Our son, Noah Christian Frederick, was born May 28th at 2:02 am and weighed 3 lbs 14 ounces and was almost 17 inches long. He died of an extremely rare cord accident with his cord wrapped around his neck 3 times and his foot 2 times.
The previous October, we surprisingly found out that I was pregnant with our little miracle. We were overjoyed and beyond excited to share it with both of our families and close friends. I had a fairly easy pregnancy and no complications. On May 22nd, I had a regular checkup and heard a strong heartbeat. After a weekend of family time in Atlanta, I was set to start my summer break of baby preparation for the July 20th due date.
However, our lives forever changed on the night of May 27th. On May 26th, Matt left on a business trip to Memphis. I spent the day walking our two dogs and grocery shopping. I noticed that I didn’t feel Noah moving, but wasn’t alarmed because I always felt him more in the middle of the night so I figured he was just sleeping. I started to get worried that evening, but my doctor had told me I would start to feel him less since he was getting less space to move around.
Finally after waking up at 1:30 am, I knew something was wrong when I still wasn’t feeling him move. So I called my parents, and they picked me up to take me to the local ER. We were quickly informed that Noah’s heart had stopped beating.
Making the phone call to Matt was the hardest call I have ever made. The next 24 hours of labor were a complete blur. Matt drove 3 very long hours from Memphis and was there with me every single second. My family stayed with me as much as possible and Noah was delivered very early in the morning of my Mom’s birthday.
Matt and I were able to hold him for a little while as our hearts were crushed by the weight of inexplicable grief. We held onto each other minute by minute, with our love and shared loss of Noah as our only strength to face another day. Both of our families have been absolutely amazing and supportive through every moment.
We will forever be thankful that Noah is a part of our family as well. He will be thought of often, remembered always, and loved eternally.
