it’s my first again, because it’s been so long,” Jennifer Judd said as she gazed down at her baby.

Khloe scrunched her pink face up. Fine brown hair capped her tiny head. Jennifer Judd said she came right on time. She was due on Jan. 1.

Right when you get comfortable, things change, Jeffrey Judd said. Life is always changing, he said as his wife lifted up a stirring Khloe for her afternoon bottle.

The Judds are 1998 UNLV grads. The grandparents are Don and Janice Rowland and Gary and Beverly Judd, all of Las Vegas.

Becky Bosshart can be reached at 990-7748 or [email protected].