Good things come to those who wait. For Jade Luckow and Andrew Rocha, both of Crookston, that “good thing’’ was the birth of their baby, Clover Cole Rocha, born Jan. 17. Clover was also that “good thing’’ for the RiverView Health community, as Clover was the long-awaited first baby born in Crookston in 2024.
Clover made her way into the world with a full head of dark hair at 2:24 pm on Wednesday, two days beyond her due date. She weighed 8 pounds 15.5 ounces and was 20 ¾ inches long. Dr. Kari Wessman delivered Clover.
The newborn’s grandparents are Christina Cameron, Red Lake Falls; Melissa and Cory Schuler; Greg Luckow; and Andrew Rocha, Sr. and Alesha Sirek; all of Crookston.
From No Babies to Two in a Matter of Hours
Jade said she hadn’t considered the possibility that she’d have the first baby in 2024 until Dr. Wessman decided induction was necessary because she suspected the baby was growing too big to wait.
Then, after weeks without the cry of a newborn in the OB Unit, Jade and another woman were in labor at the same time, both vying for the delivery of the first baby of 2024. Clover was born just a few hours before the second baby born at RiverView in 2024.
“That’s pretty much how it goes,’’ Annie Waldal, director of RiverView’s Inpatient Unit and Emergency Department, said with a smile, referring to the stretches between births and then the arrival of several babies in a short time. As for Clover’s delivery, Jade reported everything went well. “Praise the person who created the epidural,’’ she smiled.
Andrew said the only thing he hadn’t anticipated about the experience was how big his little girl would be upon arrival, as Dr. Wessman had predicted.
A RiverView Family
Jade and Andrew were both born at RiverView. Dr. Erik Kanten, who continues his Family Medicine with Obstetrics practice at RiverView, delivered Andrew. Altru provider Dr. Aliya Shamsi delivered Jade. “Having our baby at RiverView meant I was able to connect with my doctor on a more personal level, rather than being in a bigger hospital and being just one of so many patients,’’ Jade shared. “Everyone here (RiverView) was really helpful. A couple of the nurses were my mom’s high school friends, so it was like a Red Lake Falls reunion in here,’’ she laughed.
The couple appreciated being in the same room from start to finish and were enjoying their special celebratory meal in that room early Thursday afternoon before going home, just 24 hours after Clover’s arrival. “This is a very nice hospital room,’’ Jade said while looking around the delivery suite opened in 2020, “but it will be good to go home.’’
