Noah's Birth Story

Noah Matthew Phelps
Born: August 13, 2010
Stats: 7 pounds 14 ounces ,
20.5 inches long

Noah’s Name
Noah - peaceful, comforter
Matthew – Gift of the Lord

Genesis 6:8 - But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
Hebrews 11:7 - By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Noah was an amazing man of faith from the Old Testament! His life showed great love, obedience, and service to God. He trusted in God and obeyed His commands even when the world around him was desperately evil (Gen.6:5). Our prayer for little Noah is that he will have a strong faith in the Lord, and be a leader that shines a light in his generation.
Psalm 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
(The names Noah and Matthew are also family names on both sides of the family)


Noah’s Birth Story

We are so excited about the birth of little Noah Matthew and would like to record the details of his birth so we can remember them. It all started on Tuesday, August 10th…

My 38th week into the pregnancy to visit Dr. Barker… He checked my cervix to see if I had dilated any and found that I was four centimeters dilated. He noticed some contractions, and decided to put me on the contraction monitor to see if I might actually be in labor! Although I was excited at the prospect of having the baby, I doubted it was really the time. After all, I was in the hospital at 36 weeks with Josiah with false labor (also four centimeters dilated) and he was not born until almost 42 weeks! In my mind I would probably have little Noah after my due date so I wasn’t stressing much. I did spend Wednesday and Thursday mornings getting bags packed and cleaning the house. I also worked during both of the afternoons. Thursday night Ellie and I did a huge grocery shopping trip and bought a lot of convenience food and things to make simple meals for days after baby would be born.

Friday morning came, and I woke up totally exhausted. My car had a dead battery and Chris was planning to bring home a new battery after work and fix it. He did not sleep well on Thursday night due to a horribly upset stomach that was caused from antibiotics he was on for an awful infection that he had in his nose (yes… that’s a story by itself!!). Chris’ mom and dad came over on Friday morning and put a new battery in my car and took the kids for the day!! What a blessing that was… especially when we look back at the day now! I used the time to relax – I got on Facebook, worked on our family blog, and cleaned out Google Reader. When Chris got home we had fried chicken salads and baked potatoes and began watching the movie, “The Blind Side”. We did not watch the last 40 minutes of it because I had to leave for work. The plan was that we would finish it after the kids went to bed that night. I kept noticing a dull ache in my back, but assumed it was from sitting at the computer for most of the morning. I left for work feeling refreshed from my relaxing morning and looking forward to watching the rest of the movie with Chris that evening.

Work went well and around 5:15ish I noticed a fairly strong contraction. I went to the restroom around 5:30 and noticed a little bit of blood… then I had another contraction around 5:30. I started getting excited thinking… “Maybe this will be the night!” I got off work at 6:00 and headed home – on the phone I told Chris about the contractions and blood and he said to come home and sit down on the couch and see if they continue. I followed his advice, and had a glass of chocolate milk, a tomato sandwich, and a bowl of applesauce. Yet, I noticed the contractions continued and got much stronger. Around 7:15 we noticed that they were around 10 minutes apart. I decided this was really it and started getting things ready. At close to 7:30, I called my mom to come and get the kids, and called the doctor and at this point they were getting REALLY painful and closer and closer together. During this time I was getting the bags together, taking care of the kiddos, Chris was washing the dishes… all the while he was telling me to sit down and rest!! It was pretty funny, actually. Then, the contractions were coming back to back and so painful that I had to just sit down and breathe through them. Chris accidentally broke a glass while he was washing dishes, and we were waiting for mom to come get the kids, and I was starting to wonder why this was all happening so fast! When mom got to the house I said “We have to leave RIGHT NOW!!” and we all pulled out about the same time. The kids were anxious, but we hugged them and told them that next time we saw them we would have their baby brother!! I was totally in shock at how fast everything happened.

We left the house about 8:00pm and pulled into the Erlanger parking garage at 8:28 (that’s what the parking ticket said anyway!) When we were pulling into the parking garage I remember telling Chris “I can’t do this, Chris… there is no way I can do this!” He reminded me that I WAS doing it and doing great. In the Bradley books we read it talked about how when self-doubt starts to come into your mind it is usually the end of the transition period. That is probably true in my case because I started feeling the urge to push while we were trying to find a parking spot. Chris wanted to leave everything in the car, but I told him to bring it all with us. I knew the baby would be born soon and wanted to have the camcorder and camera and everything. So, he lugged the big suitcase and pillows, and somehow I made it through the parking garage (although I kept stopping with contractions) to the elevators. I remember people looking at me and saying “Are you going to have a baby right now!”… I tried to smile but was in SO much pain! When we got off the elevator and around the corner in the labor and delivery area I just couldn’t go any further. He went to find a wheelchair (which we never could find!) while I stood in the hall bent over trying to remember all the “relaxation techniques” we learned in the Bradley books we read. People kept stopping and asking if I was okay and I just said “No…my husband is getting a wheelchair…” When he finally got there he had a nurse with him. She said “Sweetie, what can I do for you?”, and all I could say was, “I need to push NOW!” They brought me into a room, checked my cervix and said I was complete with a bulging bag of water!! They told me not to push but I couldn’t stop myself from pushing. I remember trying to hold back while they were putting in the IV, but it just didn’t work! I was trying to answer their questions and listen to what they wanted to do, but all I could think about was pushing the baby out! I remember thinking that if I have any more babies, I would definitely get an epidural - and I think I told the nurses that! I’m sure I had much to say to them! One of the nurses mentioned that if I wanted an epidural next time, I would need to come in at 36 weeks. I remember praying and asking God to help me with the pain because I really thought I was going to die. There were two female residents that evening, and they were really great. They asked me if I wanted to wait for the doctor or go ahead and push… of course I said “I’m already pushing… I can’t stop!” They broke my water and finally gave me the okay to push and within a few minutes Noah Matthew was here!!! He started crying immediately with a strong, loud cry! I was thrilled to hear him! They finally brought him to me and I was overwhelmed with how perfect and precious he was. He was born at 8:58 – about 10 minutes after we got to the labor and delivery floor of the hospital. I am grateful for God’s provision – if my water had broken at home or in the car, we wouldn’t have made it to the hospital!

Noah is such a precious little one and we are thankful for this gift from the Lord!! Our prayer is that we will have a home that glorifies and honors Christ and that little Noah will grow to love the Lord and seek godliness in his life.