Noah MartinVincent

Born Friday, July 21, 2006

Benn and Amanda got engaged in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Thursday, December 23, 2004

They got married at the Burnett Fountain of the North Conservatory Garden in Central Park, New York City, on Friday Morning, May 27, 2005,

And spent their honeymoon in Ireland

They didn’t come back from Ireland with a baby, but by Thanksgiving 2005 they were able to announce that a little one was on the way.  As we prepared for the birth of Noah, all four grandparents traveled to Baton Rouge, getting ready for his birth which was begun to be induced shortly after five on Friday morning, July 21, 2006.

We Spent a Lot of Time Waiting.

Amanda’s parents, Maggie and Johnny Martin

Benn’s parents, Bob and Sandy Vincent (Sandy took this using her timer.)

More Shots of Waiting Family

Sandy with her iPod

Bob with his iPod visiting with René Johnson. 

René is a Doula, and she was an enormous help to Amanda and Benn during labor.  What is a Doula?

“Pops” “enjoys” golf.

Late Friday Afternoon, Benn’s Sister, Lydia Uhl, Drove over from Opelousas.

Lydia chatting with Amanda’s Dad 

Lydia’s husband is a pastor and was involved in a post-Katrina project in New Orleans, so Lydia brought their three sons:  Nathan, John Vincent and soon to be eleven (July 25) Wilder.

Game Boys kept them occupied the whole time.

Except for Amanda, We Could Take Breaks.

Benn with his mother

And with his father

During all this waiting, sometime around eight o’clock that night, Johnny and Maggie got a telephone call from their other daughter, Natalie, back in Alexandria:  Natalie and Darryl Monroe were headed to Cabrini Hospital.  Baby Raegan decided to come three weeks before her due date!  Noah was one week late, and Raegan was born at 10:21, almost an hour and a half ahead of her first cousin.

Noah’s Aunt Natalie holding her son Ryan and daughter Raegan.  

Another coincidence:  Ryan was born on November 17, 2004, the same day that Benn asked Amanda’s parents for their blessing to marry Amanda.

But back to our saga in Baton Rouge . . . about fifteen hours into Amanda’s labor, it was decided that I should travel over to Benn and Amanda’s house to let their dog tend to his physiological needs.  I was warned that he might read me as a easy mark and make a mad dash for freedom into the nearby woods.  Henry did just that.  I had disarmed their burglar alarm and let Henry loose in the back yard.  Then I brought him back in the house, rearmed the alarm and opened the door a crack, so I could get out while the alarm was arming itself.  I kept my eyes on Henry, but the little beast was faster than me.  He leapt over my foot and was gone–after I went through puberty, I guess I lost a lot of hand and eye coordination, to say nothing of foot and eye.  I panicked:  “Not on my watch!” 

I tried to cancel the alarm while it was arming itself, only to fumble and hit the wrong button, locking the keypad so I could no longer use it and setting off the alarm!  Forgetting that for a moment, I opened the door and went out to find Henry.  In spite of the wailing siren, I got him back in the house and then frantically telephoned for help, got it, disarmed the unit and waited for the alarm company to call.  They did.  I then rearmed the unit, told Henry, “No!” very sternly, made for the door, got outside and locked the little rascal inside.  Whew!  It was enough to make a preacher cuss!  I kept thinking that I might miss Noah’s birth as I drove back to the hospital.  My only consolation was that I knew that in a few days, with Baby Noah’s arrival, Henry would learn that he really is a dog and must learn to play second fiddle.  Gloat, gloat, gloat!

I shouldn’t have worried–we had a couple of hours left before we would meet Noah.  The Birth Waiting Room of Baton Rouge’s Woman's Hospital was still filled with people and had a big screen TV.  Here’s a shot of what was on.

Somehow it seems appropriate.

Finally, We Got the Big News.

F. A. Moore, MD, delivered Noah Martin Vincent at 11:44. Noah was a half ounce shy of nine pounds..

We Had to Wait an Hour to Meet Noah.
Here are some Shots Taken just Before Quarter to One Saturday Morning.

Ready that Camera . . . Steady that Game Boy

At Last!

“Momsie” looks at her seventh grandchild, while Amanda rests after eighteen and a half hours of labor.  (A couple of these shots are extracted from a video.)

Baby Noah, held by his mother Amanda, filmed by his pregnant Aunt Lydia with “Momsie” Sandy looking on

Good Heart . . . Good Lungs

Eight-year-old John Vincent Uhl meets his first cousin Noah around ten minutes before one, Saturday morning.  Noah’s two grandmothers flank JV.

Shots Taken Later that Morning, Roughly Twelve Hours After Being Born Naturally, After We All Got a Little Sleep

Noah Martin Vincent

The New Family:  Benn, Noah and Amanda

Aunt Lydia holds Baby Noah

“Pops” holds Baby Noah

A Closer Look

And Another

Noah looks like a Burnaman-Martin-Price-Vincent . . .

Noah at Home

Noah Asleep on his Father, Benn

Noah Eyes Henry

Henry Sits with Noah and Momsie Vincent

Noah Being Pacified

In early September, Noah went with his parents to Navarre Beach in Florida.

Benn and Amanda hold Baby Noah as Henry eyes the usurper of affections.
For Noah’s Baptism

Noah Getting Ready for his First Christmas

Four Generations
Noah being held by his Great-Grandfather, Ellis Martin
While his mother, Amanda and her father, Johnny Martin look on

Noah with his Maternal Great-Grandfather and Grandfather

Noah Playing Santa with his Maternal Grandmother, Maggie Martin

Now that Noah’s birth is behind us, we have our son Andrew’s wedding ahead of us.  Andrew and Haley are to be married next to the Panda cage–no kidding–in the Memphis Zoo on August 12, 2006–might make a great movie title:  Meet the Pandas–a comedy about families coming together for a wedding.  Then on October 1, 2006, we will be waiting for Benn and Andrew’s sister Lydia to give birth to baby Zoe–at least that’s her due date, but reflecting on Noah and Raegan’s oddly timed births–they should have been a month apart–only God knows when Baby Zoe Sophia Uhl will meet us.

The day that Benn announced that Amanda was pregnant, Sandy and I began to pray for the little life inside of her. We prayed for three things: that Amanda would be brought safely through childbirth, that this child would be completely healthy and that he would put his trust in Christ early in life. Two of those things were answered late Friday night, and we trust a loving and sovereign God to bring about the third in his time according to his means.  We are still praying that way for baby Zoe.