Expecting a baby is undoubtedly one of the most exhilarating feelings in the world. The anticipation of the joyous moments following the arrival of a newborn fills soon-to-be parents with excitement. Valerie Watts was eagerly looking forward to meeting her baby, but her dreams were shattered when she delivered a stillborn baby boy. Throughout her pregnancy, everything was progressing well until an unexpected tragedy struck.
“All week, I knew,” Watts reflected. “He wasn’t moving as much. I was very nervous.”
Baby Noah’s umbilical cord became pinched in the womb, ending his life before it even began. Watts was overwhelmed with grief. Even though her baby didn’t survive, she wasn’t ready to part with the crib she had bought for him. Keeping it at home served as a poignant reminder of her loss.
“She was kind of hesitant,” Gerald Kumpula recalled. “I knew that maybe she didn’t want to sell it, but yet, she did.”
Kumpula, who lived a few miles away and had a workshop on the outskirts of Cokato, noticed the crib at the Watts family garage sale and expressed interest in buying it, even though it wasn’t officially for sale.
