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Joy and sorrow: Baby’s birth makes for special Mother’s Day


Jude Jay Jueneman

Jude Jay Jueneman, daughter of Cory and Shelby Jueneman, was named after St. Jude, the patron saint of hope, and Brent Jay Beitelspacher, a good friend of Cory’s. Jude was born almost a year after Shelby gave birth to a stillborn daughter, Saige.

For Shelby Jueneman, this Sunday, Mother’s Day, will be extra special. That’s because she and husband, Cory, just welcomed daughter Jude Jay Jueneman at 12:35 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25.
Jude weighed seven pounds, one ounce at birth and was twenty-and-a- half inches long. The birth wasn’t unusual, but it came not quite one year after Shelby gave birth to a stillborn daughter, who she and Cory named Saige Lynn.

Readers of the Tribune may remember that while coming to grips with the death of their daughter, the Jueneman’s decided to donate Shelby’s breast milk to a milk bank based in Minnesota in order to help other babies get off to a good start in life. They made that 1,400-ounce donation right around the time they learned they were pregnant again.

“It wasn’t easy to try again, but we decided to have faith that it was part of God’s plan and to take things as they came,” said Shelby.
Shelby said this pregnancy was totally normal, but because of her previous experience it was considered a “high-risk” pregnancy. Her doctor, Dr. Rachel Peterson in Bismarck, is the same physician who attended Shelby through her previous pregnancy and birth.

“My pregnancy was healthy; there were no concerns,” Shelby said. “Technically it was a high-risk pregnancy, because we didn’t know what happened with Saige. Most likely it was a cord accident, and those usually don’t recur, but they did some extra monitoring and checking along the way.”

Despite all signs being favorable, the Juenemans and Dr. Peterson decided to induce labor a little early as a precaution. Shelby’s due date was May 5.

Shelby was in labor for 20 hours — about the same amount of time she had labored with Saige.

“This time it was really different. It’s a lot easier to get through when you can hear the heartbeat the entire time,” she said. “We breathed a big sigh of relief when she was born healthy.”

The Juenemans stayed in the hospital just one night and came home the next evening with a clean bill of health.

Cory Jueneman, a former pro fisherman, is a local fishing guide, and the couple’s home also serves as Jueneman’s Lake House, a bed and breakfast for fishermen and others who want to enjoy the pleasures of Lake Oahe in the summer months.

Jueneman family

Shelby and Cory Jueneman are celebrating Mother’s Day this year with the birth of their daughter, Jude Jay Jueneman, who was born on Tuesday, April 25. This celebration comes with just a touch of sorrow as the couple also honors their stillborn daughter, Saige, whose passing last year led to the Jueneman’s donation of breast milk in September 2022. Saige is represented here in the butterfly patch, which came from the Minnesota Milk Bank for Babies.

“Starting in June, we’ll have guests every night for the next few months,” Shelby said. “So right now, we’re enjoying a moment of calm while Jude gets to be the center of attention.”

But life is about to get a lot busier. In addition to having nightly guests all summer, the Juenemans also run Taco Johns here in Mobridge, which they purchased in March of 2022. Plus, Cory works as a consultant for FormAFeed, which provides animal nutrition products to area ranchers and Shelby works part-time at the new Dakota Community Bank, which is just minutes from the couple’s home along the river.

The Juenemans also are expecting some visits in the coming weeks from extended family, who mostly live at a distance, and little Jude will get to meet at least some of her eight cousins ranging in age from one to 17.

“Our families are distant, but we’ve had a lot of support from them, as well as from friends in town and at St. Joseph’s where we go to church,” said Shelby. “She has a lot of love coming her way.”

Yet the couple’s home, with its large picture window overlooking Lake Oahe, feels like the very place for thoughtful contemplation and reflection, like a place where sadness and joy come together in peaceful companionship, which perhaps helps to explain why even their baby’s name reflects this duality.

“We picked the name Jude after St. Jude, the patron saint of hope,” Shelby said.

Jude’s middle name, Jay, was chosen in honor of one of Cory’s best friends, Brent Beitelspacher, who died in an airplane crash just south of Highmore on April 28, 2014, at the age of 37. His middle name was also Jay and he and Cory often fished walleye tournaments together.

Cory brushes off queries about his time as a pro fisherman, eager to embrace the future, a future that currently rests easily in the crook of an elbow.

“We miss Saige, but we’re thankful to God for having Jude here, safe and sound,” Shelby said, “and we’re going to do our best to raise her to know God and Jesus.”

 

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