Jared's Birth Story

A month after signing the papers on the construction of our first home, I found out that I was pregnant. I was due May 24 and the house was to be completed the first week in April. We thought we would have plenty of time to finish the nursery and that I'd be able to relax a little after the move, but our son had his own ideas.

We moved into our home on March 2nd, a month ahead of schedule. It was a very stressful time for me. Between the move and trying to convince my boss to let me work from home, I was exhausted and didn't feel very well.

On April 10th, I had just got home from work, ready to enjoy a few peaceful hours alone when I felt my water break. I called my husband's office praying to find him before he left to trade cars with my parents. You see, we had switched our car for their truck so we could buy the crib and everything for the nursery, and since we'd just finished the nursery that weekend, he was going to return the truck. I guess he must have had a dose of intuition because I caught him walking out the door. He had left something on his desk and had come back to get it when he heard the phone ringing. Thank goodness for small favors!

I tried to divert my panic by talking to a friend on the phone while I paced the floor waiting for my husband to come home. I called McDonald's where I knew my parents would be, to tell them what was going on but had to leave a message because they hadn't arrived yet. Shortly after their arrival, the manager came out to their table and said, "Congratulations, you’re going to be grandparents". Everyone congratulated them as they got in the car to come to the hospital.

Meanwhile my husband had arrived at home, and after throwing a few things in a bag we were off to the hospital. I got there at 7:20 p.m. and was told I was already 4 cm. The contractions were coming hard and fast. My son was sitting "sunny side up" so I was having back pain on top of my contractions. It became too much to bear so the doctor insisted I get an epidural.

The pressure was still pretty great and within a few hours I was ready to push. I tried to block out my fears of having my son six weeks early, and focused instead on getting him into this world so we could take care of him. At 1:58 a.m. Jared Noah was born screaming loudly and weighing in at five pounds, four ounces. That scream was the sweetest sound I have ever heard.

They whisked him away to do the routine tests with my husband and parents in tow, while I lay there taking a minute to catch my breath. I heard the nurses talking about how they hoped they would be able to get home because of the blizzard. Apparently, my son had brought an April blizzard with him. We had gotten over a foot of snow in the five hours I had been there.

The next morning, I got up to stretch my legs a little and looked out the window. The ground was blanketed. Nothing is more beautiful than a fresh snowfall. Except of course Jared. Thank goodness he didn't need any oxygen and just had to stay in the hospital for a week to clear up his jaundice.

In the few months since his birth, he has doubled his birth weight and continues to do great. I guess my son could tell I needed a break from life's stress and figured his birth plus a blizzard would be sure to keep me home for a while!