SMITH COUNTY — The first baby born in a Tyler hospital in 2019 arrived shortly after midnight on Tuesday.
Alanna Gracelyn Jones was 7 lbs, 9 oz. and 19 inches long when she was born at 12:50 a.m. at the UT Health East Texas — Tyler hospital, formerly known as East Texas Medical Center.
Andromelia Jones, 27, a Smith County Jail detention officer, said she was working an overnight shift when she told her bosses that her contractions were starting to get closer together, and they helped her get to the hospital.
She and her husband Joshua Jones, 25, live in Tyler, and have been married for two years. They have another daughter, Amelia Paris Jones, 18 months, who was born on the Fourth of July.
Andromelia said her daughter’s original due date was Jan. 6, but she went into labor early. She said she made it to the hospital at about 11:30 p.m., when Dr. Amanda Harris at UT Health East Texas told her that her body was ready and the baby was in the right position to be delivered.
“It was very quick,” she said. “Labor in general is very complicated. It’s very long. It could be long, stressful, but it was a blessing.” She delivered the baby naturally and without pain relief through an epidural.
“I feel great,” Joshua said. “God is good.”
When asked how it felt to have two daughters now, Joshua joked: “They’re gonna hurt my pockets in the long run.”
Andromelia joked that she would never forget her daughters' birthdays because they are holiday babies. If she has a third child, she said she hopes it is born on on a holiday, too, like Christmas.
She said Amelia, the older daughter, is very outgoing like her, and she expects baby Alanna to be more low-key, like her husband. As a mother, she said she can tell her baby’s personality from day one.
“I hope that she definitely starts the year as a baby with joy and happiness and with everything that comes with the blessings and stuff,” Andromelia said. “I just pray that she — I pray that she grows up the way that we train her to be as a mom and a dad.”
Andromelia said she plans to take about six weeks away from work to be with Alanna. She said she will be using time off that she has accumulated working in the jail. She has been there for four years, and her mom works there, too.
In the New Year, Joshua said he would be praying to God that he keeps his faith and trust so everything will work out for his family. He works as a transporter and finance agent and is working on starting his own business.
The parents said Alanna would be raised with faith in her life, and Joshua referenced a Bible verse to describe how the new baby made him feel.
“We are a blessed family,” Joshua said. “God put us together.”
See more photos on the Tyler Paper's website.
